Stitch-School comes to Blackburn! Previous collaborators include V&A Dundee, Alexander McQueen and TRImarchi – the biggest design gathering in Latin America. And now, for the first time, Stitch-School is collaborating with communities in Blackburn, the National Festival of Making and local artist Sana Maulvi.

During the festival weekend, take a seat at the stitch table and add to the ever growing piece. No knowledge of embroidery is required – learn and explore the wealth of stitches, make your mark on the large embroidery cloth and enjoy the benefits of stitching together.

In the lead up to the festival, the stitch table will travel to some of Blackburn’s brilliant networks and community groups, supported by artist Sana Maulvi. With design influenced by Community Harmony Project, a group that supports migrant, asylum and refugee communities, the common thread that runs throughout the design is ‘Our Home’ – the theme of this year’s Refugee Week. The cloth aims to build a new narrative, embed and share skills for a positive impact to the community of Blackburn.

Location: The Make Space, The Mall – Opposite Natwest

Stitch-School was co-founded in 2017 by Melanie Bowles with the aim to provide professional and inspirational guidance to reconnect to the benefits of embroidery through educational embroidery kits, workshops and community events around the large communal stitch table. The community events provide a space for people to sit down, slow down and feed their creativity through stitching. Participants explore the wealth of embroidery stitches, learn together, share knowledge and create new narratives around the table. Stitch-School collaborations include: V&A Dundee, Alexander McQueen, Marie Curie, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Trimarchi – Argentina, Brixton X Harlem festival, Peckham Festival, The Good Life Festival, The Stitch Festival, London Craft Week and Hemingway Design.