One of the lesser-known parts of Fine Cell Work is our Tapestry Finishing Service. In this article, Fine Cell Work's Production Coordinator, Esther Nixon, and Hub Production Coordinator, Clem Dyer, give us a peek behind the scenes telling us how the service works and what working on these unique pieces means to our stitchers. 

For many reasons someone may find themselves with an unfinished tapestry lying around or a kit that was never opened. They can commission our stitchers to complete the canvas, enriching both the customer and the stitcher!

Customers contact us via email or phone to discuss their tapestry project and obtain a quote for the service. Once we have received the tapestry, we create instructions and a swatch card for the stitcher, who can complete it from their cell. Supporting Fine Cell Work by utilising this service is a great way to add value to the lives of our stitchers, giving them the opportunity to spend quality time on something unique and new to them.

A recent example of one of the many beautiful tapestry finishings that has come through to us at Fine Cell Work was a large tapestry depicting a Venetian riding school scene. As soon as we saw the tapestry, we could tell that there was a story with a lot of weight behind this piece. 

Following further conversations with the customer, we discovered that the piece had been stitched by the customer’s late mother, with canvaswork stitching being a skill taught to the customer and her mother by her maternal grandmother. Like for many of our in-cell stitchers, the customer explained to us what a huge sense of purpose and enjoyment that her mother experienced when stitching, as well as how it kept her mind active. 

Her mother was working on this piece up until the end of her life, and following her mother’s passing, the customer was determined to finish the piece. Upon attempting this, the customer found emotionally she could not move the needle that her mother had left in the tapestry, which is what brought her to Fine Cell Work.

As with all tapestry finishings with this level of detail, thought must be given to which stitcher would be the best fit for completing the piece. Stitching commission pieces is hugely important for stitchers as it provides much needed variation in their work and challenges them in ways they may not have been before. It was decided that a stitcher on our Lone Stitcher Programme would undertake the finishing of this piece.

Lone Stitchers are people who stitch in a prison without a Fine Cell Work Cell Group, who instead, communicate with a member of the Fine Cell Work team for guidance with their stitching work. To become a Lone Stitcher, stitchers need to have stitched with us in a Cell Group previously and must be working at a very high level. Bearing all this in mind, we were confident that the stitcher chosen would be up for this challenge!

Fast forward 10 months and the finished piece arrived back with us at the office. The reaction from the team here and the customer was wonderful. We could not believe how perfectly the stitcher had replicated the tension of the original stitches, and how neat the back of the work was as well as the front. Any stitcher will know that this is no easy task!

The customer shared a wonderful letter of thanks to the stitcher which was so well received. After chatting to the stitcher further, they shared with us that they found the reward from working on such meaningful piece was worth far more to them than any payment for their time stitching. Pictures of the completed piece were shared with the stitcher, who explained that they would share these photos with their family. This story is a wonderful example of how working on tapestry finishings supports meaningful connections stitchers can build with their family and friends, through stitching.

This is one of many examples of tapestry finishings that have been completed by our stitchers. Others include kits that were gifted or bought for someone, but they do not have the time to complete, or occasionally, a customer will even buy a kit just to send into our stitchers! If you would like to support the charity by providing meaningful work for stitchers with a tapestry finishing, then please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!

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Head over to our website to find our more about our tapestry finishing service. 

You can further support our work in prisons and post-release by choosing to buy a Fine Cell Work Product, by making a donation or by leaving a legacy to Fine Cell Work.

There are many ways to get involved with Fine Cell Work. Our diverse community is made up of stitchers, post-release apprentices, volunteers, trustees and staff.

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Please find more information on our website by following this link - Tapestry Finishing | Fine Cell Work