A mobile sewing device designed for street use is among the projects planned for Fabra i Coats on 20 and 21 November 2026. The collective build aims to bring community sewing into public space and make the practice more visible.
The project is part of the II Festival Món Filigranes, a gathering organised by Barcelona’s sewing groups and spaces. Twelve of the city’s 66 community sewing groups are based in Sant Martí, and the festival will bring their work together with projects from across Barcelona. Barcelona City Council and community sewing groups promote and organise the biennial festival. Its themes include collective organisation, women’s empowerment in textile work, circular and sustainable fashion, and intercultural textile memories.
Those 12 groups are Grup del Casal de Barri La Palmera; Grup de costura creativa Casal de Barri Bac de Roda-Poblenou; Grup Manetes; Grups de costura Casal de Barri La Pau; Taller de costura Centre Sant Martí; Associació Àmbar Prim; Taller de costura bàsica Centre Cívic del Besòs i el Maresme; Tallers de costura Casal de Barri La Llacuna; Costurcat. Associació Catalana de Costura; Taller de costura creativa i reciclatge - Casal de Barri Diagonal Mar; Taller de reciclatge de roba Casal Ca l’Isidret; and Taller de Costura Comunitària Via Trajana.
The programme opens on Friday afternoon with a collective exhibition. It also includes a discussion about one of the pieces, workshops on textile techniques and a participatory art project with La Laboriosa. The festival runs on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November at Recinte Fabra i Coats, Carrer de Sant Adrià, 20, in Sant Andreu. Friday’s programme starts at 16:00.
Saturday’s programme runs throughout the day. Visitors can join sewing, embroidery and crochet workshops, as well as sessions on recycling and transforming textiles. A space for lace-makers will also be open, with discussions and exchanges of experience, alongside the catwalk Som com som i així ens vestim. Displays and sales are planned, and visitors can see a map of the community sewing groups. Workshops, talks, exhibitions, upcycling activities and the catwalk reflect the festival’s broader focus on participation, skills-sharing, reuse and public visibility.
The mobile sewing device is being developed in collaboration with Barcelona Capital de l’Arquitectura 2026. The city’s architecture programme also includes a 11 November session, “Textiles as a Design Tool,” on textiles in contemporary architecture and interior design, as well as a conference on how objects, textiles, furniture and everyday details convey Barcelona’s character. The same weekend, the Cabanillas film festival is scheduled to run from 20 to 22 November.
Admission to Món Filigranes is free, and no ticket is required. The festival also lists registration for workshops on Friday 20 November and Saturday 21 November.
