In this workshop you’ll spend two lovely days of nostalgia, sharing stories and relaxed hand-stitching inspired by memories of sewing, old haberdashery items and school sewing notes.

Ali will share stories behind some of her own cloth collages and then gently lead you through her making process of gathering and playing with materials and then using words, motifs and simple hand stitching to create work that is personal and has story at its heart.

Using an old woollen blanket as a background, you will create a gorgeous ‘Cloth Collage’ from materials old and new. Ali will raid her studio to provide a delicious selection of materials for you to choose from – vintage cottons, old table linens, patchwork quilt pieces, old dressmaking patterns and vintage haberdashery as well as fabric printed with handwritten text from old school sewing notes.

Ali will share her relaxed approach to creating a gorgeously scrappy collage where fabrics are ripped and layered, printed words are highlighted, and personal words are hand stitched. She’ll show you how to add simple stitched motifs – all adding to your ‘sewing’ story. Time is given to every part of the process, from choosing the materials, to laying out your design, slowly & deliberately – this takes so much longer than you think and may even take most of the first day!

You’ll then start the lovely process of slow hand stitching. Don’t worry if you’re not an experienced stitcher, Ali will share her favourite stitches and processes. Suitable for all abilities.