Overview

Bring the Bayeux Tapestry to life by embroidering 25 historic scenes, featuring bishops, knights, trees, dragons, horses and, of course, King Harold with the fateful arrow in his eye. Discover creative insights into the craftsmanship and skill used to create one of the most significant cultural artefacts in the world and recreate key parts of it for yourself using simple stitches and full-size iron-on transfers. In 2026, the UK celebrates the Bayeux Tapestry's first trip to British soil in 900 years. With Tapestry enthusiast and embroidery expert Mia Hansson as your guide, celebrate this historic moment: embroider your way through the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066AD, and recreate some of the world's most famous embroidery for yourself. Choose from the 25 iron-on transfer designs: simply cut them out and iron them on to your fabric, giving you precise outlines and a shortcut to stitching. The book contains a complete guide to tools and materials (just seven shades of 2-ply crewel wool are used), and illustrated step-by-step instructions for working the four stitches (stem stitch, chain stitch, double running stitch and Bayeux stitch), along with advice on using the transfers and planning your stitch journey. Discover 20 additional key scenes of historical significance explored with Mia's technical insight, and uncover things you might not have noticed before: featureless seafarers, a man kneeling on an invisible leg, floating torsos and horses with impossible legs. The embroidery designs are presented chronologically, and with reference to their placement on the Tapestry, so that you can easily navigate this extraordinary work of art and understand the historical context. Stunning photography and instructive stitch diagrams make this historical and artistic masterpiece accessible whether you want to replicate one of the Aesop's fables that appear in the friezes, or majestic sections such as Harold's coronation.

Full Product Details

Author:   Mia Hansson
Publisher:   Search Press Ltd
Imprint:   Search Press Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 20.40cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 26.00cm
Weight:   0.864kg
ISBN:  

9781800923669

ISBN 10:   180092366
Pages:   144
Publication Date:   16 June 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Jan Messent 8 Introduction 10 About the Bayeux Tapestry 12 Materials and tools 14 Stitches 16 Order of work 19 Getting started 20 PROJECTS AND SCENES OF SPECIAL INTEREST 24 PROJECT: King Edward the Confessor’s palace, scene 1 26 PROJECT: Harold with a bird of prey, scene 2 30 PROJECT: Bosham church, scene 3 34 PROJECT: The fox and the crow: an Aesop’s fable, scene 4 38 The second English ship, scene 4 40 PROJECT: The capture of Earl Harold Godwinson, scene 7 42 A group of Guy’s four horses, scene 7 46 A group of men outside Guy’s residence, scene 8 48 PROJECT: The deer and the lion, part 1: an Aesop’s fable, scene 8 50 PROJECT: The deer and the lion, part 2: an Aesop’s fable, scene 8 52 PROJECT: A tree and a ram, scene 8 54 My favourite tree, scene 9 56 PROJECT: The look-out tree, scene 11 58 PROJECT: Interlaced birds, scene 12 62 PROJECT: William’s meeting with Harold, scene 14 64 PROJECT: Peacocks, scene 14 68 PROJECT: Ælfgyva between the pillars, scene 15 70 PROJECT: My favourite dragons, scene 15 74 William and three men on horseback, scene 16 76 Conan on a rope in Dol, scene 18 78 The fort at Dinan, scene 19 80 PROJECT: Tall dragons, scene 22 82 PROJECT: Birds on a stand, scene 22 84 PROJECT: William on his throne in Bayeux, scene 22 86 PROJECT: Harold between the relics, scene 23 90 PROJECT: The wolf and the crane: an Aesop’s fable, scene 24 94 Elderly King Edward, scene 25 96 Westminster Abbey, scene 25 98 King Edward being buried before he died, scene 26 100 King Edward’s sickbed and death, scenes 27 and 28 102 PROJECT: Harold’s coronation, scene 30 104 The men outside the palace, scene 31 108 PROJECT: The comet, scene 32 110 The tittle-tattlers on a ship, scene 34 112 The men loading the ship, scene 36 114 The uncomfortable-looking horse and more, scene 37 116 The racing horses, scenes 39 and 40 118 PROJECT: The man cooking, scene 42 120 A family of trees on the edge of the battlefield, scene 48 124 A group of horses, scene 48 126 PROJECT: Twin trees, scene 48 128 William and Odo on horseback, scene 49 130 PROJECT: The winged horse, scene 50 132 PROJECT: Harold with the arrow in his eye, scene 57 134 Harold’s death, scene 57 138 Using the transfers 140 Acknowledgements 144

