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The Bastardised Blade Embroidery Sampler Cycle
This article documents the embroidery cycle by the Umm El-Noor Collective. For the original Nuer thread-work cycle, see The Bastardised Blade Embroidery — A Nuer Thread-Work Cycle.
The Bastardised Blade Embroidery Sampler Cycle (2021–present) is a series of traditional cross-stitch and hardanger samplers by the Sudan-Norwegian Umm El-Noor Collective, translating Katita's labour of sharpening her blade into embroidered form across borders. The cycle combines digitised renderings of the sword with traditional Sudanese textile motifs and Nordic hardanger lace techniques, embedding Arabic calligraphy verses on the cycle, the glitch, and the doctrine of refusal throughout the patterns. Each sampler is released both as a printed pattern (for existing stitchers) and as a complete DIY kit: hand-dyed linen, vintage floss sourced from Khartoum's markets, needle, and bilingual instruction booklet. The collective notes: "the blade is stitched by hand across borders; each maker becomes Katita, sharpening." Since 2022, the samplers have circulated through craft fairs in Khartoum, Cairo, and Oslo. Prices: patterns 180–280 SDG / EUR , kits 1,200–1,800 SDG / EUR . [citation needed] Exhibited at the 2023 Khartoum Arts Festival and the 2024 Bergen Textile Biennale.