The textile artist leading Welsh community textile project Calico Dress Cymru was so inspired by her first visit to Wonderwool Wales at the weekend that she is planning a collaborative venture with the show organisers.

The dress was one of the star attractions at the 20th anniversary show, which attracted a record number of exhibitors and visitors to the Royal Welsh Showground, Llanelwedd.

“It was wonderful to be able to attend Wonderwool Wales, which was an absolutely brilliant weekend and we had some great embroidery added to Calico Dress Cymru reflecting what Wales means to people,” said Menna Buss, project lead.

“I can’t believe how much energy and positivity there was at the show. Everybody feels so much better by gathering and making things together.”

Calico Dress Cymru is the first ‘daughter dress’ of the internationally-renowned Red Dress, a 14-year collaborative embroidery project by artist Kirstie Macleod with contributions from almost 400 countries worldwide.

A collaborative community project initiated by Museum of Wales, Swansea, the project celebrates Welsh identity, heritage and creativity through embroidery.

People are invited to stitch their own motifs or words inspired by personal connections to Wales onto a large calico dress with Welsh wool ‘betgwn’ jacket, creating a collective artwork representing Wales' past, present and future through hand embroidery.

Workshops are being delivered by Menna and people attending them contribute to the dress. Over the Wonderwool Wales weekend, five embroiderers, at each of two sessions daily, contributed under Menna’s guidance.

She has so far only taken the project across South Wales but plans to visit West, Mid and North Wales in the next few years and is keen to hear from groups wishing to get involved.

Even an embroidery club in Brittany, France, which has Celtic connections to Wales, has contributed a hand-stitched Welsh alphabet to the dress. Contact the project on Instagram @calicodress_cymru or on email at [email protected] .

At the end of the project, the Calico Dress Cymru will become part of the public collection at the Museum of Welsh Life, St.Fagan’s, Cardiff.

Menna now hopes to develop a collaborative project with Wonderwool Wales for next year’s show to create with communities and invite people to participate throughout the show weekend.

“I am thinking of designing something, possibly with a similar community feel, where people across Wales come together and participate,” she revealed. “The contacts I made at the show have been amazing for me.”

Chrissie Menzies, Wonderwool Wales director, said she is keen to collaborate with Menna on a Wales-wide community project for next year that could also involve schools.

This year’s record-breaking show sold around 1,000 more tickets online than last year, attracted in excess of 230 exhibitors and visitors from America, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, Ireland and across the UK.

Wonderwool Wales covers everything from the start to the end of the creative process. Exhibits of sheep, raw and hand dyed fibres, yarn for knitting and crochet, embellishments, equipment, dyes and books can be found alongside superb examples of finished textile art, craft, clothing and home furnishings.

The event also features Sheep Walk fashion shows, Woolschool craft workshops, demonstrations and have-a-go sessions hosted by exhibitors.