Dundee Tapestry: The people stitching their city's history

Volunteers working on the Dundee Tapestry meet up regularly to share their progress

The history of Dundee is being retold by the people of the city in a huge new tapestry.

More than 100 stitchers - mainly women - are working on the 114ft (35m)-long embroidery, which is due to be unveiled in July 2023.

From the women who worked in the jute mills, to the fashions of the 1970s, Dennis the Menace and the new V&A, it will tell the story of their home city.

And there are hopes that future generations will add to the artwork, creating a living document which could bring Dundee's past to life.

Each panel takes between 250 and 300 hours to complete

Among those taking part is home care assistant Jane McCool, 33, who is working on a "Muggy Sha" panel with two other women.

"Muggy Sha is a Michael Marra song where he sings about women who were barred from all of the pubs in the town," Jane told BBC Scotland.

"The Muggy Sha character is created around these women and the parts of society they were included in.

"A lot of them worked in the mills - and they just wanted to have a good time, from what I can see!

"I hope I do them proud when I'm sewing them onto the panel and maybe some of their descendants might recognise them."

Jane McCool has spent many hours sewing her panel on the Michael Marra song Muggy Sha

A novice at hand embroidery, Jane got involved in the project after hearing about it on social media.

"It's lovely to see everyone be so supportive and you learn so much from just a wee blether with someone," she said.

"Hopefully that continues on after the panel is finished and we get some good friendships from it."

The Muggy Sha panel is one of 35 which will eventually go on display at Dundee's Verdant Works next year.

A panel on the city's industrial past

Each will touch on one of eight larger themes: women, creative, industry, culture, communities, education, international and nature.

It has been designed by Andrew Crummy, the man behind The Great Tapestry of Scotland, but spaces are left blank for the stitchers to use their own creativity.

"People in Dundee are really proud of being Dundonian, it's a strong identity," he said.

"There's a really rich history there, and I think hopefully we'll bring out some things that people don't know about Dundee."

Val Beveridge and Kaye MacGregor are among the 110 volunteers

Kaye MacGregor and Val Beveridge are working on a panel featuring the V&A design museum which opened in 2018.

"When you stitch it, you get ideas as you go along," Val said.

"Both of us have gone to embroidery classes in the past and we've created panels for ourselves and our friends before.

"We're both Dundonians by birth and this is creating a bit of history for the city.

"Dundee has a long, industrial history. It has a lot to offer, but it needs a lot more investment in it. We want to bring people into the city to show what we have on offer."

The stitchers work in groups on their panels

Kaye added: "It's reminded me of how many historical events really happened in Dundee, as they seem to have got lost a bit.

"We have 35 panels telling you about the history of the city - even some quite modern history as well.

"It's an excellent opportunity for people to pool ideas and come together. You see things through different eyes when you're putting it on to material.

"It's different from looking at a photograph because you're looking at details you don't always see in other ways."

A panel on the city's musical prowess

The tapestry celebrates the local communities

Some of the tapestry's panels feature the region's working women of the past.

Often it was the women of the family who worked in the city's jute mills as they could be paid less. The unemployed men who stayed home with the children were called "kettle bilers".

"Gang jumpers" worn to identify the various young teams in Dundee in the 1970s are also neatly embroidered into the tapestry.

Project leader John Fyffe said he was inspired to start the project after seeing the Game of Thrones tapestry in Belfast.

"Dundee deserves its own tapestry," he said. "We didn't want to create a tapestry that was just a whole series of heraldic images on cloth.

"Nobody's going to come and see that, it has to be a story about what the local people felt like when they were living here.

"Like the panel on gang jumpers - I've still got mine from when I grew up in Fintry."

John Fyffe is leading the project

He said the tapestry had brought together women who had never met but had come together because of their shared geographic roots.

"Every one of them has got a story to tell because they see Dundee through their own lens," he added.

"The wee gems that have come out of this have been fantastic. We want Dundonians to tell their own stories, and they are."

The Weavers Incorporation of Dundee is running the project with the University of Dundee, Dundee City Council and the Embroiderers Guild.

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