Signature Cloths

PhD study

My PhD at UCA with Professor Lesley Millar and Simon Olding explored how collaborative stitch has undisclosed benefits and also tensions. It builds on my long standing experience as an academic, artist and socially engaged practitioner. The thesis involved three case studies focused on the signature cloth – a textile made up of hand sewn […]

Published: 8th June 2023
Themes: collaborative, crafts, embroidery engagement, handmade, identity, signature,

Sew Near – Sew Far

Sew Near – Sew Far is part of Meeting Point2, a year-long project led by contemporary art agency Arts&Heritage that sees artists partner with museums to produce new artworks inspired by their collections. The stitch-based artworks form part of Brontë200, a five-year programme celebrating the bicentenaries of the births of the Brontës. The short film […]

Published: 10th November 2021
Themes: Bronte commission, crafts, engagement, identity, signature, text Yorkshire

British Signature Cloths

This is a WWI fundraiser made in North Wales, now in Wrexham museum, North Wales Signature cloths are tactile social history documents, each one offering a wealth of sewn information. Since I began researching this subject in 2010, I have discovered many hidden away in collections around Britain. I have unearthed examples in museums including […]

Published: 17th April 2021
Themes: collaborative, crafts, domestic embroidery handmade, identity, research signature, text

Threads of Identity

My new article connected to this project will be published in early 2021 the Journal of Arts and Community as part of the second Stitching Together special edition. This project challenges stereo types surrounding embroidery practice, working with a group of 15 boys at Burnage Academy in Manchester. It is one in a series of […]

Published: 28th January 2021
Themes: Bangladesh, collaborative, crafts, engagement, film, handmade, identity, signature, text

Textile Society award

I am delighted to have been awarded the 2020 Textile Society critical writing award for ‘An Embroidered Elegy; Mrs Scales Autograph Cloth’. This research from the viewpoint of an embroiderer uncovered the maker and making of a 1936 stitched fundraiser made in Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire. The article is published in the current […]

Published: 21st June 2020
Themes: autobiography, collaborative, crafts, domestic embroidery engagement, identity, signature, text Yorkshire

Rainbow Haven

There are over 60 signatures and names sewn onto the cloth, all varied in composition and design, reflecting the mix of participants. Countries range from China, Libya, Eritrea and the Czech Republic.

Published: 28th November 2017
Themes: collaborative, engagement, identity, text

Nebraska Schools

The shared cloth made from the sewn names of children at Culler Middle School, Lincoln, Nebraska is complete. It evolved into a “distance” and “close” collaboration following my visits to Nebraska their last year. With help from staff and volunteers at the IQSC, we worked with three local middle schools. The schools are home to […]

Published: 11th November 2015
Themes: collaborative, embroidery engagement, handmade, identity, signature, text