Alongside its project funding, the Trust makes Development of People awards. These smaller grants help individuals build skills, knowledge and experience that benefit the textile sector and the people who work in it. Details of how to apply are on the Apply for funding page.
Seed to cloth: small-scale flax production in South East Cornwall
Award holder: Jade Anderson
Creating a localised, small scale fibre production project in South East Cornwall. The project involved training and workshops in flax growing, processing and spinning, traditional weaving and applying prints using natural dyes. Using the knowledge and skills gained from these workshops, Jade provides free workshops to local primary school pupils. The pupils gain an insight into the history of fibre production in Cornwall and the hands on experience of seeing the full seed to cloth process. Pupils will be able to dye the fibres using naturally foraged seasonal dye materials and print patterns on the textiles using natural print pastes and inks.
See more of the flax project (PDF)
Crafting Anthropology: a public quiltmaking workshop
Award holder: Lydia Donohue
This project combined anthropology and quiltmaking through a creative hands-on sewing workshop entitled “Crafting Anthropology”. Hosted at the University of Edinburgh, participants were taught how to stitch the patchwork technique of English Paper Piecing.
The workshop centred on themes that emerged through my doctoral research into quiltmaking in the North of England including apprenticeship, communities of practice, and the forms of sociality that emerge through shared work. Through making, the session demonstrates how anthropology can be practised as a tactile, relational, and participatory empirical method.
No prior sewing experience was required, but rather the focus of the day was on the conversations and reflections emerged from collectively handling and stitching cloth.
The next stage for this research is in its replicability as a teaching resource that can be brought into further-education settings for students to explore creative methodologies of knowledge production through textiles.
