Today I received a wonderful letter from Susan North, V&A Curator of Fashion before 1800, confirming my coif has been assigned the accession number T.93-2024.
I’m beyond happy to know that the coif is now formally part of a Permanent Collection the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
I’m pleased to announce that my hand stitched coif – created for The Unstitched Coif project – is now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum Collections. So far 78 of the coifs have been documented and images will follow later in 2025.
Catherine Hill Coif – Victoria and Albert Museum Collections
The project is a collaboration between the V&A and curator Toni Buckby a PhD student.
Unstitched Coif Project
The project is based on an original 17th century coif in the V&A archives in London. This coif was partially stitched and then unpicked, but the pattern is still clearly visible consisting of hand drawn flowers and whimsical bugs.
Around 130 needleworkers from across the world took part in the project.
To see more about the story behind this artwork, please followthis link.
I’m pleased to announce that a wonderful artist Interview with Aurifil threads has been published. The interview is part of Auribuzz and features a conversation about my involvement in the Unstitched Coif project curated by Toni Buckby.
The full interview is available to view by following this link.
Artist Interview with Aurifil Threads
Embroidery is such a timeless craft that intricately weaves stories of tradition and innovation. Today we are thrilled to share Catherine Hill’s remarkable journey with the Unstitched Coif Project. Catherine’s background is steeped in creativity, from her childhood fascination with stitching to her award-winning textile artwork. However, it was her involvement in the Coif Project, spearheaded by Toni Buckby, that truly ignited her passion for historical embroidery.
We had the opportunity to connect with Catherine and delve into her rich background in textile art, as well as her significant role in the Coif Project. We’re excited to share her insights and experiences with you, and we hope you find her story as captivating as we did.
Auribuzz
Extract – Artist Interview with Aurifil Threads
The coif panel was hand stitched in a rainbow of 12 weight Aurifil cotton threads.
A coloured bar of threads was stitched to the panel and a small hank of threads was also attached to the panel with a safety pin.