York City Walls "Dress to Impress" for the Grand Départ - Banner by Nest of Makers

Who we are

Part of the welcome for the Grand Départ in York will be a series of five-metre long banners hung from the City Walls.  They have been created by residents & community groups as part of a partnership project between City of York Council and the Quilt Museum.  It's called Dress to Impress and is part of the York: Be part of it programme.  

Nest of Makers, a textile group which I belong to, has made a banner for Dress to Impress.  You can see it here.  Although the pictures show different sections you'll get the general idea.

What we do

Within the group we all have different skills and expertise and the banner uses quite a selection.  There's patchwork, quilting, applique, machine embroidery, tucks and textures, constructed fabrics, hand dyed fabrics, fabric flower making, knitting & upcycling.  

Those involved have been Heather Chalkley, Gill Cooper, Bryony Downing, Fiona Hirst (Grace & Jacob), Jo Leigh, Nadine Paver (York School of Sewing), Stefanie Stead & me.

Where we live

We can't wait to see it hanging on the City Walls along with all the other banners. Altogether there will be about 60 banners. The idea is that they should catch the eye of residents, visitors and add to the visual impact of the city when the aerial TV cameras take to the skies on 6 July.  That means that they will be seen by millions of viewers from over 150 countries who are all watching the Tour de France as it leaves York.  Fame at last? 


(By the way in case you were wondering - we don't actually live in Clifford's Tower - that's just meant to represent York) 




All the banners were laid out in the Guildhall today and looked fantastic.  Hop over to the Dress to Impress Facebook page and take a look at them all