Museum Talk: Speculating about Stitches, a Tale of Reconstruction

Join us for a museum talk with Hannah Marples, Historic Costumer and Museum Coordinator, to learn how she skilfully reconstructed a section of embroidery from a 17th century wallet.

The beautifully embroidered wallet from 1699 will be displayed in our museum from 1 October, alongside Hannah’s speculative reconstruction.

Hannah will reveal how she analysed the 17th century wallet through a process of ‘slow looking’, delving into the structure and stitches used. You will learn about her experiments, early samples and finished reconstruction in this talk, perfect for the embroiderers amongst you.

Hannah’s passions lie within historical costume, embroideries, and tech. She has made historical costumes for film, TV and museums which include The National Civil War Museum and Leeds Royal Armouries. She has appeared in the BBC4 television series A Stitch in Time and is currently undertaking an MRes in Ornate Hands: A Study of Early 17th Century Embroidered Gloves, Gauntlets and Mittens.

Hannah undertakes costume commissions, digitizes patterns for The Tudor Tailor books (The Typical Tudor and The King’s Servants), and also sells her printed fabrics and historically inspired textiles and embroideries on Etsy.

She is a Museum Coordinator at the Harley Foundation and has been a tour guide on the Welbeck Abbey State Room Tours.

Meet for this talk in the Harley Museum.

Host or Publisher The Harley Foundation