ABOVE Clare Hunter at her home, The Old Schoolhouse — across the road from the grave of Rob Roy — in the historic village of Balquhidder.
By Patricia Belyea
BALQUHIDDER UK Scottish author Clare Hunter explained to me that writing a book was like making an appliqué project.
“The main idea is the background fabric,” she said. “Bits of stories are appliquéd on. Then embroidery is added to the top.”
Clare has been sewing since she was a little girl — hand stitching, dressing dolls, making dresses, sewing Christmas presents.
BELOW Clare has stitched many berets as gifts for friends
As a young woman, Clare started a business called Needleworks. Working with people of all ages and backgrounds, she used banners to express ideas of social, personal, and political importance.
After ten years of community projects mixed with commercial commissions, Clare had established herself as an important textile leader — though she would likely never describe herself that way.
BELOW Artwork that Clare drew for a public banner project.
Instead, Clare shines the light on the people who joined in: participants from diverse cultures, young and old, bold and shy, all willing to contribute to something larger than themselves.
BELOW Clare led a major banner project in 1990 that involved twelve 15' banners and 600 community stitchers. Titled Keeping Glasgow in Stitches, the artwork and stories spawned a book and 12-month calendar.
An accomplished community organizer, Clare also longed to communicate through writing. She tiptoed toward this idea by enrolling in a Wednesday creative writing course at the University of Dundee.
Embarking on this new direction, Clare stated “It was like I had died and went to heaven.”
That excitement led Clare to pursue an MA in English and Creative Writing. For her dissertation, she chose to write about the one thing she knew deeply: sewing.
Though stitching seemed an unlikely literary subject, Clare’s three chapters on sewing were enthusiastically received. So enthusiastically, in fact, that she was encouraged to write a book.
BELOW In her book Threads of Life, Clare describes how Chilean citizens in 1970 could not openly discuss the atrocities happening in their communities. Under the radar, this arpillera tells the truth in stitches.
The early saga of Clare’s first book was not an easy one: finding a literary agent, pursuing publishers, writing and rewriting, and finally securing a contract.
When her book, Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle, was eventually published, it arrived at the height of the Me Too movement. Both the media and the public were newly attentive to women’s stories and culture.
Clare was astonished by the response. Threads of Life was named Book of the Week by BBC Radio 4 and Book of the Month in Scotland. Clare was invited to literary festivals and speaking engagements. The book was translated into Italian, Dutch, Chinese, and Spanish. In America, it was published by Abrams in New York.
BELOW Various translations of Clare’s book Threads of Life, all with different covers.
Readers wrote Clare letters. Some even sent gifts.
BELOW One reader sent a handmade paper box filled with little drawings and embellishments.
Threads of Life was a book about stitching — smart, relevant, and rich with story. Through chapters on Journey, Power, Loss, and more, Clare explored the many ways sewing is important to all aspects of life.
The success of Threads of Life led to a two-book contract. Next, Clare chose to tell the story of Mary, Queen of Scots through the lens of textiles and embroidery.
To prepare, Clare undertook a one-year master’s course in Historical Research at the University of Stirling. Then she began weaving together history, textiles, and the human chronicle of a medieval queen.
BELOW An engaging book about Mary, Queen of Scots, from a new perspective.
Before coming to Scotland, I finished Clare’s book Embroidering Her Truth — Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power. I was captivated by the elegant writing as I was swept into a spellbinding biography rich with lavish textures, evocative colors, and stitched symbolism.
BELOW 1 Clare led me up to her Writing Shed, behind the Old Schoolhouse. 2 Clare’s cabinet of curiosities, mentioned in Embroidering Her Truth, is filled with sweet gifts and momentos.
Clare’s third book, Making Matters, celebrates craft traditions while including storytelling, historical insight, and commentary on contemporary culture. Newly released, the book awaits me when I return home from my travels.
Through stitching, community projects, and beautifully researched writing, Clare has elevated textile traditions into something impossible to dismiss as merely “women’s work.” She has given voice, dignity, and historical weight to stitchers and makers everywhere.
BELOW Midge was never far from the Clare’s side during my visit.
To visit Clare’s website, Sewing Matters +click here
Patricia and Victoria are currently in the UK scouting exciting people and places for their inaugural Great UK Quilt & Textile Journey. To be on the Interested List for this Summer 2027 tour, email Victoria +here.
