About Niamh
Niamh Wimperis is one of the most colourful and dynamic embroidery artists currently practicing.
According to Niamh, she’s “all about feminism and plants”, and finds a lot of her inspiration from her vast collection of house plants, and childhood memories of her grandparents house, Selsley Herb and Goat Farm. Her work has evolved from ultra political – – with her feminist pieces featured in Ms Magazine, Buzzfeed and The Huff Post – – to this more calming botanical style.
Niamh achieved a Masters Degree in Contemporary Craft in 2017 from Plymouth College of Art. Her final piece, an interactive installation titled ‘A Feeling Of Safety, Perhaps’ was exhibited in the MA show and as part of Dwell, a two woman collaboration for Plymouth Art Weekend at Plymouth Art Centre.
In 2018 Niamh was chosen to be on the BBC2 programme, The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts. This was a “living history” reality show in which Niamh and 5 other talented crafts people lived in a William Morris-esque arts and crafts commune for a month, complete with wearing Victorian clothes, eating Victorian food and using Victorian tools. The 4 part BBC2 show aired in January 2019. You can read more about her experience here, and watch the series here.
Niamh now lives in Camden Town with her partner Alex, a watch maker. She is currently writing her first book, continues to make work (including commissions), and has launched her #WEStitchKit – a monthly embroidery kit subscription box. You can find about more about her kit subscription here.
Signature Technique
Botanical Embroidery
Top Tips
- Use the Satin Stitch for a shimmer and shine effect.
- Stitch on two layers to avoid warp and seeing stitches on the back.
- Keep your fabric tight as a drum in your hoop or your piece will pucker.
- Nothing in nature is perfect, so don’t be afraid if a stitch appears strange or off the centre line. That’s how it appears in real life.
- The Fly Stitch is wonderfully versatile; use it for pine branches, flowers and leaves.
- If you find your thread is suddenly shorter, you probably have a knot. Use your needle to pull the knot apart.
Videos
Books and Patterns
Posts
Annette Emms workshop
Val: We so enjoyed filming in Annette's house; she shared with us her love of all things magic - fairy shoes, whimsycal pictures, felt balls and her amazing trick for transferring images onto fabric just on her kitchen table - a must-see for all you mixed media fans and its now up-and-running in the workshop section of the site.
Angela Madden and Barbara Weeks
Jennie: Had mad day yesterday filming Angela doing her amazing Multi - Plait and her Circle Slice. Angela did a great job on the demos and now I feel I could make a multi-plaited cuved slice of twiddling! Dream on - if I only had the time. Then we all repaired to local pub for lunch and off to Barbara's carrying cakes (made by Angela!) for extra sustenance.
How to Bind your Quilt
A small strip of fabric gives the finishing touch to your quilt and this video guides you through those steps. www.justhands-on.tv/videos/1/ It includes discussion about use of the walking foot; simple quilting on the quilt, how to mark the quilt and a suggestion about the stitches you can use - again with the walking foot; you learn what seam allowance is necessary and, most importantly, how to create the mitred corner to give a perfect finish.