Complex Cloth Scotland

 

I was invited by Gillian Cooper and Sam Townsend to be a guest tutor at their City & Guilds Spring School near Sterling in Scotland. 

I spent 3 days with a group of students from all over the country creating unique pieces of complex cloth before piecing these with the Pojagi stitch technique.

Students had arrived the day before and been set tasks to draw personal objects and take inspiration from their surroundings. 

We took these drawings, identified areas of interest, and made stencils and stamps. I continued to work with the laces from my little shoes.

Working with three different fabrics - cotton - linen - organdie - we used acrylic paints to stamp and stencil onto fabric

Students were asked to restrict their colour palette to three colours

Each fabric had two or three overlaid designs. The plan was to use similar imagery to create a complex cloth with layers of depth.

These stamped and stencilled fabrics were then dyed in three separate dye baths - aagain with a limited colour palette

Washed out and dried overnight

One day two we got out the decolourant and using the same stencils removed some colour from the cloth to add another layer of complexity

Some fabrics were 'saddened' with a tea solution

Gelliplates were used to print onto cotton organdie with acrylic paint with acrylic inks used to add further depth and colour.  Everyone now had a pile of complex cloths ready to stitch.

Time to stitch!

Varying the different fabric weights and colourways the fabrics were joined using the contemporary machine Pojagi piecing technique. 

With the Pojagi technique each seam is stitched twice so that all raw edges are hidden. The seams become an integral part of the design.

The way that the paint lies on the surface of the different fabrics helps to give the feeling of depth

The way that the procion dyes 'strike' different fabrics gives a subtle tonal range to the colour palette

The varying levels of opacity of the different fabics changes the way that light is reflected

The repeated imagery gives a cohesion and as the eye links similar shapes it gives movement to the piece

Here are some of the works in progress at the end of the Spring School.

Everyone had the same teaching and resources but each person created their own unique panel

It was an intense 3 days and we covered a lot of ground but I hope that the students can take some of these techniques and ideas forward into future projects

I asked that when the panels were completed that students might send me images.

This is the finished piece by Susan Reay

Liz Collinson produced this lovely piece

A huge thankyou to the eleven students in the workshop. You all embraced the techniques and the process. 

I wish you all every success with your City & Guilds courses

More images of completed pieces will be most welcome or come and show me at Festival of Quilts where I will be on stand QIA15

Textile Treasures of Rajasthan Holiday

 

I am really looking forward to leading this exciting trip to India with Aahilya Holidays

The Textile Treasures of Rajasthan has a great itinerary with a mix of architectural sites, hands on textile workshops, visits to bazaars and markets, and cultural experiences.

Aahilya organise everything so that the guests can relax and just enjoy it all.

Knowledgeable guides who specialise in textiles. With access to artisan makers and crafts people which would be impossible to find as an independent traveller.

Comfortable air-conditioned coaches with local drivers who get you from door to door

The food is delicious and Aahilya ensure that guests eat at 'safe' restaurants to keep everyone healthy

The hotels are carefully selected and are the highest standard. There is a choice of sharing a twin room or a solo option.

The tour includes lots of workshops learning traditional crafts. I am really looking forward to the puppet making workshop - what a great thing to bring home as a souvenir or your trip!

Rajasthan is famous for blockprinting and we will be taking part in a workshop using traditional pigments and hand carved blocks.

What will you do with your pieces of printed cloth back home? 

Each region of India has their own embroidery style. Stitch is a universal language and a passion shared across nations.

The colours of India are wonderful. In the clothing, the buildings, the artifacts, the spices, and just generally everywhere. It is joyful.

If you would like more information or to book onto the Treasures of Rajasthan holiday please visit  https://www.aahilyaholidays.com/tour/f05c/textile-treasures-of-rajasthan-with-mary-mcintosh-2026

It will be the experience of a lifetime. Please join me. 

 

Creative Stitch Graduate Show 2026 - save the date

 

The end of an era. 2026 will be the final Creative Stitch Graduate Show.

This will be an extra special show and a real celebration of all that Creative Stitch have achieved since SEFWI first started supporting our courses in 2007. I was a student in that first cohort with tutor Annette Morgan and I am proud to have continued her legacy alongside many tutors over the years -   Marion Barnes, Diane Thompson, Kate Thomson and Tina Finbow.

There will be student displays by 10 Advanced Stitched Textile students with some very exciting, innovative and meaningful work on show.

As it is the final show we have invited some of the textile groups formed from past students. There will be exhibitions by

Out of the Fold 

Feed Dogs Down

Textile Connections 

Spotlight Textiles 

Fibre Transformations

There will be lots more information coming out in the run up to the show. But for now please save the date.

Sat 18th and Sun 19th July 2026   10am - 4pm each day

Needham Market Community Centre, School Street, Needham Market IP6 8BB

Entry £5, under 18's free

Wearer Unknown

 

It is two years since I joined E.A.S.T. and we have been working for most of that time towards the 'Paradigm Shift' exhibition.

Reasearch and experientation are at the heart of E.A.S.T.s working practice, looking for ways to make work with real depth and meaning. Alongside regular one-to-one mentoring sessions with the group mentor Anthea Godfrey.

Each new series of work takes a long time to evolve. I have enjoyed all the research, the finding of a story to tell, and the experimentation of new materials and techniques. It has been a struggle at times and lots of things I tried just did not give me the result I wanted. But finally..........

