Common Threads: Crafting Community Through Cloth
Join textile artist Phong Chi Lai for a workshop series exploring the creative, sustainable, and social possibilities of working with cloth.
Across four workshops participants will learn practical techniques while sharing stories, skills and ideas through making. Using reclaimed textiles and natural materials, the program celebrates the simple act of making together and the connections that emerge through cloth, creativity and community.
All materials provided, no experience necessary. Attend one or all of the following workshops:
1. Intro to Improv Patchwork
Explore the playful and intuitive process of improv patchwork, where traditional rules give way to experimentation with colour, shape and composition. Participants will work with fabric scraps and reclaimed textiles to create a unique patchwork piece through cutting, piecing and hand-stitching.
2. Slow Stitching
Slow down and reconnect with the meditative practice of hand stitching. Using simple embroidery stitches, participants will explore mark-making, texture and repetition while creating a small textile work from reclaimed fabrics.
3. Intro to Visible Mending
Discover the creative possibilities of repairing and extending the life of well-loved clothing and textiles. Participants will learn simple visible mending techniques, including hand stitching, patching and darning, while exploring repair as a form of creative expression and storytelling.
4. Intro to Eco-printing
Explore the natural colours and patterns found in plants through the process of eco-printing. Participants will learn the basics of preparing fabric and creating botanical prints using leaves, flowers and other natural materials, transforming cloth into unique, nature-inspired textiles.
Ages
Suitable for 16 years+
Cost
General admission: $15 per session + booking fee
Season ticket: $60 Season Ticket + booking fee
Program
Week 1: Wednesday 4 November | Intro to Improv Patchwork | 11:30am – 1:30pm
Week 2: Wednesday 11 November | Slow Stitching | 11:30am – 1:30pm
Week 3: Wednesday 18 November | Intro to Visible Mending | 11:30am – 1:30pm
Week 4: Wednesday 25 November | Intro to Eco-printing | 11:30am – 2:00pm
About the Facilitator
Phong Chi Lai is a Naarm based textile artist specialising in contemporary quilting, and soft sculptures, using improv patchwork as a core part of his practice. He reimagines textiles not as passive materials tied to function or tradition, but as dynamic, evolving sites of contemporary artistic inquiry.
Originally a shoe designer/maker, Phong transitioned into textiles after working with social enterprises across Asia. These experiences reinforced his artisan ethos and commitment to sustainability. His work is both resourceful and deeply responsive to his surroundings.
The materials he uses—locally foraged natural dyes and reclaimed textiles—carry histories of use, place, and identity. Their layering becomes a form of storytelling: one that speaks to memory, fragility, and the transmission of knowledge through handwork. The process is intentionally slow and meditative.
Phong has exhibited at The Wangaratta Art Gallery, School House Studios Gallery, Linden New Art Gallery, The Australian Tapestry Workshop, Fortyfivedownstairs Gallery, Mars Gallery, QuiltCon (US) and Partnership Editions (UK).
His work ‘Creating Character’ won Best Object Design at Design Fringe 2023, Phong was a 2024 Artist in Residence at The Australian Tapestry Workshop and a finalist in The Irene Davis International Tapestry Prize. He is currently the Braybrook Community-Engaged Artist in Residence supported by The Maribyrnong City Council.
Phong has collaborated with organizations including The Social Studio, The Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild, Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne Design Week and Design Fringe to share knowledge and encourage creative engagement through textiles.
Instagram: @studiopcl
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