News Archive

10 Great Christmas Gifts For Under A Fiver
With Christmas coming The Textile Directory has put together our wish list for santa, with 10 fabulous books available on our bookstore. And the great thing is every one of these books cost less than £5 – so they won’t break the bank either!Click here for more information.

Innovative new machine brings sewing into the 21st century
Shad Sew have recently launched an innovative wireless device that is guaranteed to make the lives of every sewer much easier.Click here for more information.

A chance to have your children's event featured in the Guardian newspaper
Abigail Flanagan at the Guardian is currently compiling a “Make the most of the Christmas school holidays feature” for the Guardian’s Families section. She is searching for 35 interesting, unusual and fun crafty events around the UK that children can attend in the Christmas holidays.Click here for more information.

Charlotte Liddle - An artists journey to success
In 2005 Charlotte Liddle graduated from her Textile Crafts course at the University of Huddersfield. Just three years later she is an established freelance designer selling embroidered and highly embellished fabric and paper designs for children's clothing and bedding. Click here for more information.

Beat the credit crunch: Get Christmas sewn up with The Textile Directory
With Christmas coming and most people feeling the need to tighten their purse strings, The Textile Directory has a guide to making your own presents to give your friends and family something unique this year. Whether you want a gift for your husband, brother, sister, parents, children, nephews, nieces or best friend, The Textile Directory has it all here for you. Click here for more information.

Christmas Gift Guide
The Daily Post Wales newspaper is appealing for artists and designers to send them information about products made in North Wales for a Christmas gift guide.Click here for more information.

The Textile Directory to stage Christmas Gift Exhibition
The Textile Directory will be holding our first selling exhibition this Christmas. It will feature a range of fantastic gift ideas, including bags, purses, scarves, handbag mirrors, jewellery, pictures, cushions and much more.Click here for more information.

The world's first Jelly Roll Quilt Challenge
This is a unique and exciting competition that challenges quilters all over the world to unroll their delicious Jelly Rolls and come up with the most creative quilt design they can, using just one roll.Click here for more information.

Julia Caprara
It is with great sadness that The Textile Directory has learnt of the death of Opus School of Textiles principal Julia Caprara on 24 October. Julia was an encouraging teacher and a popular artist who has inspired great work in many of her students.Click here for more information.

Spellbinding Textiles Competition Closes
The Textile Directory’s Spellbinding Textiles Competition has now closed and the entries will be judged on 25 November. Click here for more information.

Beat the Credit Crunch: Make Your Own Clothes and Accessories
With fashion figures such as Gok Wan encouraging everyone to customise their clothes and make the most of their fashion buys, coupled with the credit crunch limiting the amount of money most people have to spend, the nation has become much more aware of fashion and how to achieve an individual look without having to break the bank.Click here for more information.

New textiles and dress gallery being created at The Bowes Museum
A state of the art new Textiles and Dress Gallery is to be created at The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle. Using the latest display ideas the new gallery is truly innovative in design – the aim being to present both textiles and costume in an exciting way that can be enjoyed by the general visitor and specialists alike. Click here for more information.

The Field of Fibre - a mystery unravelled
Have you ever given any thought to the field of fibre? Pieces appear in museum collections, we look at them and some may even provoke a reaction. However, do we really ever think about why certain pieces are selected for us to see?Click here for more information.

A guide to textile courses available in the UK
As textile arts grow in popularity across the UK, there are increasing numbers of courses available for enthusiasts to choose from, including embroidery, tapestry and other forms of stitching, fashion, quilting, knitting, garment making and tailoring, through to mixed media textile art.Click here for more information.

Great news for interior designers
The Textile Directory has just heard some great news for interior designers and home-sewers as Colly Brook Fine Furnishings has announced they have become a distributor for M’Fay window treatment patterns.Click here for more information.

New scholarship for weavers announced
The Incorporation of Weavers Trades House Glasgow have this week announced a new scholarship specifically for weavers. Click here for more information.

Fight the Credit Crunch with Creativity
It’s official – craft is cool. The current resurgence in the popularity of craft has seen people falling over themselves to knit, crochet, felt and sew.Click here for more information.

