Woolly Mammoth Stitch Works: Crafting for Wellbeing

 

Over the lockdown, we’ve developed creative ways of passing the time, whether it’s roller-skating, video-gaming, or in my case – a bit of crafting. Sitting down with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook has been the perfect way to create cosy evenings in, and so when I found out about a huge Birmingham craft project, I was keen to find out more.

 Woolly Mammoth Stitch Works CIC is a Birmingham-based social enterprise that aims to use the power of tapestry and wool stitch to promote wellbeing and community spirit. While they normally work in public spaces like cafes and shopping centres, the pandemic meant that their latest endeavour – the Seasonal Stitch Project – was moved online, with craft kits sent to hundreds of local residents. I was lucky enough to speak to Suze and Tina, co-founders of the organisation, to hear more about their brilliant work, and even try out one of the craft kits for myself!

I understand that you're a tapestry maker, Tina, and Suze, you’re a community engagement professional. Can you tell me a bit about how you met and came together to form Woolly Mammoth Stitch Works?

(Suze) “In 2012 I started working in the Jewellery Quarter on heritage regeneration projects. Tina was active as a resident and business owner there and our paths soon crossed regularly at various work events. I moved on to deliver the community engagement programme at Stirchley Baths in 2016 and invited Tina to be the artist on a community project for local residents, to recreate a piece of history in stitch. Before you know it, we had 155 people all stitching pieces in a coordinated way for an artwork which still hangs proudly in the building today.

Back in the Jewellery Quarter a year later, I commissioned Tina to work with me again – this time we set the bar much higher and challenged ourselves to bring together 1,000 people from across the city to stitch a bee for a collaborative tapestry for The Hive. We created an epic tapestry where every bee is unique, just like its stitcher. It was such hard work, but after this second project we knew we had something really special.

About 18 months later we set up our Community Interest Company with a vision and social mission to stitch Birmingham’s communities together through creative fun and a shared purpose to build a connected, content, and colourful city.

Your work is mostly based in Birmingham. Can you tell me more about the different communities that you have worked with?

(Suze) “Our collaborative art projects aim to connect people to places and to each other and we use a needle and wool as a tool to get people working together towards a shared goal. We have done a place-based project in Northfield where residents of all ages were invited to take part within a defined postcode area. The Bee tapestry was part of my outreach strategy at The Hive to connect with the city’s ethnically and culturally diverse communities and I actively invited many different communities to take part across almost every ward in the city. It was a truly inclusive project”.

 What has running the Seasonal Stitch project been like? Have there been any stand-out moments, or challenges along the way?

(Suze) “Our whole delivery model had to change due to Covid and we have not been able to meet with any of our 80 stitchers on this project! Every aspect of delivery is remote, and we have not been able to build up relationships with a lot of people, which is not ideal.

The main aim of the project is to help older residents feel more connected, less isolated and to enhance their wellbeing with creative activity to do safely at home during the pandemic. We sincerely hope everyone is enjoying the project and we are getting some great feedback! 

We always wanted people to engage with us on their own terms. We wrote in our introduction to the project “It’s your woolly wellness! There are no deadlines at all! You can take your time to stitch and write to us (if you want to) at your own pace. This Woolly Wellness project is all about what works best for you.” This remote way of working is really challenging for everyone, but on the upside, we know that some people have been able to get involved, only because it is a kit-based and postal project.”

Craft has become extremely popular during the lockdown period. Why do you think this is the case?

(Tina) “An interest in craft and the authenticity of products has been growing in all generations over the last 10 years, I think that being home has just accelerated a movement that was already there. Concentrating on something gives you a break from the world around you and so taking up new interests – I prefer the word interests to hobbies because it does not have the connotations of someone in their shed with a train set – has given people a sense of escape.  Interestingly it has been an escape that has been very much shared across social media which I find new and exciting”.

Most of your work this year has been online, for example organising live 'stitch-a-longs' and monthly zoom meetings. How have you adapted to virtual crafting, and has this changed the way that you will work in the future?

(Tina) “As most of the projects we delivered were funded for the over 50s we have had to bring many elders “along for the ride” introducing them to the online world.  It has meant that we have been able to reach more people who would never get involved in a community project because they may not be able to travel or just do not like being part of a group. We have run stitch along sessions, but these have been supplemented by zoom calls where we talk about many other things other than the stitch project.  It’s formed a great community feel which we are passionate about.”

University students have been hit pretty hard by the lockdown, and lots of students have struggled with loneliness and feeling disconnected from their degree and course-mates. How do you think craft could be used to help students?

(Tina) I admire the confidence it takes to start at University, it’s a big ask and to have that taken away must have been so very daunting. I really don’t want people to forget these times because some people at University were feeling loneliness and disconnect long before the pandemic began. I’m hoping that it makes us a little more tolerant and mindful of each other.

Craft is often seen as a singular activity but at Woolly Mammoth Stitch Works we are about creating large scale artworks using small contributions from everyone.  We have stitch projects that have included people from 3 to 93 and no one’s work is rejected because it might not look neat.  We value everyone’s contribution!”

What's next for Woolly Mammoth Stitch works? If you were able to plan your dream community project, what would it be?

(Suze) “Well, we would love to do something really large scale to bring people together from across the city to stitch an artwork for the Commonwealth Games 2022. We are working on ideas for this! We’ve also got a couple of grant applications pending decision for some exciting new projects. Let’s just say, one is about sewing and sowing, and the other is about stitching life stories… you’ll have to check in with us about those in a month or two. 

I guess the real dream for us at the moment is to be able to run a project where we can safely sit and stitch with people around a table, having a cuppa, chat and a giggle and create beautiful artworks that fill people with pride and a real sense of achievement. That day will return.”

Review: The Seasonal Stitch Project

I was very kindly sent my very own craft kit, the ‘Summer’ project that has been sent out to around 80 local residents aged 50+. This is part of a series of stitch patterns inspired by each of the four seasons, allowing people to gradually build up their own artwork, which remains a mystery until it is completely finished.

My kit came with several bundles of colourful wool, a handy stitch guide and chart, plastic canvas, needle, and even a packet of tea and biscuits. The design involved a wide range of stitches (including cross stitch and tent stitch), but explained everything in a really clear way. The plastic canvas was also decently sized, so it felt like giant cross-stitch, which made it accessible and easy to get straight into.

My favourite part of this design was the two pineapples, which used cross-stich in shades of yellow and orange to make a beautiful pattern. Using wool meant that the texture was lovely and a lot more striking than embroidery thread.

I completed this design on-and-off over a couple of weeks (with the help of a few podcasts), and was really pleased with the end result. I also had some wool left over, which I used to make some crochet flowers! While the overall design was quite simple, I would say that this seems like the perfect thing for first-time stitchers, and a great way of connecting with others during zoom-call-stitching.

 Woolly Mammoth Stich Works have helped so many people over the lockdown period, and reminded me how important it is to make time for yourself, away from the stresses and pressures of life. You can find out more about their organisation and current stitch projects here.