Reviews

This is a beautiful, practical, and incredibly informative book. Mia’s up-close and personal experience of recreating the Bayeux Tapestry with her own needle provides insights that no amount of academic research can replicate. If you’re at all interested in the amazing 11th-century piece of art that is the Bayeux Tapestry, or if you want to try your own hand at embroidering like an Anglo-Saxon, this is the book for you.  – Dr David Musgrove is Content Director of BBC History Magazine and HistoryExtra.com, a regular podcaster on HistoryExtra and co-author of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry.

This is a beautiful, practical, and incredibly informative book. Mia’s up-close and personal experience of recreating the Bayeux Tapestry with her own needle provides insights that no amount of academic research can replicate. If you’re at all interested in the amazing 11th-century piece of art that is the Bayeux Tapestry, or if you want to try your own hand at embroidering like an Anglo-Saxon, this is the book for you.  – Dr David Musgrove is Content Director of BBC History Magazine and HistoryExtra.com, a regular podcaster on HistoryExtra and co-author of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry. Your book is so wonderful, so much more than can be described. The publishers should be celebrated for their design of the cover, the photography, the print and the actual paper. The thought that you've put into the options for embroidering, your advice for wool etc is wonderful. I love that I can choose what I'd like to try and you're with me all the way. The book is exactly what I expected from you and your personality comes out in the book. It's a very beautiful book and I'm thrilled to say that I own a copy.  -- Janet Malone I received my copy last week, and it is excellent. From the textured feel of the cover, to the informative introduction, to the templates included, it is just what I wanted. Reference, pictures, knowledgeable content, and ready to use templates. Thank you for the work you have put into this. -- Gemma I was so excited to receive mine, such a lovely book. Beautiful quality and clear instructions. Only problem is which one should I do first? -- Diane This is a book that is a feast for the senses. From the moment you pick it up and feel the textured surface of linen fabric, to turning each page, you are mesmerised. Mia has created something that educate, inform and gently challenge the embroiderer and reader alike. It is a book to treasure and use! Instructions are very clear and encourages you to try the stitches used in the Bayeaux Tapestry. -- Helen I love Mia’s sketches and her insights into both the narrative and how the seamstresses produced the tapestry. I’m now really keen to have a go. -- Julia This book is beautiful and a joy to own. -- Liz

This is a beautiful, practical, and incredibly informative book. Mia’s up-close and personal experience of recreating the Bayeux Tapestry with her own needle provides insights that no amount of academic research can replicate. If you’re at all interested in the amazing 11th-century piece of art that is the Bayeux Tapestry, or if you want to try your own hand at embroidering like an Anglo-Saxon, this is the book for you.  – Dr David Musgrove is Content Director of BBC History Magazine and HistoryExtra.com, a regular podcaster on HistoryExtra and co-author of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry. Your book is so wonderful, so much more than can be described. The publishers should be celebrated for their design of the cover, the photography, the print and the actual paper. The thought that you've put into the options for embroidering, your advice for wool etc is wonderful. I love that I can choose what I'd like to try and you're with me all the way. The book is exactly what I expected from you and your personality comes out in the book. It's a very beautiful book and I'm thrilled to say that I own a copy.  -- Janet Malone

Author Information

Mia Hansson started embroidering a full-scale Bayeux Tapestry replica, using fabrics and threads as similar as possible to those used in the original work. She is due to finish this extraordinary achievement in time for the 1000th anniversary of William the Conqueror's birth, in 2027. The Bayeux Tapestry spans almost 70 metres (77 yards) and features over 1,500 designs.

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