In a world where stress and anxiety are prevalent, Megan Burke aims to revolutionize how we approach mental health through fashion.
Leading workshops across Massachusetts, Burke promotes the idea of transforming clothing into tactile tools for self-soothing, one stitch at a time.
On a recent Saturday afternoon, about two dozen participants gathered at the Boston-based School of Fashion Design in a vibrant community space filled with light.
Burke welcomed attendees, asking each to introduce themselves, and she began discussing the profound role that clothing plays in our identities.
After her introduction, she instructed participants to open little embroidery kits she had provided.
“Everyone has a hoop,” Burke said, encouraging them to take their needles and unwind the threads.
With a light-hearted smile, she recounted her own experiences as the founder of the non-profit fashion brand Cuerd@s Clothing, joking about the number of times she has pricked her fingers while stitching.
“Today, we’re going to hand embroider using cuerdos stitches to create self-soothing tools that participants can take home or donate to us for community distribution,” Burke explained.
The stitches, she noted, are simple, creating small raised nubs — clusters of textured dots on various textiles, ranging from donated jackets to thrifted garments.
“These little bumps create a tactile experience that engages proprioception, helping to calm the fight-or-flight response that often accompanies anxiety,” she elaborated.
For Burke, the concept of proprioception is deeply personal.
She recounted her experiences growing up with her favorite person — a creative, vibrant sibling who battled bi-polar disorder.
“By the time I went to college, my sibling had been in more inpatient psychiatric units than I could count,” Burke reflected.
She described the family dynamic, how her father had to leave work to care for her sibling, while her mother took on the responsibility of supporting the family.
Burke felt a mixture of guilt and confusion while she was away, longing for the sibling she missed.
Remembering their habit of self-soothing by rubbing their hands on their body, Burke had a creative idea: she stitched textured patches on a plain white t-shirt, placing them where her sibling would instinctively touch, and mailed it to them.
“It was a physical manifestation of our relationship that can’t go away,” Burke shared, moved by the memory.
To her delight, her sibling wore that t-shirt constantly, inspiring Burke to launch Cuerd@s Clothing.
After researching the therapeutic benefits of tactile experiences, she transformed her vision into reality, developing designs in her dorm room and working to donate embroidered clothing to mental health organizations.
Recognizing the calming nature of the stitching process itself, Burke began offering workshops to companies, nonprofits, and schools.
Jennifer Leclerc, the executive director of Boston’s School of Fashion Design, expressed excitement about hosting Burke’s workshop and noted that there is a growing interest in up-cycling garments and crafting.
“People are gravitating towards the slow fashion movement and enjoying hand-making things more than ever,” Leclerc mentioned.
As Burke moved around the room, checking in with attendees, she connected with participants like Sara Barker, a former psychiatric nurse.
Barker described how deeply Burke’s story resonated with her.
“I think this would’ve helped a lot of our patients just to have someone send them something from home — something that they can feel is theirs and not be in a gown,” Barker expressed, envisioning how such personal touches could impact those in psychiatric care.
Amanda Smart also opened up, sharing her experience recovering from a brain injury at 17.
“I always try to knit and crochet with the adults I work with at rehab because it’s soothing — it just makes your heart feel better,” she stated.
Nearby, Jason Courtemanche dedicated time embroidering purple dots into the black henley shirt he wore.
With dyslexia, he recognized the potential benefit this textured art could offer his friends with ADHD.
“This kind of texture could really help people break those negative thought patterns when they feel isolated in their spirals,” Courtemanche asserted.
As the room buzzed with conversation and shared experiences, Burke revealed an emotional moment from her past.
“Seven years ago, I didn’t even know if I would speak to my sibling again, and this week they got married, which was really special,” Burke shared, fighting back tears.
The name of her brand, Cuerd@s, is rooted in the meaning of the Spanish word ‘cuerdo,’ which translates to ‘sane.’
Burke creatively chose an ‘@’ symbol in the name to symbolize inclusivity, as it can represent both an ‘o’ and an ‘a,’ acknowledging her sibling’s identity as non-binary and transgender.
When people inquire about the time commitment required for hand embroidery, Burke passionately responds, “Yes, it does take time.
It’s essential for the person wearing that clothing to know there’s someone out there rooting for them, hoping they’ll rise up to their fullest potential and see tomorrow.”
image source from：https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/06/16/textured-stitches-anxiety-workshop-boston
