“Tools of the Trade”: Stitching the Stories of Nurses’ Uniforms (ages 10+)

As part of the Fitzrovia Chapel’s exhibition In Uniform: Stories of Nurses and their Clothing, visitors aged 10 years and over are invited to a two-hour immersive workshop where they will explore the themes of the exhibition to create individual works of art using fabric and thread and contribute to our “dress of medals”.

In this two-hour embroidery workshop, participants will examine nursing “tools of the trade” and have the chance to create and take home their own stitched cloth memory “medal”. Functional tools are central to the nurse’s uniform, as Curator Dr. Jo Horton explains, ‘special attention is paid to the visual and material properties of iconic items such as the chatelaine, the cap, the collar, the belt buckle, the apron and the nurses cape, whether practical, fanciful, or emotionally charged.’ Buy your ticket on Eventbrite. 

But we are more likely to see a stethoscope around a nurse’s neck, or an enamel hospital badge, pinned to their chest, than a medal. This workshop gives you a chance to create your own medal for someone you know or one of the nurses you have heard about in this exhibition. You will also be invited to contribute to our “dress of medals” which will be displayed as part of the exhibition’s handling collection.

As part of an interactive costume display, Nigel has decorated real uniforms with oversized images of these tools to prompt discussion of what duties and activities nurses have to undertake. Taking inspiration from the stories of the real people behind the uniforms, you will have the chance to create contemporary medals using hand embroidery to work into a number of digitally printed fabric patches of images of a ‘tool’ used by nurses. It is an opportunity for anyone to learn some basic embroidery stitches and skills as well as creating a unique decorative object.

There will also be a very special textile artwork momento for you to take away and continue stitching!

This workshop is suitable for anyone over the age of ten able to safely hold a needle in their hands and is designed for everyone from the complete novice who needs help threading a needle to the most experienced of crafts people.

All materials provided.

The fee for the workshop is £10 plus booking fee. If cost is a barrier to your attending, please let us know (freya@fitzroviachapel.org).

The Fitzrovia Chapel is wheelchair accessible. For accessibility needs please contact us (freya@fitzroviachapel.org).

Reserve your space by buying a ticket on Eventbrite.