Dean Castle Textile Team present gift to commemorate club anniversary

The talented volunteers who form the Dean Castle Textile Team have kindly presented Kilmarnock FC with a handcrafted flag to commemorate the club’s 150^th anniversary.

A bespoke flag has been developed in partnership between the club and Provost Todd of East Ayrshire, who met with the team to work collaboratively on a concept which brings together all of the club’s crests in one piece and showcases the club’s illustrious history.

The project kicked off in 2019 in the midst of Kilmarnock’s 150th anniversary celebrations, before progress was sadly halted by the pandemic. Now that the project has been finished, having taken a little longer than originally expected to complete, the flag will now take pride of place in the Killie Museum.

The flag comprises of linen, which was stretched and laced tightly onto a floor standing embroidery frame, featuring stretched and sewn silk and silk ribbon detailing. As part of a very intricate process, some of the crests were hand-stitched by members of the textile team and added to the flag, with others embroidered directly on the material using a variety of stitches and techniques.

Gregg McEwan, General Manager of Kilmarnock FC, said: “When the process first started, it was a coming together of many creative minds and I knew the team were going to create something that the club could really treasure and showcase in our museum. We designed an idea and the team took it, engaged their own creative licence and really blew us away with the process from start to finish.

“The talent shown in the team was fantastic and their ability to utilise a combination of methods, both historic and new, to create the final piece was a real pleasure to witness. I would like to thank Linda and the team for allowing us to be part of the process, in addition to Provost Todd for helping us with the idea, and everyone else that was involved in the process.”

Linda Fairlie, Collections Care Co-Ordinator with East Ayrshire Leisure, added: “When Provost Todd and Gregg first came to see us, we were looking for a new project before the restoration works began for the Dean Castle.

“We all thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, and it was a great way to keep us all together during the Pandemic. Naturally, we couldn’t meet collectively due to the restrictions, so we each decided to work on individual parts of the flag, then return and combine everything on one finished piece. We’re delighted this will be shown in the club’s museum and it’s something we can all take a little bit of pride in.”

Provost Jim Todd added: “It’s brilliant to see that everyone involved from the council and club collaborated to create something that the club will have for the rest of time. The fantastic individuals at the Dean Castle Textile Team have produced a gift that is fitting for one of Scotland’s oldest professional football clubs.”

Dean Castle Textile Team: Manuela Barbour, May Chalmers, Caroline Dewhurst, Linda Fairlie, Gill Flemmich, Doreen Flett, Susan MacColl, Rose Ann McCallum, Patsy McSpadyen, Grace Martin, Anne Richmond, Janice Trewinnard.