6 weeks at Sunny Bank Mills - Sunny Bank Mills

During my time at Sunny Bank Mills, I have been involved in a wide range of activities, from supporting the dye garden to curating displays for the Threads Festival. Sunny Bank Mills Museum & Archive is an invaluable part of the site, preserving its rich history and keeping the stories of past workers alive. My role during this placement has been to support Rachel and Alison, while developing my understanding of the collection and the Museum & Archive’s history.

I particularly enjoyed exploring how fabrics have been presented over time for different purposes. This included mood boards used to showcase samples and convey the direction of upcoming collections at trade fairs. I also discovered a variety of fabric samples stored in flower boxes, as well as guard books containing intricate swatches. Through this, I learned more about preservation processes and developed my ability to analyse colour, texture, and cloth weight, highlighting the diversity of fabrics produced at the mill. The embroidered and delicately patterned swatches were especially inspiring, influencing ideas for my own work and future university projects.

Guard Books and Fabric Swatches

Another highlight was being involved in the dye garden. It is an exciting and meaningful project that helps uncover the mill’s history while connecting to current conversations around sustainability in the fashion industry. As a designer, I feel a strong connection to plants and natural processes, so working with naturally dyed materials really resonated with me. It has encouraged me not only to take inspiration from nature, but to actively use it within my creative practice.

I also greatly enjoyed curating a display for the Threads Festival, which told the story of tailoring at the mill through objects from the Museum & Archive. The display brought together techniques I am already familiar with, such as pattern cutting and sewing, alongside new knowledge about weaving and cloth production. This experience helped me understand how closely these processes are connected, and how one cannot exist without the other.

Tailored Ozwald Boateng Jacket and tailoring display

As a fashion design student, this placement has strengthened my commitment to sustainable practice. The dye garden has inspired me to experiment with natural dyes in my own work and to explore alternative processes. I have also been inspired by woven structures such as ‘priest’s hat’ and ‘herringbone’, and I am interested in translating these patterns into techniques like screen printing, appliqué, or embroidery.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every week of this placement, largely due to the supportive and enthusiastic community at Sunny Bank Mills. Their passion for the collection ensures the mill’s history continues to be shared and celebrated. It has been a real pleasure to contribute over the past six weeks.

Written by Elise Toes
Fashion Design Year 2 / Level 5
Leeds Beckett University

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