2 Sure Threads run workshops on slow stitching for wellbeing in Wakefield, and when Lockdown was announced in March 2020, they wanted to document the unique moment in history as well as continue their practice. So they looked back to the past – before the internet and came up with the idea of a Letter from Lockdown – a simple envelope form. The outside with an address, the inside with stitching and collage expressing thoughts and feelings about Lockdown itself.

They distributed 29 kits altogether to people’s homes, following the Covid guidelines including 72-hour quarantine in terms of textile handling. The kits included printed instructions and ideas, reclaimed fabrics, needles, pins, needle threader and various threads. Interestingly, the initial response was quite slow as the community participants were engaged in stitching PPE / scrubs for the NHS. Once this task subsided more people then reflected by starting their slow stitching and Letters from Lockdown.

As the project developed, 2 Sure Threads are now members of Makey Wakey and have forged ongoing partnerships with other groups, not least of which is Crafting4Good, and now occupy a unit within The Ridings shopping centre in Wakefield.

These stitched letters now form a unique collection of people’s thoughts and feelings from Wakefield’s during a significant moment in global history.

Participant feedback:

‘Thanks so much for the opportunity to express myself in my own way.’

‘As I’m stitching on my cloth I feel directly connected to others who are stitching, wondering what they’re thinking, feeling, experiencing.  I don’t feel so alone.’