A stitch, the simple act of pushing a needle and thread through a piece of fabric, is a powerful act. It is the first step in making something useful or beautiful. But it also is a way to speak out against injustice when the right of free speech is denied.

That was true for the women of Chile who introduced the arpillera to the world in the early 1970s when Augusto Pinochet imposed his regime on the country, according to author Marjorie Agosin in her book “Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love: The Arpillera Movement in Chile 1974-1994.” Agosin, who grew up in Santiago, Chile, and is a professor of Spanish at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., will be the featured Women in the Curriculum lecturer, speaking about her play, “Tres Vidas: A Play About Three Latina Women,” at noon Wednesday, Feb. 26, in the Bangor Lounge, Memorial Union, University of Maine in Orono. She also will speak about arpilleras at 7:30 p.m. today at the Hudson Museum.

Thousands suspected of opposing the dictator Pinochet were beaten, imprisoned or executed. Women and children were left destitute without men to help provide for them.

Women whose husbands and male relatives were detained and had disappeared began to stitch pictures called arpilleras depicting what was happening to them – the anguish of always searching for lost loved ones, hungry children clustered around community food pots provided by the Catholic Church, and empty chairs around the family table.

The Pinochet government, Agosin writes, banned the making of arpilleras, but that did not stop the women from making them. Not only were the arpilleras a way to chronicle the prevailing political climate, they were a way for the women to grieve the losses of their loved ones. Some arpilleras, for example, included a small photo of a disappeared family member, or shadows of the missing ones.

Foreign journalists sometimes bought the arpilleras and the makers came to see that their work had value. The women, with the aid of the Catholic Church, formed a cooperative and sold arpilleras in other countries, which provided much-needed money.

After Pinochet was overthrown, women continued to make arpilleras and the craft became a vehicle for healing as the women dealt with the emotional aftermath of the terrible events and losses they had experienced. They sewed and they talked, as women will, about their feelings.

The arpillera is a fabric collage measuring, in general, 12 by 18 inches. Small shapes cut or torn from whatever fabric is available are appliqued to a background of burlap – hence its name. Arpillera means “burlap” in Spanish. Simple stitches such as chain stitch, cross-stitch and blanket stitch often border the applique pieces. Sometimes a woman will add a personal note to her work, such as a snippet of her hair or fabric from a piece of her clothing.

Arpilleras also are made in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia.

Arpilleras have been exhibited in museums throughout the world. The William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., has original arpilleras made in the 1970s in its collection.

Contemporary arpilleras made in Peru are available for sale in the gift shop at the University of Maine’s Hudson Museum. They also may be purchased on the Web at www.concordiaprograms.com.

Snippets

Learn rug braiding at Old Town Adult Education. The class is 6-9 p.m. Thursdays for eight weeks, beginning Feb. 27. The fee is $20. To obtain information, call 827-3906.

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A special thank you goes to a Hermon woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, who recently donated to Project Warm Hands three large bags of yarn she wanted to put to good use.

“We passed out the yarn to our Meals for Me site managers and they have distributed it,” said Gayle Ward of the Eastern Agency on Aging. “Meals for Me diners knit hats, mittens and socks for schoolchildren, Head Start programs and day care centers in their communities.”

To make yarn donations to Project Warm Hands, call Ward at 941-2865.

Ardeana Hamlin can be reached at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.