The Folk Magic of Hand Sewing

 The links between needlework and folk magic go back thousands of years. Like all forms of folklore, sewing animal hides with sinew or weave cloth from plant fibers threads, allowed people to use the elements in their environment they believed could protect or heal them. 

Over time, folk wisdom (folk magic) about which animal spirits were protective, which leaves could cure disease became reliable mainstays in our evolving handcraft traditions.

 Some experts suggest the oldest needle dates back around 60,000 years ago: a human-constructed, animal (most likely bird) bone needle found in South Africa. Other needles made of bone and ivory have been discovered elsewhere, dating back to between 45,000 and 30,000 years ago. The first needle with an eyelet dates to around 25,000 years ago. 

I recently e-chatted with Sylvia Eden of Leodrune Witchcraft about needlecraft folk magic. A writer, illustrator, and publisher of books on witchcraft, folk magic, and mysticism, she recently published “Occult Needlecraft” a booklet that explores the intersection between hand sewing and folk magic.

Q: You describe this book as a magical interpretation of the elements of sewing. Why did you decide to focus on this topic?

A: Hand-sewing has been a presence in my life since the beginning. All my maternal ancestors, as far back as any of us know, created with textiles– clothing, quilts, tapestries, dolls, and so on. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun concertedly learning how to hand-quilt from my aging grandmother, in acknowledgment of the importance of traditional handcrafts and the ancestral chain of teaching & learning them. As I’ve fully delved into the world of sewing, I noticed how many of the materials and actions of hand-sewing feel somehow aligned with my pre-existing witchcraft practice & worldview. Suddenly a whole idea for Occult Needlecraft seemed to simmer up out of me and into the world; I’ve frankly never had an easier time writing & illustrating a book. My mother and grandmother, who are my textile art teachers, helped forge the foundations of this book.

Q: Can you briefly describe the importance of materials used? The importance of the stitchers’ hands?

A: If you’re intending to incorporate textile art into a magical practice, or make it into a magical practice, materials are vitally important. Whenever possible, natural materials should be used, as they have the most direct relationship to the Earth that gave rise to them– the metals of the needle, for example, and the plant fibers of the thread and fabric. If we accept an animist perspective along with our magical practices, then we accept that those materials carry the aliveness, the divine intelligence, of the Earth’s metals and plants. The needle holds the strength & brilliance of its metals; the thread and fabric are versatile materials, carrying the personalities and particular gifts of whatever plants became them. The hands are the uniquely human component, and I’d say that they are the ultimate representative of human magic– hands are a creative force all their own and infuse all they create with our body’s vitality. 

Q: The book illustrates several types of stitches. Do you have a favorite? 

A: Every stitch is so useful, but my favorite at the moment is the twisting nature of stem stitch; it reminds me of something I read once about how all plants begin as spirals, when the first root & stem ‘spiral into form’ to break open the seed shell. 

Q: Are you working on a new project?

A: I am already completing another book. The Black Feast: Experimental winter-tide lore and praxis, is scheduled for an early November release date to coincide with the lunar eclipse. 

What she has to say about intention: 

More about Leodrune books: www.leodruneshop.etsy.com 

Instagram: @LeodruneWitchcraft