WOVEN Festival 2025 showcases Yorkshire’s extraordinary textile heritage with events throughout June

Highlights of the festival, which takes place from June 1 to June 30, include rag-rugging workshops at the National Coal Mining Museum, a giant floral display in Ravensthorpe and natural dyeing in Skelmanthorpe.

Attendees will also be able to learn the basics of batik with Huddersfield-based Thread Republic, do textile patch screen printing with the West Yorkshire Print Workshop and take part in clothes and skills swaps and stitch sessions across the district, and engage in a lively discussion around industry and technology with the Red Shed Players at Tolson Museum.

During the festival, the Creative Piazza in Huddersfield will become a WOVEN hub and the Thread Republic team will be on hand to advise on activities in the town and beyond.

The event will showcase the rich textile history of the area as well as explore cutting-edge developments in the industry.

Projects include supporting artists to run natural dye workshops and helping facilitate yarn bombing. In addition Arts Council England (ACE) funding is supporting Ashbrown, Birkby and Ravensthorpe communities to work with artists and the WOVEN team to make their community events happen.

The Red Dress, a globally-travelled collaborative embroidery project, will be on display at Oakwell Hall. The project was initiated by British artist Kirstie Macleod in 2009 to help marginalised women tell their stories through stitching, uniting people around the world without borders. The dress now features the work of more than 300 embroiderers from 51 countries and has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide.

To kick off the festival, WOVEN will be hosting a World Stitch Day on June 1 at Oakwell Hall, where community groups, stitchers and anyone passionate about textiles will showcase stitch techniques from their cultural background and heritage.

Natalie Walton, WOVEN’s curator, said, “We’re so excited to see the diverse array of community events in this year’s programme. There’s so much to see and get involved in and it’s a real celebration of our fantastic community textile activity.”

Councillor Carole Pattison, Leader of Kirklees Council and Cabinet Member for Culture, said, “This is a whole month of exciting creativity and community connection, as WOVEN 2025 celebrates our local history and our diverse cultural tapestries with innovative spirit. I hope this will inspire a new generation of textile enthusiasts and a renewed connection with the history at the heart of these communities."

WOVEN is initiated by Kirklees Council but is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district.

WOVEN’s theme focuses on generations of innovators, connecting West Yorkshire’s Kirklees’ strong heritage with today’s innovative developments in industry, university research, a strong arts and crafts scene and the creative expression of the district’s rich and diverse communities.

Though the big festival event takes place in June every other year, there are also long-term projects and smaller events happening in between.

To see the full WOVEN 2025 programme visit https://woveninkirklees.co.uk/events/

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