A celebration of machine embroidery in all its forms, drawing on the significant archives of the Faculty of Art and Design at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Machine embroidery is an exciting creative medium and is part of a flourishing industry both in design and production. Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) hosts a specialist embroidery department, which has been instrumental in artistic and educational innovations in this area since the 1960s. The lecturers, graduates and students have remarkable expertise in machine embroidery, and MMU is home to a rich and unique archive of machines, samples and artwork, both historical and contemporary.
This book celebrates that archive, as well as providing the only definitive record of the huge number of machines currently in use from the traditional Irish Embroidery machine to the new generation of computerised sewing machines. The book demonstrates how key machines can be applied to the artistic, industrial and domestic markets, and shows machine embroiderers how to combine techniques and develop their ideas using machine embroidery. Each contributor gives their own individual perspective on machine stitch.
Alice Kettle is Research Associate at MMU, and an established practitioner and artist with recognised status within the field of textile art, especially machine embroidery. Jane McKeating was Embroidery Programme Leader at MMU and is currently the Principal Lecturer. She is a key figure in the embroidery and textiles field, and a major prize winner in the 2008 'Art of the Stitch' International Open Exhibition. Other contributors include: Michael Brennand-Wood, Dr Nigel Hurlestone, Dr Melanie Miller, Judy Barry, Lynn Setterington, Isabel Dibden Wright, Sue Prestbury, Jill Boyes, Ann Gibson, Prof Anne Morrell and Dr Jennifer Harris.