Back to the Beginning ...

We began discussing The Butterfly Effect project back in September 2023.

The design was finalised in February 2024 and the project was launched on 18th March 2024.

This is our most ambitious project to date. It will involve not only members of The Stitchbook Collective, but also hundreds of our supporters across the UK. We are hoping to raise awareness and much needed funds for the mental health charity MIND. A provisional date of November 2025 has been set for exhibition of the final installation.

The Stitchbook, our monthly magazine/workshop has members' pages and articles on the work of featured artists, techniques and research suggestions. This is where we began to formulate our ideas about this collaborative project and fundraiser. As a group, we had already successfully completed several major projects (see www.untangledthreads.co.uk for more information about our previous group pieces.

Over a few months we discussed and developed our ideas, and began to 'sample' some of the techniques we might use for The Butterfly Effect Project.

Inspiration for this project was taken from the work and philosophy of Austrian architect, painter and ecological activist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. My own art practice is also influenced by an interest in heredity and DNA and an over- arching fascination with Charles Darwin's notion of 'The Entangled Bank' from his seminal book, The Origin of Species.

I was keen for the project to contain elements taken from our previous collaborations and workshops, as well as incorporating original ideas about a contemporary approach to art textiles. We very quickly agreed that the title of the piece would be, ‘The Butterfly Effect’. With its many and varied connotations, this also perfectly reflects the beliefs and aims of our group: We all have the power to make a lasting impact on those around us.

It was felt that the theme would offer enough individual elements for everyone to be able to make a significant contribution. The design was influenced by the wide variety of techniques covered in our monthly workshops and by the work of artists in our featured artist section. Influences include, but are in no way restricted to: Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Kayla Kennington, The Red Dress Project, ‘Circle of Life’ project by Jolande Van Luijk and also the vibrant work of Michelle Mischkulnig and Salley Mavor. The main technique which will be used for this project is needle-felting onto and through layered sheer fabrics with the addition of slow stitching and couching.

The bodice, headdress and veil will be covered with folded fabric butterflies, wired to give the impression of movement. The skirt will be made from the member’s squares and slow stitched godet panels. The skirt will flow into the Entangled Bank, made from tubes, trellis and needle-felted mossy textures. This will be teaming with representations of flora and fauna. The Entangled Bank will be emerging from an area which represents a desolate wasteland, devoid of colour and life.

In my next BLOG post, I will show you how the 'Members Squares' were constructed and also some examples of the wonderful elements for The Entangled Bank section of the installation.

The Fundraising kits for Butterfly and Flower brooches are available to non-members on the website www.untangledthreads.co.uk