Making of the Great Tapestry of Scotland - at New Lanark

New Lanark has announced the return of the Great Tapestry of Scotland with a brand new exhibition, which opens on 18 May 2018.

The new ‘making of’ exhibition, curated internally by New Lanark’s Exhibitions Officer Evelyn Whitelaw, will allow visitors to discover the story of the tapestry’s creation through original sketches, photography, memorabilia and memories from those closest to the project. 

For the first time ever, panels from The Great Tapestry of Scotland’will be exhibited alongside insights from Dorie Wilkie, Lead Stitcher and her team of 1000+ stitchers who worked on the project across Scotland. The exhibition will also include original sketches and personal works by Andrew Crummy, the man behind the tapestry’s beautiful illustrative designs depicting key moments in Scotland’s history.

The Great Tapestry of Scotland

The Great Tapestry of Scotland was the brainchild of one of the world’s best-loved writers, Alexander McCall Smith. The 44 Scotland Street author, together with historian Alistair Moffat, and with the artistic talents of Andrew Crummy, (not to mention more than 1,000 stitchers from all areas of Scotland) formed a team set to produce the world’s longest tapestries through one of the biggest community arts projects ever to take place in Scotland.

Taking 65,000 hours of stitching and using over 300 miles of wool (enough to lay the entire length of Scotland), illustrating 420 million years of Scottish history in 160 panels, the tapestry depicts the entire history of Scotland.

New Lanark World Heritage Site, Lanark ML11 9DB; tel: 01555 661345; website.