Fleur

This shirt is made using a 1970s embroidered tablecloth from Austria, carried to Canada by my great grandmother during her emigration and kept within our family for decades since.

Austrian textile traditions of the era favored intricate embroidery work, often stitched by hand as part of a household's everyday linens rather than reserved solely for special occasions. Emigrating families frequently brought textiles like this one along as some of their only tangible links to home, making pieces such as this tablecloth carriers of memory as much as craftsmanship.

Held onto for generations before finding new life as a garment, this piece reflects both my personal family history and a broader story of Austrian emigration to Canada throughout the 20th century. Cut and finished by hand, this shirt preserves the original embroidery and character of a textile that has already crossed continents and generations.