“Studying textiles changed my life”. Meet the Morley maker of mouthwatering hand-stitched cakes
jmonblat
Textiles are a versatile art and craft: artists and designers use textiles to create fashion, fabric, wall-hangings, rugs and sculptures. But for former Morley student Caroline Davies, embroidery is the perfect recipe for her eye-catching cake and biscuit creations.
Caroline said “I like to create work around food. I think it’s a really accessible theme, everybody likes food and it has an impact on lots of people’s lives. It’s very relatable for a lot of people. I think food you like sort of tugs on the heart strings for a lot of people.
It’s quite a nostalgic theme and a comforting theme.”
Four years ago Caroline Davies enrolled onto Morley’s Textiles Foundation course and she has been making tasty-looking textiles ever since. An embroidery enthusiast, at Morley Caroline discovered new techniques such as screen printing, machine knitting, and millinery which complimented her passion for sewing.
In March, Caroline’s latest culinary works were on display in Morley Gallery, alongside four contemporaries on Morley’s Textiles Foundation Course.
Some of Caroline’s sweet treats!
Since graduating Morley College, Caroline has won two awards. She now makes textile-art full-time and hopes to display her works in a first solo exhibition. For the Makers of Morley May season, we spoke to Caroline about her exhibition and her practice as a textile artist.
J: Tell us about some of your pieces, a chocolate chip cookie, a cinnamon swirl, a battenberg cake and a doughnut. How did you chose to make those?
C: I decided to do like a sweet treats theme, and I was just thinking about like the kind of um things you get in a bakery. I actually started with the Battenberg and I made that back in 2023. When I knew that I was doing this exhibition, I wanted to kind of have like a theme that would time I worked together, so not just any old food, but like a specific group of foods. So then I made the other five to fit in with that theme. I’ll usually look at a few photos online or sometimes go out and buy the product itself um to have a look at in real life. I don’t really do much sketching or anything. I’ll just draw out the piece and start sewing….I think quite a lot about colour and my thread selection and how on what kind of colours I’m going to blend together to create the right tones. The construction is the hardest part, like the making it 3D is the most challenging part usually.
J: How long does it take to make a Battenburg or that donut?
C: So pieces about this size usually take between 30 to 40 hours and the cake took 250 hours.
J: Wow!
C: It kind of varies.
J: That cinnamon swirl – did you make that entirely by hand or – is that made with a machine or a combination of things?
C: It’s all hand embroidery, and all the construction is by hand as well. I don’t use a machine at all. I think it’s just it’s the challenge of each piece itself because each piece is so different. How I’m going to construct it, how I’m going to achieve the different textures in the food? Embroidery is quite a slow mindful activity. So even though some of the pieces will have large areas of just one colour, it’s like quite a relaxing thing to do to sit like have a garden studio. So to sit down in my garden and just sew and look out and see the birds and yeah, it’s very peaceful.
J: And would you recommend the Textile Foundation course at Morley to anyone who was thinking about studying textiles here?
C: It was really great. It was a year long course, two days a week, um and I was already quite into textiles in general, um but specifically embroidery… It’s definitely changed my life because it really set in stone that textiles was for me and it was the what I wanted to do with my life. The tutors are all amazing. They’re like really expert in their fields. So, yes, I would 100% recommend it!
Listen to Caroline on Morley Radio where Caroline invites us to feast our eyes Morley Radio Student Stories Podcast.
Try Textiles! Find out more about our Textile Foundation Courses:
The Morley Textiles Foundation Diploma: Level 3 – Morley College Courses
Morley College Textile Foundation for 2025 Intake: Open Event – Morley College London
