Meet the Maker: In conversation with Elinor Beaven
Image credit: Manchester Art Gallery
Main image credit: Elinor Beaven
Elli Beaven is a textile artist, quilt maker, and natural dyer based in rural Galicia in northern Spain. Working under the name Whole Cloth Studio, she creates tactile patchwork pieces that sit between art and craft, from wall hangings and stretched compositions to functional quilts and everyday textiles. Hand stitching runs through every piece, bringing depth and texture to each piece.
Taking inspiration from the patchwork garments featured in our Worn exhibition, Elli has created a bespoke collection of huswifs and needle books. They embody artist Elli’s favourite kind of making, that of free-form patchwork and appliqué using repurposed textiles stitched by hand. Made with textiles that have been carefully gathered by Elli over the years from charity shops, worn-out clothing, offcuts from other projects, and vintage finds, and are often dyed with locally foraged or homegrown plants.
What inspires your work?
Patchwork from offcuts and scraps—making use of every last bit of precious cloth—is where quilt making began, and this rich history continues to define how I approach my work. All the textiles I use are vintage or reclaimed, often dyed with locally foraged or homegrown plants. These luminous colours, along with the layered stories and textures of these special textiles, inspire the pieces I make—whether full-size quilts, wall hangings, stretched patchworks, or small, useful items such as needle books, huswifs, or pouches.
Tell us a bit more about the inspiration for the pieces you have included for the Worn exhibition.
The huswifs and needle books I made for the Worn exhibition are, in part, inspired by the absolutely joyous patchwork pieces in the show: the patchwork dress and the hexagon quilt. Equally, something to hold one’s sewing tools has surely belonged to every sewist throughout history, and the needle books and huswifs are my versions of these essential toolkits. They are all made with textiles from my personal collection, carefully gathered over the years from charity shops, worn-out clothing, offcuts from other projects, and vintage finds. They embody my favourite kind of making—free-form patchwork and appliqué, repurposed textiles stitched by hand, and that magical, hand-quilted texture.
Tell us a bit more about your practice.
My work is full of slow, time-consuming processes, which I weave together into a practice that brings me immense joy. All my quilts are hand-quilted, and many of the smaller pieces I make are stitched entirely by hand. In between stitching, I collect dye stuffs from my garden or the surrounding countryside, scour the textiles, mordant them, and then dye them. The magic of these many processes is that I never find the work repetitive—there’s always a task to suit my mood, whether it’s meditative hand stitching, creative colour play for a new piece, or hands-on work in the dye kitchen.
Describe your workspace.
I do all my stitching, cutting, packing, and photographing in the attic of our house. I’m lucky that it’s quite large, though I do have to share it with some guest beds and the laundry—the reality of a creative practice amidst daily family life. It’s not the tidiest of spaces, with lots going on at any one time, but I’m always grateful when occasional house guests compel me into a proper sort and tidy-up. I also have a separate dye studio in the garage, which is perfect for all the messier dye jobs—though a little chilly in winter!
Who has influenced and inspired you?
It’s impossible to list the number of inspirational artists and quilt makers practising today whose work has, in some way, made me think differently. However, I don’t think I would be the quilt maker I am today without the work of Lu Summers. Her incredible improvisational quilts were absolutely eye-opening, and the techniques she taught at a workshop I attended became foundational to my own approach to free-form patchwork and quilt making. Traditional scrap quilting, as well as its more modern iterations, was the starting point for my practice and remains integral to it today.
What is your favourite piece or design you have made?
I originally designed my version of the huswif when I was living on a sailing boat and needed something to hold all my essential sewing tools—something I could move easily to wherever I was working. I couldn’t leave things out as I had in my previous studio, so it had to be easy to stow at a moment’s notice while still holding everything I needed. I researched nineteenth-century huswifs used by soldiers and housewives alike, and then created my own version using my quilt-making skills. Because I didn’t have access to a sewing machine on the boat, I designed it to be made as simply as possible, using only scissors, a needle, and thread. Designing and making the huswif really sparked my passion for low-tech making, which remains foundational to how I work today. I still use my huswif all the time and have taught many others to make their own versions, both in workshops and through a PDF pattern.