Embroider the Bayeux Tapestry

In 2026, the UK celebrates the Bayeux Tapestry’s first trip to British soil in 900 years, with a feted exhibition at the British Museum. 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 1066, and recreate some of the world’s most famous embroidery for yourself using simple stitches and full-size iron-on transfers.

'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, grab this book.'
Dr David Musgrove: Content Director of HistoryExtra and co-author of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry.

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.

• 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 Aesop's fables that appear in the friezes, or majestic sections such as Harold's coronation.

About the author: in 2016, 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 1,000th anniversary of William the Conqueror’s birth, in 2027. The Bayeux Tapestry spans almost 70 metres (77 yards) and features over 1,500 designs.

'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 adds an extra dimension to our knowledge of the embroidery. 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, grab this book.'
Dr David Musgrove is Content Director of HistoryExtra and co-author of The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry.

'This book is a delight on every level, from the background information, to the instructional content, to the pattern collection, to the overall presentation of the book! It’s definitely worth adding to your embroidery library!'
Mary Corbet, writer and founder of the Needle ‘n Thread embroidery website