Even the Queen can't escape the credit crunch
The Hello Magazine website is reporting that even the Queen has been affected by the money worries that the rest of us are suffering from...Click here for more information.

New tapestries for sale
A sale of Egyptian tapestries is coming to London next month to help raise money for the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre.Click here for more information.

Narrative textiles and wallpaper with Katherine Howlett
Katherine Howlett is a textile artist who specialises in producing narrative designs for interiors. We spoke to her to hear more about her fascinating work...Click here for more information.

Texere Yarns plays part in new Hollywood blockbuster
A former Victorian chapel in the heart of Bradford’s old merchants’ quarter has developed close links with the glitter of the movies and the West End stage.Click here for more information.

Let textile artist Elinor Kapp tell you a story…
Textile artist introduces a new textile talk to groups and guilds...Click here for more information.

Promote your work for free with The Textile Directory
Create your own blog on The Textile Directory siteClick here for more information.

Autumn Reading Ideas
With Autumn now upon us there is nothing better than sitting in front of the fire drinking hot chocolate and working on our favourite craft projects. Click here for more information.

Spellbinding Textiles Competition - 1 month left
The Textile Directory's Spellbinding Textiles is closing on 31 October 2008Click here for more information.

Wool-N-Dance
Click here for more information.

Jean Muir: A Fashion Icon - Exhibition
Jean Muir was known for her unique approach to couture fashion, marrying together the high standards of workmanship of couture fashion with a more accessible, refined, ready-to-wear style.Click here for more information.

Credit Crunching Fashion
Autumn/Winter 2008/09 is set to be dominated by plaid, tartan and lace fabrics, a return to grown-up dressing, with ultra modern materials mixed with something softer and colours of faded gold, vibrant russets, chic neutrals, deep blues and purples.Click here for more information.

I knit 2008
I Knit 2008 promises to be “a great big yarny party for knitters, crocheters and crafty folk of all persuasions”.Click here for more information.

The Eastern Region Textile Forum - an update
Some of you may remember an article in our January newsletter, which featured a new textile forum working in the east of England.Click here for more information.

Craftspace and VSM shortlisted for Arts & Business National Award
Some of our readers may remember an article in our newsletter from March this year about the partnership between Craftspace and VSM and their inspirational workshops held at The Project Group in Oswestry.Click here for more information.

Exciting news from The Textile Directory
The Textile Directory Bookstore has had an exciting revamp! Click here for more information.

The Festival of Quilts - a review
The Festival of Quilts is one of the most eagerly anticipated events on all quilt makers calendars, and I was lucky enough to have a trip over to Birmingham NEC yesterday to have a look around.Click here for more information.

Sumptuosity
Sumptuosity produce small gift items including brooches, bookmarks, notebooks, handbag mirrors and silk lavender bags from their studios in York.Click here for more information.

Cashing in on Creativity
Two Scottish entrepreneurs, Judy Clark and Alison Macleod, have received thousands of pounds worth of funding after successfully completing the final stage of the national innovation programme, Starter for 6.Click here for more information.

Graduates enter into the world of textiles
The TEXPRINT First View Exhibition is one of the industry’s best kept secrets: it celebrates and mentors the best new graduate talent in textiles in the UKClick here for more information.

Studios for rent
Applications are now being welcomed from artists and craft makers who wish to rent a studio at Farfield Mill Arts & Heritage Centre near Sedbergh.Click here for more information.

Two top textile artists to showcase their talents
Silk painter, Joanne Eddon and felt maker, Sheila Smith are having a joint show of collaborative work called Floral Felts.Click here for more information.

Murder at The Embroiderers Guild
The Marlborough and District Embroiderers’ Guild were looking for something a bit different for their Christmas party – and that they found in the form of a tailor-made murder mystery party!Click here for more information.

Model Living Exhibition
A fascinating new exhibition will be displayed at this year’s Autumn Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in London.Click here for more information.

Great Haul of China
Great Haul of China is arguably the UK’s most prolific specialist retailer of vintage and modern Chinese style.Click here for more information.