THERE is a misguided view embroidery is for OAPs and nannas wanting to pass the time of day.

Its origins, dating back as early as 30,000 BC, and the painstaking number of hours embroiders spend producing sophisticated embellishment on cloth are often taken for granted.

And while former chair of the Colne and Colchester Embroiders’ Guild Linda Watts is reluctant to reveal her own age, she is happy to admit embroidery has a frumpy reputation.

Unsurprisingly, one of the branch’s main obstacles is attracting younger members. although a talented few, as young as 11, have proved themselves a dab hand.

Current chairwoman, Theresa Higgins, announced the group would use Facebook to lure in computer-savvy crafters and there are plans to reinstate the Seed Stitchers young embroiders’ group this month.

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Mrs Watts said: “We lost our group leader.

“Seed Stitchers is for young people from age eight to 18 and if they come, they will never be bored in their lives because there’s always something you can do.

“One of the barriers is younger people are probably working, so find it difficult to attend meetings and another barrier could be money, although it’s not too expensive to become a member.

“And another could be a misguided view that embroidery isn’t for them because it’s old-fashioned, which is a barrier we want to crack.”

Mrs Watts, from Lawford, has been a member for 15 years and on the committee for about 12 of those.

Her “joy of stitching” was inherited from her “old-fashioned type” mother.

On walking into their fortnightly meet at Firstsite, at least half of the group’s 65 mature members are packed into the white room; thread in hand and working on something intricate and unique.

In theory, this is all you need – a needle, thread or yarn, and an idea perhaps inspired by a pattern – but also the patience of a saint.

Under the umbrella of embroidery, there are several techniques and stitches ranging from gold work with metal threads or crewel with wool threads, cross stitching and needlepoint.

The passionate buzz of conversation echoes around the studio, which has become a hub for the Embroiders’ Guild to share their textile arts.

Compared to dressmaking, embroidery is arguably a less trendy cousin so the opportunities for individuals to showcase their handiwork are minimal.

Mrs Watts said: “There was an extremely interesting article in the Telegraph about an exhibition currently running at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which shows the exquisite skills from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in gold work.

“They claimed it to be a lost art, but throughout all of our branches nationwide these skills still exist, and certainly in Colchester we have an extremely talented and creative group.”

“We recently had a big project for Capability Brown’s 300th birthday to celebrate his life and gardens, which was masterminded by Pauline Medinger and Lorna Rand, two of our members.

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“The Flower Garden Lady took 756 hours to complete and 34 embroiders including myself.

“It’s a beautiful piece, which is hanging in Ickworth House, in Suffolk, but our work is also in the Town Hall as when Theresa was mayor she wanted a banner which depicted Colchester.

She added: “Our main aim is to get embroidery recognised as an art form and then to increase our members, and get more people interested in the skills and techniques of textile art and embroidery.”

Which is why the guild is excited to be holding a joint exhibition with Franklins to climax their respective 30th and 60th anniversaries.

Today and tomorrow inside St Botolph’s Church Hall, in St Botolph’s Street, every inch of space will be used to display pieces from Guild members as well as Franklins’ customers, students, and staff.

It is not the first time the two organisations have collaborated – a Remembrance poppy window display last year was a “phenomenal success” – and this exhibition will bring the ‘wow’ factor.

Alison Gladwell, 59, has been a buyer at Franklins for 20-plus years, and said the opportunity to display their efforts is a huge selling point for customers.

She said: “Because it doesn’t happen very often.

“If people want to sell their work they’ll often go online, but if they don’t, they won’t often think about exhibiting.

“The Poppy window surpassed everything we’d ever done at Franklins because it was real, every single piece had been done by a member of the Guild, and it never fails to amaze me how clever people are when I see their work – I just love it.”

Any remaining cushions from Franklins’ Cushion 60 Challenge, which more than 90 customers made and donated for charity in August, will also be on sale.

The proceeds will support St Helena Hospice and the Essex Air Ambulance.

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And the Embroiders’ Guild will also reveal the winners of their annual competition on Saturday, this year with a Shakespearean theme.

Entrants stand a chance to win one of eight coveted category trophies for their stitching work.

Raffle winners could also go away with a special DMC gold thread worth £75 amongst other fitting prizes.

The exhibition is on between 10am and 4pm.

For more information on the Colne and Colchester Embroiders’ Guild, click here or here for Facebook.