The coolest craft you’ve never heard of
Scarsdale Adult School teacher Dana Matsushita gives the lowdown on bargello, a way to make stunning art and functional items as well.
BY DEBORAH SKOLNIK
Thursday, October 31st wasn’t just Halloween: For a group of Scarsdale Adult School students, it was also the first day of a beginner’s class featuring a type of needlecraft called bargello. As the newbies set about creating their first project, a bookmark, the beauty of their work soon became evident. Rows of colorful flame stitch soon covered the plastic canvas through which yarn-threaded needles were plied.
"Bargello is a type of needlepoint that uses vertical stitches that create designs and patterns,” Matsushita explained. “There is a palace in Florence called the Bargello Palace, and in it there are chairs that have a pattern made from vertical stitches going up and down. That’s where the name comes from.” Matsushita first become familiar with the craft through a company called Hello Bargello, which sells patterns and kits to make tissue box covers, wall hangings, pillowcases, and other decorative and useful items.
It’s in the bag This purse was crafted using a single piece of plastic canvas.
She showed the class a handbag she had made, which evoked oohs and aahs. Matsushita also displayed a pretty checkbook cover, and explained that students would create coasters and other starter projects during the four-session course. (The official name of the class is, fittingly, “Basics of Bargello.”)
She has them in stitches Scarsdale Adult School’s bargello instructor, Dana Matsushita.
“Bargello is time-consuming the way knitting and crocheting can be, but the end result is very gratifying,” Matsushita said. Her own first project was a wall hanging of a menorah. She hopes her students will acquire a similar appreciation for the art. “For this class, many people have never heard of bargello,” she said. “We will be looking at patterns and showing how they create images and designs. We will learn how to thread the needle, sew on the canvas, create borders, and attach different canvas panels together.” Her students will also enjoy a very special gift: Each will receive a Hello Bargello kit. “It’s a way of sharing my love of bargello,” Matsushita explained.
Canvassing the area Students display their first works on canvass.
This isn’t her first time teaching through SAS. “I had such a great experience teaching paper quilling previously,” Matsushita recalled. “I used to teach elementary school, and always tried to incorporate art into the curriculum. I love teaching the adults, because they signed up—they want to do it. Everyone becomes like a child again with their love of arts and crafts.”
If you’d like to share that love, Matsushita will be teaching two classes on origami gift boxes in early December. To learn more, click here.