A stitch in time! Teacher embarks on epic saga to recreate the Bayeux Tapestry… and she only has five years to go
- Mia Hansson, 46, is embroidering a replica of the Bayeux Tapestry which depicts events leading up to the Battle of Hastings
- A group of Englishwomen crafted the original but Miss Hansson is sewing the whole thing – all 230 ft – by herself
- So far she has completed 92ft after starting the marathon project in 2016
It was an epic undertaking to depict events leading up to the Battle of Hastings.
And, nearly 1,000 years after the Bayeux Tapestry was created, Mia Hansson has embarked on her own saga to embroider a replica.
She was inspired after hearing of an attempt to sew a half-scale version of the story of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
‘I’m known for not doing things by half,’ said Miss Hansson, 46. ‘Throughout my life I have been ambitious and if I can make something bigger and better, I will at least make an attempt.’
A group of Englishwomen crafted the original but she is sewing the whole thing – all 230ft of it – by herself.
And, nearly 1,000 years after the Bayeux Tapestry was created, Mia Hansson has embarked on her own saga to embroider a replica. Pictured: Mia and her helpers hold the completed panels
Miss Hansson (pictured) was inspired after hearing of an attempt to sew a half-scale version of the story of the Norman Conquest in 1066
So far she has completed 92ft after starting the marathon project in 2016 at her home in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Miss Hansson estimates it will take another five years to finish. As a full-time carer for one of her two step-children, she can sometimes work for just 30 minutes a day on her project.
The trained primary school teacher expects the tapestry to take about 9,000 hours in total and eventually hopes to sell it for about £70,000.
She uses pictures in a book as a template for the 70 panels, drawing each image on the cloth before embroidering the outline and then filling it in.
A group of Englishwomen crafted the original but she is sewing the whole thing – all 230ft of it – by herself. Pictured: The replica (above) and the original tapestry (below)
‘It’s like colouring in with wool, relaxing and therapeutic work while I watch TV,’ she said. ‘Horses are my favourites, then ships.’
Miss Hansson spent months researching how to copy the hand-dyed woollen yarns used on the tapestry, which is in a museum in Bayeux, northern France.
She had visited it only once 15 years ago before deciding to make the replica. Miss Hansson grew up in Sweden and came to the UK 18 years ago to see friends, met her partner and never went home.
The original tapestry was completed in Canterbury, Kent, in the 1070s.
It is due to be loaned to the UK next year and set to be shown at the British Museum in London, to Miss Hansson’s delight. ‘They’ll struggle to get me out,’ she said.
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