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Home / Blog / The Museum of East Anglian Life needs your help to set a spectacularly Suffolk Guinness World Record!

The Museum of East Anglian Life needs your help to set a spectacularly Suffolk Guinness World Record!

Do you like to sew? Could you share basic sewing skills with others? If so, we need your help to set our first ever Guinness World Record.

We are looking for individuals, community groups and schools to help us set a record for the Longest Suffolk Puff Caterpillar at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket, Suffolk.  Using circles of fabric, a simple running stitch and our downloadable instructions you can get involved right now by making and submitting Suffolk Puffs to be included in our great big caterpillar on the 23rd October 2017.

Lisa Harris, Collections and Interpretation Manager says “A Suffolk puff (British) or Yo-yo (American) is a circle of material gathered in on itself to form a smaller, double thickness, puffy circle. They were particularly popular with sewers in the 1920’s and 30’s when they could be joined together at the edges to make quilts. The technique has seen a revival in the last few years with many children in the 70’s and 80’s given toys made from puffs threaded onto elastic. “

This activity, supported by the Big Lottery Fund’s Celebrate programme, is part of the Museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations, marking its original opening in 1967. We have already worked with local Embroiderers Guild groups to create “Fabric, Fields and French Knots” an exhibition of new textile works displayed across our site that “Celebrate East Anglia in Stitch”. Our Longest Suffolk Puff Caterpillar attempt will allow anyone and everyone to get involved with the sewing theme as well as being part of our spectacularly Suffolk Guinness World Record attempt.

If you’d like to join us to make puffs at the Museum, we have workshops running on the 23rd July, 25th August and 21st October – the activity is free with Museum admission. Puffs made at home can be submitted to the Museum up until the 21st October. Don’t miss this chance to take part!

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