Community
2 July, 2025
Embroidery sees new life with restoration
THE efforts of a handful of women in Cobden has allowed for the restoration of several pieces of detailed embroidery works.
Cobden and District Historical Society member Jennifer Kripp knew her long-time friend Barbara Porter was skilled in embroidery and she had several pieces at the society in need of repair.
At the same time, Cobden Uniting Church Op Shop treasurer and joint manager Barbara Cowley was receiving unfinished embroidery pieces at the op shop.
Together they were able to link up and pass pieces on to Mrs Porter to bring new life into unfinished and damaged embroidery works.
Mrs Porter said she was able to “take care of” the pieces donated and had a unique set of skills to get the job done due to having embroidered since she was seven years old.
“I went to a girls’ club, the Salvation Army in Horsham,” she said.
“Every Wednesday night we paid sixpence, threepence went in the bank and threepence was for costs and things.
“I still have a hanky that I embroidered when I was seven.”
Mrs Porter said she had been working on various pieces for several years, but the recent ones had only taken her a couple of weeks.
“Over time, as it comes and goes, someone brings it and I have a look at it, and I say, ‘Yeah, I’ll fix it for you’,” she said.
“Someone will have a piece that’s already finished and I won’t have the paperwork that you get with every new piece of work, so I match it up with a tablecloth or a doily, or whatever is around, and I use that to colour coordinate all my cottons.
“As I’ve been given something, I make my own chart that matches so that only those are the colours I use on that particular piece.
“Whatever comes, if I’ve got something to match it, or to go with it, it’s really good.”
There were things to be careful about when it came to embroidery, according to Mrs Porter, especially concerning light exposure.
“I’ve been taking light box tracings of crinoline ladies and Dolly Vardens because you don’t use photo flashes,” she said.
“It’s like sitting these out in the sun, when you photograph them with a flash – it can deteriorate them, you have to use natural light.
“That way then I’ve kept a catalogue – I’ve got two really good folders full of Dolly Varden pictures.
“I got given a shoe box full of transfers – 1922. Brown paper, beautiful.”
Mrs Porter also said embroidery was coming back into the limelight with groups forming full of enthusiasts.
“There are huge followings for embroidery – there’s embroidery groups everywhere,” she said.
“Warrnambool’s got the embroiders guild, and there are groups that will just sit and chat and you’ll find someone embroidering.
“I go to a quilt group in Ballarat once a month on a Saturday and the girls embroider.
“They’re patch workers, but they embroider too.”
Anyone with damaged or unfinished pieces of embroidery are encouraged to bring it in to the Uniting Church Op Shop, where it will be safely passed on to Mrs Porter for restoration.
“It’s such a shame to see the embroidery go to waste,” Mrs Porter said.
“For people to look at them, that’s good.”
Read More: Cobden