LivingThreads

Old fabrics. Living stories. New connections.

Living Threads brings generations together through traditional rag-rug weaving and the reuse of discarded textiles.

Take partRead about the project

First workshops planned for 2027 · Funding applied for

Strips of coloured fabric woven into a square, with one red thread running through the weave and trailing out below.

The idea

Making more than rugs.

  • Loose strips of old fabric in coral, blue, ochre, green and linen, knotted together, with a red thread trailing away.

    Old fabrics.

    Clothes and linen that would be thrown away become the material.

  • A simple loom of linen warp threads with three strips of fabric half woven in, and a red thread passing through.

    Living knowledge.

    Experienced weavers teach the craft, hand to hand.

  • A finished square of weaving in cobalt blue, ochre, coral and green, with fringed ends.

    New connections.

    Young and old work at the same loom, across countries.

“The textile is the object. The connections created around it are the work.”

The route

Three stages, one thread.

  1. A small woven swatch in red and yellow, with frayed ends.

    Skopje

    North Macedonia

    Planned for 15 March to 3 April 2027, if funded

    We learn rag-rug weaving from local weavers, then hold an intergenerational pop-up workshop with young people.

    Local partner: Maja Nacevska, art historian and founder of FIKA Pop-Up Experience

  2. A small woven swatch in green and red, with a yellow fringe.

    The Algarve

    Portugal

    Planned

    Sessions with a traditional Portuguese weaver.

  3. A small woven swatch in red and white, with frayed ends.

    Copenhagen

    Denmark

    Planned

    Weavers from North Macedonia and Portugal come to Copenhagen to share the craft with Danish makers in open sessions.

Where it started

A family story.

Living Threads began with Zorka, the late mother of founder Mira Krajachikj. Zorka was a weaver in North Macedonia.

Her skills inspired the wish to reconnect generations through craft, using old fabrics that carry their owners’ memories.

Rag rugs are a shared European everyday craft with many names. In North Macedonia they are черги, in Portugal tapetes de trapos, and in Denmark kludetæpper. That shared tradition is the thread between the places the project works in.

Zorka, an older woman with short reddish hair and a patterned dress, smiling as she sits in a green garden.
Zorka, Mira’s mother.

Take part

Three ways to take part.

Living Threads is made by the people who join it. The makers are credited as holders of living knowledge.

  • Give old textiles

    Cotton, linen and wool, old sheets and clothes, clean and dry. They become the material for new rugs.

    How to give textiles

  • Join a workshop

    Young and old weave side by side, with tasks for every age and ability. The first workshop is planned for Skopje in March 2027, if funded.

    Hear about workshops

  • Share your craft

    Do you weave, or did someone in your family? We would love to hear from you and learn from you.

    Tell us about your craft