Circle Skirt from V&A Commission Stories of Clothes (work in progress)
East London Textile Arts
is proud to announce it has been choen to be part of
V&A East's commissioning programme
New Work: Making East London
Stories of Clothes
Our installation comprising 13 costumes
and eight photographs will be on show between
mid November 2026 and mid April 2027
at V&A East.
To see work in progress go to our
Garden Project
Autumn term
11 am - 1 pm
every Wednesday
during School Terms
Little Ilford Baptist Church
Sheringham Avenue E12 5PA
All Classes free of charge
But phone first if you are coming
for the first time.
Numbers are limited
tel 0798 599 3191
For more information about other classes go to Classes page
We thank
The National Lottery Players
for their generous support
of our project
East London Textile Arts (ELTA) is a collective running participatory textile projects in Newham, East London. We work with diverse groups of all abilities on a long term developmental basis building a wide range of skills within communities.
We create striking artworks and sell our cards, decorated papers and printed fabrics at open days and craft shops in East London. We work with adults with learning disabilities, and we collaborate with visiting artists while training unemployed young people.
Information about weekly classes can be found here. All are welcome, from beginners to highly skilled.
£53,385 grant won
from the
National Heritage Lottery Fund
For our images and words go to
Textile Tales Revealed
First Moldovan Tale
Decorated Heritage Papers
Quilt with puppets from exhibition at the Art Workers Guild
What is ELTA Like?
Here are a few words by
one of regular embroiderers
"I love going to the weekly group as I get the opportunity to chat to other embroiders some of whom have far more experience than I do, it's amazing how many tips and tricks you pick up simply by speaking to others. I love that the embroideries (because they are project themed) are completely different to what I would normally sew. For example as part of the Romeo & Juliet project we embroidered stone arches to be appliqued on to Juliet's dress together with axes and daggers this time for Romeo's costume."
Sandra Elliot,
ELTA embroiderer
Mythical Bird from
This fabric design comes from The Circle Skirt embroidered by over 40 women as part of a commission from
V&A East's programme
New Work: Making East London
