We'll be updating our website soon. Help us get it right by taking a brief survey!

Create

Interested in natural dyeing, slow stitching, spinning flax, silk painting, surface design techniques, quilting, sewing, felting, knitting, crochet, needlework or …? Register for a class or workshop at the SEFAA Center and nourish your creativity.

Be Inspired

Attend a creative event, view an exhibition, hang out with creative people at free bi-weekly open-studio sessions, and browse our expansive textile library. Inspiration guaranteed.

Connect

Join the SEFAA community and come home. Member benefits include free monthly program meetings and a 20% discount on class and workshop registrations. Engage virtually anytime on social media and stay connected through monthly e-newsletters and Latest News website posts.

YOUR CREATIVE HOME

SEFAA celebrates all textile art forms (from appliqué to weaving) and cultivates a vibrant fiber arts community by:

  • providing diverse and comprehensive fiber art programming;
  • preserving fiber art skills and traditions;
  • promoting the fiber arts;
  • inspiring and supporting crafters and fiber artists of all abilities as well as organizations, businesses, and educators; and
  • connecting everyone interested in textiles.

Participate

Your gateway to classes, workshops, program meetings, tours, events, exhibitions, and volunteer opportunities. All textile-focused, of course.

CONNECT & DISCOVER

Calendars, galleries, resources, FAQ’s, about SEFAA, newsletter archives, and more.

Latest News

In Search of Wild Silk

Hi friends of SEFAA. I am Karen Selk, a textile artist, educator, traveler, researcher, and writer. My primary focus is silk.

The first time I went to India was a journey of a lifetime. Little did I know it would begin a lifetime of journeys – an adventure of over thirty years of research, discovery, and caring. Everything about wild silk – tasar (tussah), muga, and eri – is captivating, exotic, and full of heart. It is much more than the miraculous journey of metamorphosis from caterpillar to silken luxury. It is tightly woven into an ancient living culture raising silkworms in remote forests of central and eastern India. Village men and women unravel cocoons to make yarn and weave cloth in textured, rich earthy tones of beige, gold, umber, and papyrus.

Raising wild silkworms, reeling cocoons, spinning fiber, and weaving silk cloth is labor-intensive, boosting employment for millions of rural Adivasi (indigenous) people and lifting the status of women. It is centered around family and community with a deep connection to the land providing sustainable work and a regular income while maintaining a traditional lifestyle. Increased income means the younger generations are remaining in their communities rather than migrating to overburdened urban areas and preserving their culture. Tens of thousands of trees are planted to feed the silkworms, enhancing the environment by reducing carbon dioxide and increasing oxygen in our atmosphere.

My new book, In Search of Wild Silk: Exploring a Village Industry in the Jungles of India, delves into this amazing world of wild silk and the Adivasi of India who raise wild silkworms. Over 350 photos and stories captured by weavers, spinners, and silkworm farmers transport you into their homes and villages to get an up-close look at the intimate connection to the skill, dedication, and love involved in each part of the process from soil to cloth. You’ll be drawn into the captivating world of a unique living culture that has been engaged in a sustainable industry for generations. and you’ll learn about the specialized tools and techniques the artisans use to transform cocoons into yarn and luxurious fabrics.

You’ll find In Search of Wild Silk at:

Read More

WHAT DOES SEFAA DO WELL?

“Network to an amazing fiber community that I would never have known existed.”

Robin Meyer

Did you know?

There's a large and comprehensive textile library at the SEFAA Center. View listings in person or online. SEFAA members have borrowing privileges.

SEFAA Member Organizations and Businesses

Looking for more technique-specific groups? Check out our wonderful members below. If your group isn’t listed below, we encourage you to join SEFAA. Publicity, partnerships, low-cost space rentals, and an intimate connection to our regional fiber arts community are just some of the benefits that come with your membership!

Meet OUR SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

Providers of generous and invaluable support.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

For inspiration and information about textile happenings throughout the Southeast.