Great Tapestry of Scotland

The Great Tapestry of Scotland is currently the world's longest embroidered tapestry, 143 metres (469 ft) long (the Keiskamma tapestry in South Africa is 120 metres (390 ft) long;[1] the Bayeux Tapestry is nearly 70 metres (230 ft) long).[2] It was designed by Andrew Crummy, son of Helen Crummy) and also the designer of the Prestonpans Tapestry and the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry, implementing an idea of Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith for a grand tapestry to depict episodes from 12,000 years of the history of Scotland.

The 160 embroidered panels of the tapestry include depictions of the end of the most recent Ice Age in 8,500 BC, the circumnavigation by Pytheas in c.320BC, Viking invasions in the 9th century, Duns Scotus in c.1300, the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Black Death in the 1350s, the foundation of St Andrews University in 1413, the Battle of Flodden in 1513, Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century, the publication of the King James Bible in 1611, the Act of Union 1707, the first and second Jacobite Risings in 1715 and 1745, James Watt, Adam Smith, David Hume, James Boswell, Walter Scott, James Clerk Maxwell, Highland Games, the First and Second World Wars, Scottish Rugby, North Sea oil from the 1990s, Dolly the Sheep born 1996, and the recreation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. A late detail was added to commemorate Andy Murray's victory at Wimbledon in 2013.

Each panel, approximately 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) square, took around 500 hours to sew, involving hundreds of people from existing or newly formed sewing groups across Scotland working between Spring 2012 to September 2013. After preparing the panels by stretching and backing, the completed tapestry was unveiled on 3 September 2013 in the Main Hall of the Scottish Parliament building.

For its second visit to the Parliament from 1 July - 13 September 2014 a new panel was created, the People's Panel. Visitors to the exhibition were encouraged to add stitches to it.[3] It will travel with the tapestry and be presented to the Parliament on completion.

References

  1. ↑ "The Keiskamma Tapestry". SouthAfrica.info. Mary Alexander.
  2. ↑ "The Bayeux Tapestry". History Learning Site. 2014.
  3. ↑ "Stitch a People’s Panel as the Great Tapestry of Scotland returns to Holyrood". The Scottish Parliament. 2014.