ieutenant Colonel Neil
Stace – also known as the
Sewing Soldier – was a
finalist on the BBC’s The
Great British Sewing Bee
show. He since teamed up with charity
Alabare on a heartwarming textile art
project. Hundreds of people took part,
stitching flags to say thank you to our
armed forces. The project was a
resounding success – we found out
what he’s up to now...
Were you surprised by the response
you got to this project?
It was incredible. We ended up with
1,000 flags, approximately 250 made
by children. But what blew us away
was the thought and passion put into
every flag. Whether it was a hand-
embroidered poem or “I love
my daddy” written in crayon,
we genuinely felt the support
behind ever yone.
Where did the idea come from?
From the Boston Marathon
bombing. Following this terrible
terrorist attack there was an
outpouring of love through a display
of flags with hearts and messages on.
So my wife Kate came up with the
idea of creating a huge display to say
thank you to our Armed Forces on
Armed Forces Day.
I had the idea to make the flags
quilted, so that we could make them
into useful objects for the homeless.
Did you have a favourite?
There was a story behind every single
one, Kate and I were in tears every
night. But my sister made a flag
showing the badge of the ‘Goldfish
Club’. During the Second World War,
if an R AF pilot was shot down,
ditched in the sea and survived they
became a member of the Goldfish
Club. I learnt that my grandfather
was shot down in the Mediterranean
and was a member of this club.
How do you and Kate work together?
Kate was the driving force, and while
I was running workshops she would
be cataloguing every flag and
sending handwritten thank-you
messages. We made a great team, me
being artistic and creative and Kate
One of the stars of The Great British Sewing Bee tells us why he
needs your help to say thank you to our armed forces....
Lt Col Neil Stace
An interview with...
Interview by Katie Allen
Neil realised after
appearing on the
Sewing Bee that
he could use his
moment of fame
for good.L
INSPIRING PEOPLE