Exhibition of embroidered post cards welcoming the athletes of the world to London

To welcome the athletes from around the world the Embroiderers’ Guild has produced a spectacular tribute in stitch by creating nearly 3000 embroidered postcard sized images depicting the life and times of over two hundred sporting nations. ‘Stitching a Welcome to Athletes of the World’ will be open to members of the public at the Gallery in the Crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields from 2nd August – 22nd September 2012. Opening times are 10am – 5pm Monday to Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sundays. 10 local Embroiderers’ Guild branches in the Greater London Area took part. South East England Regional Chairman, Jackie Rayer said “This has been a fun project but it also had its serious side.

First, we had to do our research about our allotted country. Some branches also had help from their country’s embassy. Working individually and in teams members went on to create a series of hand or machine stitched, postcard-sized images that featured the culture, environment and people of the country”.

Each country is represented by a series of postcards opening out like a concertina book. From the national flag at the top there is a cascade of embroidered images of national costume, customs, currency, fauna, flora, food, and landmarks. The skills and creativity of the Embroiderers’ Guild members shine through with the wide variety of materials and techniques used to develop their design ideas. Cards were stitched by members with various levels of stitching experience. Others
were created by our Young Embroiderers.

The Embroiderers’ Guild is an educational charity promoting the art of embroidery and related crafts, encouraging and nurturing the talents of all stitchers from beginners or professionals. It has 10,000 members in the UK and overseas with many belonging to the 195 branches throughout the UK. There is also a network of Young Embroiderers Groups for young members aged 5 – 18 years.

The Embroiderers’ Guild has a museum collection of historical and contemporary textiles and a reference library of rare books on embroidery, publishes two embroidery magazines, organises foreign tours of textile interest and runs workshops throughout the country including City and Guilds courses. The Embroiderers’ Guild has enjoyed Royal Patronage since 1924, presently that of
HRH The Duchess of Gloucester GCVO.