Portfolio

My client wanted the bodice of her wedding dress embroidered with a pomegranate tree design. I used cream silk floss and tiny gold beads on the burgundy velvet, pinning the velvet to a calico 'hole' to avoid crushing the pile. To transfer the design and prevent the stitches sinking into the pile, I used a heat soluble fabric which was carefully removed at the end.

I was asked to replicate a military dress coat from the court of Napoleon Bonaparte. The design was constrained by historical samples and the detail required in the very small emblems was remarkable. The emblem above is only 6.5cm high. I'm currently a consultant on this, overseeing the quality of the embroidery.

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A German client asked me to design, stitch and make up a Jubilee kneeler, having loved the kneelers she'd seen on a visit to the UK. I changed the details making it specific to her, with relevant dates and initials. The kneeler was worked on 14hpi canvas in tent stitch, before being stretched and being made up into the kneeler.

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I was commissioned to design and provide in kit form a monogram for a wedding anniversary. I partly worked the design to provide photos for the kit instructions. The kit contained several choices of fabric and enough silver metal thread for three separate monograms.

Working on a fine natural coloured evenweave linen and using one strand of white stranded cotton to create contrast, I carefully stitched each pulled thread pattern to create different ivy leaves, all flowing from undulating ivy stems made of a thin couched leather cord.

This unusual design was a gift for a lady who was a modern interpretative dancer with a love of all things supernatural. The blue skin and red hair create a striking image as the body moves sensuously with the music, with the stitches following the curves of the body..

Blackwork came to England with Katherine of Aragon.  Made up of different tessellating patterns, the stitches are counted & worked on fine evenweave linen using black thread in varying thicknesses to create areas of shading, as well as omitting stitches for very light areas.

I was commissioned to design and embroider a Christmas picture by Pam atLenham Needlecraft for it to be used as the design for her 2016 Xmas cards, sent to all customers and suppliers.  Techniques included applique, surface embroidery, stumpwork and goldwork.

A very small commission, but one still requiring exact attention to detail.  I used one strand of stranded cotton with stem and chain stitches on satin, before making them up into cufflinks using sterling silver fitments.

Two sets of cufflinks were required, both with daffodils, but different initials on each. Very fiddly to work, but do look very elegant once finished.

My client's finished work had several puckers.  I was asked to make it up into a cushion and to pad it sufficiently so that all the puckers in the fabric were removed.  I chose a complementary fabric for the back and made a cord to go around the cushion.

Monsoon approached me to embroider little baskets of flowers on grey flannel for a limited run of children's coats.  The flowers were worked in wool using French knots, bullion knots, detached chain and stem stitch.

This tree is made from wires wrapped with silk thread for the branches and antique glass and tiny coral beads for the blossoms, set on a jade base.  The silk had faded and rotted and the blossoms had fallen apart. I colour matched the floss to the faded colour, carefully took apart and cleaned all sections of the tree, then rewrapped the stamens, petals and branches in silk floss.

This wingback chair was upholstered in very grubby needlepoint, which also had lots of holes. I cleaned each section thoroughly before then supporting the canvas, reweaving the missing warp and weft threads and restitching the design with colour matched wool. The faces of the central figures appeared after years of dirt were removed.

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This beautifully embroidered Chinese panel had been kept in a drawer for years. I was asked to convert it into a pelmet hanging for a bed, which involved shortening both the length and width.  I did this without any cutting of the beautiful antique textile. 

A pair of matching drum lampshades embroidered in a design of flowing, stylised flowers, buds and leaves in crewelwork using Appletons crewel wool in a custom colour of pillar box red with dark blue highlights.

These delicate white flowers were embroidered onto pale blue silk dupion (chosen to highlight the petals' whiteness) using several shades of stranded cotton (white, ivory, cream, grey, mauve, green).  Only one strand at a time was used to create the careful shading.

I wanted a different way of displaying my finished embroideries and felt this book would be an excellent medium.  I made the book from scratch and used my Goldwork Leaves kit as the feature, filling it with beautiful handmade cotton paper.

I was commissioned to work a set of rosebud cufflinks for a birthday present, worked in tiny chain stitches and stem stitch with one strand of thread.

Three blackwork cuffs were designed and embroidered onto linen using black silk thread to be used as props for the historical TV drama, 'The Spanish Princess', based on Catherine of Aragon.

This is the 'before' image of a frontal from Croscombe Church in Somerset. I reattached the gold threads and the fringing where they were coming away.

The damask fabric was very worn on this frontal, with several large frayed areas.  I supported these damaged areas using conservation net and thus prevented further wear.  The conservation net can be dyed to match the fabric, but that wasn't necessary in this case.

This canvas & silk thread footstool measured 1m by 60cm.  Large areas had worn away & the canvas was filthy.  I cleaned the canvas, matched & reworked the silk stitches, then remounted it over the original springs & padding, before applying a new cord & braid to cover the edging.

A much loved toy, who bore the marks of this love.  Piglet needed a good clean and was given tidier dungarees, a smart bowtie and new ears.

I was initially interviewed live on air on BBC Radio Somerset about my Napoleonic military dress coat commission and my embroidery work.  This was followed up for a feature on BBC News, which also ran on BBC Somerset News. Please click the title or the goldwork image above to see the interview in full.

As a special birthday present for my husband, I silk shaded a long tailed tit, as he often admires these birds at the feeder. I chose a blue fabric and matched the threads to the bird, using long & short stitch, changing angle often to represent feathers & finishing off with a tiny pink eyelid.

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I was asked to design a long kneeler for the recently ordained son of a client. I used the symbols and colours requested, combining these with musical notes and fitting the different design aspects together into the required space. Currently being worked on by my client.

My client commissioned me to embroider a pair of buzzards circling in a summer sky.  I designed and worked the pair using one strand of stranded cotton in the needle at a time, feather by individual feather.  I then mounted the birds onto a piano stool.

Using only one strand of Appletons crewel wool and 18hpi antique mono canvas, I designed and worked this canvas shaded tulip in tent stitch. I first worked a shaded drawing, before one in colour, then set the order for each section to be stitched to ensure a realistic final image. 

I'm drawn to birds of prey, and this falcon was a beautiful bird to replicate in needlework.  Although small in size, a great deal of shading detail was included when working the long & short stitches that this technique comprises.

A commission involving a larger design than my usual embroidered lampshade, in the coolie style, which required me to adapt my design to fit the wider and longer dimensions.

An embroidered shawl, worked as part of the Lady's Magazine Stitch Off event, bringing together embroiderers across the world and featured in Chawton House's 'Emma at 200' exhibition celebrating Jane Austen.

Another altar frontal from Croscombe Church in Somerset.  This one required the original gold twist outlines to be reattached around the lettering, as well as reworking previous repairs where the rows of twist had been overlapped.

I was commissioned to design and embroider part of a church banner.  The brief was for three leaping fish on a red background.

The Maltese Dog Club needed a cloth for displaying their trophies which included all the individual names used by the breeders.  I worked the club name in applique with a couched edge, and all the names were worked in satin stitch.

This sampler required gentle cleaning and some minor top darning repair work on a support fabric, before being mounted ready for framing.