Eppie Thompson of The Fabled Thread designs tapestry and embroidery kits with storytelling at their core. Their tapestry kits enable you to create big, bold and beautiful cushions or joyful Christmas stockings inspired by the Just So stories by Rudyard Kipling.

The luxury tapestry kits combine high-quality materials and beautiful colour combinations, resulting in an heirloom piece to be enjoyed for years to come.

Self-confessed interiors obsessive Eppie Thompson first began playing around with a needle and thread while working in finance in London. The meditative process became an essential wellbeing tool, the perfect antidote to the stress of her day-to-day. She started The Fabled Thread to provide a contemporary twist on traditional needlepoint, with an aim to inspire others to take up sewing too!

Mindful Threads Company creates contemporary, positive affirmation needlepoint kits. Each unique design centres on a positive affirmation, that encourages mindfulness both through the art of sewing and after completion of the design.

Positive affirmations are quite simply, positive phrases or statements that you repeat to yourself in order to promote positive change. They help change old, unhelpful beliefs and negative thinking, and can provide many benefits including motivation, hope, increased self-confidence and greater-worth. Mindful Threads Company was started in November 2020, during the pandemic, as a way to support mental health during this difficult time.

Each design is colour-printed on Zweigart 12hpi canvas, making the kits perfect for beginners as well as those more experienced. Each kits contains plenty of Appletons Wool to complete the design, two needles, a reusable cotton canvas bag to keep all of your kit in one place, as well as easy-to-follow instructions. There are also videos available over on the Mindful Threads Company YouTube channel for further help and advice.

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/MindfulThreadsStore

Hannah creates urban, contemporary needlepoint kits of city maps from around the globe which can be used for cushions or framed and are perfect for beginners as well as experienced stitchers.

Hannah has rediscovered the old fashioned principle of making something herself that is high quality, hand crafted and to be loved for many years. She took a leap of faith a year ago, after 10 years as an interior designer, to pursue her dream of supporting the ‘handmade’ movement. She wanted to design something to stitch that she could proudly show off in her own home.

Her 40 x 40cm graphic style designs, with blocks of colour are perfect for beginners & experienced stitchers alike. Having the design printed on to the canvas helps take any strain away. Kits contain plenty of Appleton’s tapestry wool, Zweigart 12hpi quality colour printed canvas, 3 tapestry needles & full colour illustration of the design with easy to follow stitch instructions.

Website: www.hannahbass.com

Emily is a British needlework designer who works mainly in wool and canvas. Her kits are sold through her website emilypeacock.com, in Liberty of London and in small independent shops around the world. Emily has worked with Fine Cell Work, Rob Ryan and appeared on C4’s cult TV series ‘Kirstie’s Homemade Home’. She has run workshops at the V&A, Charleston House, National Trust and various locations around the UK. Her first book, ‘Adventures in Needlework’, was written in collaboration with Jessica Aldred and published in 2011

Website: emilypeacock.com

Beth Russell first developed her eye for matching colours to wool whilst working at the Royal School of Needlework in London. She formed Designers Forum (now over 20 years ago) and has built an international reputation for her interpretations of William Morris designs. Beth’s adaptations differ from the Morris originals in that they are to be stitched in needlepoint, whereas Morris’ were meant for a myriad of different purposes – wallpapers, fabrics, embroidery, tapestry, tiles and book decoration. However, in every other way she tries to be essentially true to the great man. The designs are first sketched or painted and then each part is worked many times on canvas before the final shapes and colours are decided. Beth hopes that her needlepoint kits and books might provide a means by which people can exercise their talents and find the contentment that Morris preached is the right of each and every one of us.

Website: www.bethrussellneedlepoint.com

Based in the English Lake District, designer, tutor, and owner of ‘The Crewel Work Company’, Phillipa Turnbull is a British crewel work specialist.

Phillipa’s crewel work combines the designs, colours, stitches, materials and techniques from historic British crewel work. Only the finest materials make up her kits and she goes to great lengths so ensure that the quality of her materials faithfully replicates that seen in the best crewel work pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries: ‘Z’ twist linen twill is woven exclusively for Phillipa’s kits from flax grown in the Scottish highlands far enough away from pollution to produce the natural ‘oatmeal and honey’ colour, providing the perfect medium for Phillipa’s gold-plated crewel needles, which glide effortlessly through the linen, preserving both the material and wool and producing a satisfying ‘popping’ sound as the eye draws the thick wool through. Finally Appleton’s wool rounds off the experience. Only Appleton’s wools can provide the quality of thread to withstand multiple stitches through the heavy linen and the richness of colour to create the truest representation of the historic pieces that inspire Phillipa’s designs. All this combines to ensure that the final piece will become an heirloom itself in generations to come.

Phillipa’s kits can be purchased through her website below, where you can also find information about her luxury embroidery retreats in castles and country houses in the UK.

Website: www.crewelwork.com

Diana Fernsby is the owner of Fernsby Hall Tapestry Kits, which use the designs of painter Catriona Hall (www.catabox.co.uk) to create charming, quirky images of portly creatures including hares, lurchers and unicorns. Diana has been a stitcher all her life and has known Catriona since she was a child; the two of them have created a wonderful range of kits which use an earthy palette ranging through strong terracottas, browns, rusts, greys, yellows, greens and blues. Diana offers lessons in stitching the kits and colours can be altered to customers specifications.

Website: www.fernsbeyhall.com

The Flanders Tapestry Collection was founded in 2014 by Johan Verbruggen. Originally from Belgium, Johan is from a family of textile, lace and embroidery manufacturers.

The origin of The Flanders Tapestry Collection can be traced back to 1876 when Johan’s great-great-grandparents founded their lacemaking business in a small city called Lier, near Antwerp, Belgium. Their company ran for three generations, but it was under the management of Johan’s grandparents, Maria Nevelstein and Jozef De Backer that the business flourished and expanded dramatically offering employment to over 250 crafts men. They specialized in a variety of artisanal needlepoint techniques in particular a fine and delicate type of silk tulle hand-embroidered lace and petit-point.

In his youth Johan often spent time at his grandparent’s house. Surrounded by wonderful textiles, beautifully designed beaded items and intricate embroidery, his fascination and love for this craft grew. The company closed down in 1982 after more than 100 years of trading.

Johan moved to London in 1993 and started his career with Liberty of London. As buyer for Haberdashery, Needlecraft and the world famous Dress Fabrics Department, he found himself in very familiar territory and started developing his knowledge and design skills.

In 2003 Johan moved to become a buyer and product developer for The Royal Collection Trust. He created numerous successful product ranges for the gift shops in Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Johan now lives in the South of France near the historic city of Uzes where he dedicates his time to creating stylish tapestry projects. He often uses different shades in a single stitch to create the subtle and detailed colour variations seen in flowers. Using surprising and unusual background colours to enhance his designs, The Flanders Tapestry Collection produces pieces to suit every interior.

Website: www.flanderstapestrycollection.com