Near Lake Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán lies the town of Santa Clara Tzintzuntzan, home to a vibrant embroidery tradition. In 1989, artisans working with the Michoacán House of Handicrafts were encouraged to develop new designs that reflected and celebrated local customs. The women who formed a cooperative chose to depict the Danza de los Viejitos (Dance of the Old Men), creating embroidered scenes that would preserve and share their cultural traditions through storytelling.
As their work gained recognition, they were invited to participate in the annual Artisan Market in Pátzcuaro during Día de los Muertos celebrations. The popularity of their embroidered narratives soon led to commissions for bedspreads, dresses, tablecloths, cushions, shawls, and other textiles. Today, this distinctive embroidery tradition continues to be practiced and promoted by artisan cooperatives including Colibríes and Vasco de Quiroga.
Date
Thursday, November 5th, 2026
Time
12:00-2:30 pm ET
Location
Zoom, a link will be sent to participants the day before class
Cost
$75
Recording
All World Embroidery Series sessions will be recorded. A link to each recording will be emailed to all registrants following the live session. Each link is live for three months after the live session.
Class Materials
- Needle: Embroidery needle from no. 20 to no. 24, depending on the weight of the fabric.
- Any plain fabric, you can use a garment or napkin to decorate.
- Thread: cotton embroidery floss 6 strands.
- Scissors
- Optional: Embroidery hoop
About the World Embroidery Series
TATTER’s World Embroidery Series is a celebration of global embroidery craft. Sewists will encounter an astonishing array of culturally specific techniques, and will have the opportunity to learn from accomplished practicing teachers who are equally purposed in preserving heritage techniques.
Bundle Discount
When four World Embroidery classes are added to your cart, a 25% off code will be automatically applied. All classes must be in a single order to qualify for the discount.
Scholarships
We have one scholarship seat available for this workshop. To be considered for a scholarship, please fill out this scholarship application form.
Our Teacher
Maité Jiménez is a textile artist and teacher born and raised in Mexico City, where she has been surrounded by textiles all her life. As a child, Maité’s grandmother embroidered and made bobbin lace, while her mother and aunts would embroider, weave, and knit. This early exposure to textile creation led Maité to study Textile Design at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, where she deepened her exploration of the textile arts. Maité went on to work in automotive textiles for 7 years with Guilford Mills in Mexico City, specializing in Jacquard weaving, but remained fascinated by her country’s rich textile traditions and began a self-guided immersive exploration of Mexican textile traditions. Maité has researched and studied traditional techniques with artisans from Oaxaca, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Puebla, and State of Mexico. Through this journey, Maité has learned how challenging it can be to find teachers of traditional Mexican textile techniques. Now, Maité makes these learnings more accessible to curious minds like herself by running an Airbnb experience in which she shares her passion for traditional Mexican textiles with textile lovers from around the world. Maité also works alongside her sister, making costume pieces for independent theater, film, and dance companies.