Oh sew special! Queen’s Jubilee banner made with 31 miles of thread and half a million gold bu

Oh sew special! Queen’s Jubilee banner made with 31 miles of thread and half a million gold bu

Mangalore Today News Network

It has taken a team of talented seamstresses four months to sew on half a million golden buttons with 31 miles of thread.

So it’s not surprising, perhaps, that more than 3,000 cups of tea were consumed as the team worked on this regal red velvet banner.

It will be used to decorate the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell, on which the Queen will travel for next month’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

 

Measuring 10ft by 10ft, it depicts a crown flanked by a lion and unicorn with the royal motto ‘Dieu et mon droit’ – God and my right – a design which has been approved by the College of Arms which oversees British heraldry.

The names and dates of coronations past will also be sewn around the edge.

The banner has been created by artist and sculptor Ann Carrington and her five assistants at her studio in  Margate, Kent.

It was a month in the planning before work began in the New Year – and during January’s cold snap Miss Carrington bought herself and her assistants ski salopettes, balaclavas and fingerless gloves so they could keep up with their schedule.

There are 500,000 buttons on the banner. Thousands of tiny gold- coloured ones were imported from China because Miss Carrington found it impossible to get any small enough in the UK.

The 3m by 3m banner which will be on show during the Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

There are 500,000 buttons on the banner. Thousands of tiny gold- coloured ones were imported from China because Miss Carrington found it impossible to get any small enough in the UK.

But she has also managed to incorporate a large number of vintage buttons – some solid gold or gold plated – from old military uniforms.

The red velvet on to which the buttons have been sewn was donated by British firm Colefax and Fowler.

Miss Carrington, who has completed private commissions for everyone from the Duke of Westminster to Sir Elton John, said: ‘Having used images of the Queen as part of my work for many years I’m delighted to have the opportunity to make a piece to help celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.’

The pageant will take place on Sunday June 3 and will see 1,000 boats – led by the Queen – take to the water in a spectacular flotilla to mark her 60 years on the throne.

Courtesy: Dailymail London