My series is called 'Wearer Unknown' as despite my best efforts I was unable to discover the owner or wearer of the little clogs found in my mother's house.

My research led me to the Concealed Shoe index held by Northampton Shoe Museum where each shoe, discovered in the walls or chimneys of old buildings, has been recorded. 

The index lists the place, the location, the finder, the date and the shoe description but never the wearer

I have been free to imagine the wearers of my own little shoes and of those concealed shoes.

Plaster casts from my original clogs can help tell the stories

Shoes have been hidden for hundreds of years. 

Some are in a very poor state

Shoes feel very human, taking on the shape of the (unknown) wearer which can still be seen.

To help tell the story of  concealed shoes and their imagined wearer the plaster casts will walk on a path made from mixed media, recycled and rusted hexagons

The CSI. index number gives the location of each concealed shoe find.

Each hexagon relates to a concealed shoe entry using maps for the location, related text, and imagined fabrics for the wearers.

All are aged and distressed to suggest the many years the shoes spent in chimneys, roof spaces, under floorboards and in walls. 

You will be able to see the whole 'Unknown Wearer' installation including the supporting research notes and design work, at the E.A.S.T. exhibition.

Grundisburgh House Gallery

Woodbridge Road

Grundisburgh

Suffolk

IP13 6UD

20th May - 2nd June 2026

10.30 - 4.30 each day

FREE entry

Workshop result

 

I love it when a workshop student shows me images of their completed pieces. Jane Starnes has taken it to a new level! 

Jane came on a one day 'Monoprint Magic' workshop at the Cosy Cabin last summer and has used the techniques from that day to make a beautiful large panel in delightful pale shades. It is really lovely.

If you would like to try the 'Monoprint Magic' workshop there is another one day workshop running on Saturday 6th June 2026

We will gather natural foliage and use this to monoprint with a gelliplate or similar to create lots of unique fabric before spending the afternoon making these up into a semi-transparent panel.

Wide choice of colourways - go pale and pastel like Jane or hot and vibrant like the piece I did last year (see left). The size can be adapted to fit your planned space. Simple machine stitching.

All materials provided for £15. You will need to bring a gellipate and roller and a sewing machine. Workshop cost: £55 

The Cosy Cabin, Risby Barns, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6QU

To book please contact The Cosy Cabin on 01284 811 222

New workshops at The Cosy Cabin

 

New workshop for 2026 Lutradur Lantern

Using a spunbond fabric we will stitch, colour, foil and burn to create a delicate filigree design before making up into a glass candle holder. Straight stitch, progammed stitches or free motion options. Choice of colour ways. Machine stitching. Suitable for all levels.

Date: Sunday 19th April  2026 10am - 4pm

Venue: The Cosy Cabin, Risby Barns, Risby, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6QU

Cost: £55 plus £6 for materials

To book please contact The Cosy Cabin  01284 811 222 or visit www.thecosycabin.co.uk/

New workshop for 2026 Handmade Fabric Book

Learn the skills of basic bookbinding to make an unique A5 sketchbook from scratch. We will print the fabric for the cover and paper for the endpapers before making up the the book. Suitable for all levels

All materials provided for £10. Choice of colourways.

Date: Saturday 2nd May 2026  10am - 4pm

Cost: £55

Monoprint Magic will return on Saturday 6th June 2026

Using gathered foliage to print onto fabric with paints and inks before making up into a panel with the contemporary machine stitch Pojagi piecing technique.

The outcome will be a semi-transparent hanging to be dispayed in a window or against a pale wall. Can be adapted to fit your space. Machine stitching. Suitable for all levels.

All materials provided for £15

Date: Sat 6th June 2026  10am - 4pm

Cost: £55

New workshop for 2026  Eco printed silk scarf

Learn the skills of mordanting and eco printing onto a 100% pure silk scarf using gathered fresh leaves. 

I will provide all the equipment needed - pans, stoves, drainpipes, iron water etc. A 100% ponge 5 silk scarf 28cm x 114cm with a hand stitched rolled edge from George Weil can be supplied for £6 if ordered in advance.

Date: Saturday 4th July 2026   10am - 4pm

Cost: £55

To book please contact The Cosy Cabin  01284 811 222 or visit www.thecosycabin.co.uk/

Workshops at Sew and So's

 

I enjoy teaching at Sew and So's near Bungay with a lovely light teaching space and a wonderfully stocked shop fully of textile goodies.

Thread Bowls is running as a one day workshop there on Sunday 29th March 2026

10am - 3.pm

We will use soluble film with sheer and glitzy fabric and LOTS off thread to stitch a delicate, yet surprisingly strong, thread bowl.  A good one to try free motion machine embroidery without too much stress. 

To book go to  www.sewsos.co.uk/courses/thread-bowls-with-mary-mcintosh

Then on Wednesday 8th April there is a Shrivel Up and  Dye one day workshop where we will create a highly textured panel using a shrinkable wool base and lots of lovely silks, satins, cottons, linen and lace fabrics.

Learn about procion dyes when we dye our piece at the end of the day ready to take home to wash (and shrink)

sewsos.co.uk/shrivel-up-and-dye-with-mary-mcintosh

Workshops at £45 for the day. Plus materials.