Stitch Your Story into the Yorkshire Calico Dress

Everyone is welcome to take part!

The Recovery College is supporting the Yorkshire Calico Dress project, inspired by textile artist Kirstie Macleod’s internationally renowned Red Dress Project.

Communities across Calderdale and Kirklees are being invited to create stitched textile patches celebrating the people, places and stories that make Yorkshire unique. Together, these individual patches will become one beautiful collaborative dress, telling the story of the communities of Yorkshire through stitch.

We’re inviting our college community to get involved by making their own patch and handing it in so we can contribute together to this amazing project. Whether you’re an experienced embroiderer or have never picked up a needle before, everyone is welcome to contribute.

Creating Your Patch

Size

• Create your design within a 10cm x 10cm (4 inch) square.
• Please leave approximately 2cm of plain fabric around the edge to allow your patch to be stitched onto the dress.

Fabric

• Cotton calico is ideal for a base, but any stable woven fabric is suitable (e.g. quilting cotton, linen).

Techniques

You can use:

• Hand embroidery
• Appliqué
• Fabric pens or paints, along with stitch
• Trims, buttons and embellishments

Please ensure any embellishments are very securely attached as the dress may be displayed and toured.

Need Some Inspiration?

Your patch could tell a story about:

• Your family or heritage
• A person or place who inspires you in the community
• Wellbeing or recovery
• Nature or wildlife
• Your culture or identity
• Your community
• A memory, hobby or passion
• What Yorkshire means to you

There is no right or wrong way to create your patch. Every contribution is unique, and every stitch tells a story. The only requirement is that all patches are respectful of others.

Tell Us About Your Piece

When you post or hand in your piece, please include a short note with your patch telling us:

• Your name (or you can leave it anonymous if you prefer)
• Where you live, e.g. Kirklees, Scissett or Calderdale, Ovenden
• The title of your piece
• A few sentences about the story behind your design

Your story is just as important as your stitching and helps bring the Yorkshire Calico Dress to life.

How to Return Your Patch

Please return your completed patch to a Recovery & Wellbeing College facilitator or other staff member when you attend the College, or post it to the following address:

Calderdale & Kirklees Recovery & Wellbeing College
Ravensleigh Resource Unit, 28 Oxford Road, Dewsbury, WF13 4LL

More opportunities to contribute to the Yorkshire Calico Dress will be shared throughout the project.

What story will you stitch into the Yorkshire Calico Dress?