Frankie

Sweden or abroad, I usually visit the local flea markets – I’ve carried

lots of embroideries in my luggage over the years.

What different materials and craft techniques do you use? I use

needle and thread, and of course, glue. First, I make a pattern

in calico. Then I look for a suitable embroidery and start to cover

the item. If the embroidery isn’t big enough, I choose one with a

similarpattern. I like the wool embroideries best. I also dye the

zig-zag band in the right colour.

How long does each piece take to make?To finish a phone or electric

mixer takes about 10 hours. Bigger installations I work on for months,

because I usually add things as I go. It’s important to me that I use the

same pattern across a whole installation. It might be red cottages and

a blue sky, a moose in nature, or different flower patterns.

What’s the strangest object you’ve covered? ‘Painful Work’ is the title

of a typewriter that took a long time to do. I almost gave up the project

• I worked with it for several hours and thought I’d destroyed both the
  typewriter and the embroideries.

What happens to the pieces once you’re finished? I’ve had several

exhibitions where I sell my objects. I also receive kind emails from

all over the world with encouraging words, and sometimes somebody

will ask if they can buy an object.

Which item would you like to cover next?I'd love to cover a complete

girl’s room from the ’70s, and I’ve started to collect objects that could

be suitable for that. A dressing table, a beauty box, a mirror, a blow

dryer, and other things like that.

Where can we see more of your work?ullastinawikander.com

Tell us a little about yourself, please. I was born and raised in
Sweden. Early in life, I was interested in all sorts of creative things
like sewing, painting and construction. My family and some of my
teachers were very encouraging.

Do you have a background in art? At the age of 16, I started going
to evening school to study painting and drawing. After high school,
I went to a one-year preparation art school, and it meant a lot to have
the opportunity to learn and study art. Then I applied to university
and did a five-year course with a focus on painting and sculpture.

What is your connection to cross-stitch? When my children were
small, I found it hard to support them. I had to do extra work at the
Gothenburg Opera House as a prop master in the prop department.
We often went to flea markets and secondhand stores to buy props
for the various opera performances. It was there I came across
cross- and tent-stitch embroideries. I started to collect them, but
didn’t know what to do with them. My feelings were mixed – they
were both lovely and regarded as kitsch.

Where did the idea for this project come from? I thought the
embroideries were really beautiful and wanted to bring them back
to life. In 2012, I started to cover ordinary household things from the
’70s, like a sewing machine, vacuum cleaner and electric mixer. I find
it interesting to see how these objects transform in a new context.
The objects go from obsolete and forgotten to ‘dressed up’. There’s
also a feminist point of view, focusing on women’s everyday work
that some think doesn’t count.

Where do you find the items and embroideries? I visit different
markets and secondhand stores once a week. When I travel in

using vintage embroideries and some

crafty needlework, ulla-stina wikander

gives old-time objects a fresh start.

a stitch in time

look what i made