3 Sept 2024

Stitched puts spotlight on 200 years of textiles

Written by Sarah Cuthbert-Kerr

A woman sits at a table and clasps her hands. Laid out in front of her is a cream embroidered panel, with pink Glasgow-style roses and other geometric shapes on it.

Stitched exhibition curator Emma Inglis with a recently conserved linen bedcover created for the Hill House, which will be on display at Dovecot Studios in October 2024 | Image: Phil Wilkinson / Dovecot Studios

An exhibition shining a light on the often-overlooked art of embroidery runs in Edinburgh from 25 October 2024 until 18 January 2025.

Taking place at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, Stitched features more than 80 textile pieces from the National Trust for Scotland’s collections around the country. Many have never been on public display before. For the first time, the exhibition brings together pieces of embroidery – large and small, intricate and practical – into one space. It puts the spotlight firmly on the skills and creativity of the women and girls who worked behind the scenes to create these pieces of art over a 200-year period.

National Trust for Scotland curator Emma Inglis chose the items for the exhibition from our conservation charity’s extensive textile collection. Emma said: ‘By bringing all these pieces together for the first time in a dedicated exhibition, we hope to shine a light on these beautiful pieces and bring them to an audience who will appreciate them as the artworks they are. We hope, too, to highlight the talent, creativity and skill of the women and girls who made these unique pieces over two centuries.’

Quote

“Embroidery is often considered the Cinderella of the art world – these are beautiful items which, because they are usually found in domestic settings, have tended to be overlooked.”

Emma Inglis

Exhibition curator, National Trust for Scotland

The exhibition includes items from Newhailes in Musselburgh, Drum Castle and Haddo House in Aberdeenshire, House of the Binns in Linlithgow, the Hill House in Helensburgh and Weaver’s Cottage in Kilbarchan. The range of items on show reflects the variety of women who created them – from the luxurious bedcover from Kellie Castle made by the talented Lorimer family, to smaller items like the pin cushion created by a crofter’s daughter May Sandison. May went on to sew pieces for Lady Aberdeen at Haddo House and ran a needlework school for her there.

An ornate armchair with embroidered floral and green-striped cushion covers stands in a library, backed by bookshelves.

An ornate gold-framed fire screen with a white central panel featuring colourful embroidery of parrots and floral motifs.

A bedroom features a four-poster bed with red curtains and an elaborately embroidered bedcover and valance. Gold-coloured walls in the background feature a large tapestry, with a bench placed underneath against the wall.

Emma continued: ‘For many of these pieces, it is the first time they have ever been displayed. After years of being stored in cupboards and drawers, each piece has received a great deal of attention. It has been carefully researched; its story has been uncovered along with that of its creator; and any conservation work that was needed has been undertaken too. All the pieces are now looking their best and are ready to shine, getting the attention that artwork of this calibre deserves.’

Dovecot Studios is a world-renowned tapestry studio in the heart of Edinburgh and a landmark centre for contemporary art, craft and design. Established in 1912, Dovecot continues a century-long heritage of collaboration with international artists to make exceptional handwoven tapestries and gun-tufted rugs. In addition to the tapestry studio, Dovecot offers a dynamic programme of art, craft and design exhibitions and events, all aimed at supporting the work of Dovecot Studios and preserving the art of tapestry in Scotland.

Celia Joicey, Dovecot Studios Director, said: ‘As the UK’s longest running tapestry studio, Dovecot is delighted to be showcasing the National Trust for Scotland’s remarkable collection of domestic textiles, shown together for the first time in Edinburgh. We celebrate the rich heritage of textile art in Scotland and its continued relevance today by providing an inspiring context in which to see Dovecot’s 21st-century artistic tapestries and rugs being made.’

A large embroidered sheet is laid out flat on a table, with two women at either side inspecting it in a studio.

Two women work on an embroidered sheet laid out flat across a large table. The sheet features geometric-style floral motifs. There is a fireplace and yellow walls in the background.

A lady with short hair, wearing a grey jumper and scarf, carries out needlework on an embroidered piece of fabric at a table.

Stitched: Scotland’s Embroidered Art explores 200 years of the domestic interior in Scotland, examining the art and design of embroidery from the National Trust for Scotland’s extraordinary collection of textiles, taken from properties all over Scotland. The exhibition runs at Dovecot Studios, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh from 25 October 2024–15 January 2025.

National Trust for Scotland members receive a 50% discount on standard entry prices.

Stitched exhibition visitors will receive a 20% discount on standard entry prices for one visit to one of the following National Trust for Scotland’s properties: