Just One Stitch competition

Online exhibition
sponsored by

More than 150 STITCH readers rose to the challenge that we set in our 'Just One Stitch' competition - and the result was an absolutely stunning collection of work.

The Challenge

We challenged you to create a piece of work using just one type of stitch. The choice of stitch was up to you, and you could play around with it as much as you liked. There were no restrictions on the size of the finished piece (apart from the practicalities of posting it), or on the type of fabric, yarns or other media used.

• Prize-winners
• Runners-up
• Commended

Prize-winners

Marilyn Glen 1st prize Prize worth £300 Bullion stitch Size: 26.5 cm diameter closer view	Pat Roberts 2nd prize Prize worth £200 Buttonhole stitch Size: 20 x 17 cm closer view	Greta Friggens 3rd prize Prize worth £150 French knots Size: 20 x 15.5 cm closer view	Veronika Chambers 4th prize Prize worth £100 Running stitch Size: 30 x 41 cm closer view

Susan Hunt 5th prize Prize worth £70 French knots Size: 12 cm diameter x 6 cm high closer view	Julie Kniedl 6th prize Prize worth £70 Bullion stitch Size: 10 cm high closer view	Ann Kirk 7th prize Prize worth £70 Cross-cornered cushion stitch Size: 22 x 18 cm closer view

• Prize-winners
• Runners-up
• Commended

Runners-up

Marysia Holmes Runner-up Prize worth £50 Free cross stitch Size: 30 x 24 cm closer view	Sarah Harris Runner-up Prize worth £50 Running stitch Size: 63 x 32 cm closer view

Margaret Birkenshaw Runner-up Prize worth £50 French knots Size: 13 x 18 cm closer view	Dorothy Bryan Runner-up Prize worth £50 Cretan stitch Size: 23 x 25.5 cm closer view	Nicola Williams Runner-up Prize worth £50 Picots Size: 68 x 12 cm closer view

• Prize-winners
• Runners-up
• Commended

Commended

Linda Ellis Laid stitch closer view	Ros Gibbins Coral stitch closer view	Patricia Harris Straight stitch closer view	Deryll Hibbitt Sorbello stitch closer view

Jane Hill Blanket stitch closer view	V. Lane French knots closer view	June McAleece Feather stitch closer view	Kate Medcraft Cross stitch closer view	Doreen Mood Straight stitch closer view

Dallas Murphy Cretan stitch closer view	Carol Rudram Chain stitch closer view	Shirley Smith Herringbone stitch closer view	Kerryn Taylor Seeding stitch closer view	Karen Veck French knots closer view

The Judges

Dorothy Tucker (Education Officer at the Embroiderers' Guild and Chairman of the Practical Study Group)
Lynn Szygenda (Curator of the Embroiderers' Guild Museum Collection and Deputy Director of the Embroiderers' Guild)
Kathy Troup (Editor of STITCH)

The judges were very impressed by the diversity of the work and the wide variety of the stitches used - and it was felt that all of the work deserved commendation. French knots and running stitch were popular choices, but a huge variety of other stitches were also used, including: Cretan stitch, buttonhole stitch, straight stitch, fly stitch, feather stitch, cushion stitch, chain stitch, couching, long and short stitch, split stitch, needleweaving, herringbone, laid stitch, Rhodes stitch, scroll stitch, stem stitch, lazy daisy, seeding, eyelets, sorbello stitch, Norwich stitch, spiderweb stitch, cross cornered cushion stitch and, the choice of the winner, bullion knots.

Faced with such a huge array of work, the judges' task was made even more difficult because of the incredibly high standard. Everyone had their favourites and the decision was made to select pieces, which had caught the judges' eyes for a variety of reasons. Grouped together, the selected work made a striking collection of about 30 embroideries, which varied from refined and delicate to some very robust stitching.

Even with £1000 worth of prizes from Coats Crafts UK, narrowing the choice down further to just 4 main prize winners and 5 runners-up seemed impossible, and we were delighted when Coats Crafts readily agreed to award a further 3 prizes. It was agreed that the other selected embroideries were to be Commended.

The winning entries were exhibited at shows such as Fashion and Embroidery in Harrogate and at the Knitting and Stitching Shows at Alexandra Palace and Harrogate - and they created quite a stir. You can see why....