I learned so much from my own small part in the project and am really looking forward to seeing what other people made of the design. If you’re in Sheffield before Christmas take some time out to have a look. And remember, the linen which is 54 threads to the inch and from Milan is not so fine as the fabric worked on by Tudor and Stuart embroiderers, nor did they have the benefit of electric lights, modern equipment or prescription glasses!

Coifs on exhibit using blackwork embroidery techniques represent approximately 300 hours of work each – which goes someway towards explaining why a couple of trunks of clothing could equate to the value of a small estate during the early years of the seventeenth century (and also why I did no gardening this summer.).