Process or Outcome?

THANK YOU for being here.

I launched this project back in March of this year, as part of an online presentation about Mindful Stitching via The Embroiderer's Guild, and also through my 'Untangled Threads' website and social media pages. You can find a copy of the instructions and a general outline of the project on www.untangledthreads.co.uk If you missed the EG presentation, it is still available to watch until 31st March 2027 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/on-demand-workshopmindful-stitchingprocess-or-outcome-helen-birmingham-tickets-1979232422455

I was absolutely thrilled with the response to the launch. Over 400 individuals purchased project kits and offered to help with the stitching. The deadline for return of the stitched sections was 26th September and each contributor received an email confirmation of receipt. THANK YOU AGAIN!

So, now's the time for me to get my finger out, pull together all the ideas that have been churning around in my head, and to make my vision a reality. I'm still very excited by the thought of it, so that's hugely positive (and those of you who know me will know that this is not always the case with my obsessions!) I'm going to write more about the philosophy, research and connections which have gone into the project at a later stage. The wonderful thing about keeping a project blog is that, as well as my private daily scribbling, it offers me the chance to sort and package some of my thoughts (hopefully in a useful and coherent manner!) I hesitate to use the word 'logical' in respect of my thoughts, so I do hope that you'll be able to follow along, and please feel welcome to make comments and observations along the way.

You all returned 2 pieces of stitching to me.

When they arrived, I separated them, randomly, into two separate boxes.

Each box therefore contains one piece from every contributor.

The contents of each box will be used to create one coat.

One will be made up with the 'right side' showing, and one with the 'wrong side' (more on this later).

It is important to me that each coat is 'finished to the same standard', so they will both be lined with the same fabric, and the direction of all seams and facings will be taken into account.

You may remember that the original project brief was to create 'two tailored trench coats', but after trawling through loads of pattern books, I realised that the terms 'tailored' and 'trenchcoat' might actually be something of a contradiction in style, and that the 'informality' of a trenchcoat really wasn't what I had been envisioning, particularly given the structure and formality of the jacket originally stitched by Agnes Richter.

So, I refocussed my search onto 'tailored jackets' and together with thoughts about the potential structure of an asylum straitjacket, I came to this ... Vogue Pattern V9212. The fact that there are several smaller, more distinct pieces to the design will really help with reconstructing the 'stitched sections' into usable pieces of fabric. The collar of the chosen design suggests more similarity to Agnes' jacket than the lapel collar of a trenchcoat would have done. I don't want the finished coats to feel diminutive though. I still want them to have presence and demand attention and authority, so I will make the pattern up to a UK size 22.

The first part of the plan is to reconstruct the stitched sections of fabric to match the pattern pieces. I'll photograph and video myself as I go along, and share my progress with you again next week.

If you have contributed to the stitching, or you are on my database, you will receive an email notification each time I write a new blog update.

Once I'm a bit further into the construction of the two coats I'll start writing in much more depth about the influences, the philosophy behind the work, and how it relates to the other project I am working on which is called 'Jane: masks and shadows'.