Overview
This video was created by Jodrell Bank, who exhibited the Bicentennial Quilts in 2025 (for more information about past and forthcoming exhibitions of the Bicentennial Quilts, see below). The Royal Astronomical Society Bicentennial Quilt project was launched as part of the celebration of the bicentenary in 2020. Two hundred years ago it was not uncommon for family and community members to come together to stitch quilts – often as a way of marking an important life event – so we decided to do the same to honour our bicentenary. Launched at the end of 2019, the RAS Bicentennial Quilt Project was inspired by American astronomer Ellen Harding Baker’s 1876 solar system quilt, which depicts the Sun, the eight planets of our solar system (as well as some of their moons) and a comet, all appliqued, braided and embroidered with wool and silk. It was used by her as a visual aid to give lectures about astronomy.
The RAS project featured two quilts – one was an embroidered version of the solar system, while the other was made in the tradition of patchwork squares, stitched together in a grid, featuring images of an astronomical or geophysical nature. Volunteers from a variety of backgrounds – scientists, professional sewists, novice crafters – gathered to embroider the solar system during stitching afternoons at RAS headquarters. Then the pandemic hit. The RAS offices closed and all stitching sessions were cancelled. But a new online sewing community was born as the sessions were moved to Zoom.
Twelve online stitching sessions took place in 2020, attended by crafters from across the UK, Europe and the US looking for a social and creative outlet during a strange and isolating time. In total, participants created 100 squares for the patchwork quilt while sharing ideas and advice in a supportive online community. Annie Hogan, the RAS staff member who came up with the idea for the quilt project, reconvened the stitching sessions so the patchwork layer, wadding and backing could be quilted together, completing the quilt in 2023. Then focus returned to the Solar System quilt. The Sun, planets and comets were embroidered and hundreds of beads were added to represent objects in the asteroid and Kuiper belts. Next, the solar system was also quilted, and the two companion pieces were exhibited together for the first time in 2025.
The RAS Bicentennial Quilts are a lasting testament to the time and skills of many talented and dedicated people. To learn more about each one of the 100 patchwork squares and the people who made them, see this comprehensive list. Many who contributed patchwork squares also worked on the Solar System quilt. We are particularly grateful to Julian Keeley, who embroidered the Sun and the comet, and Alex Law, who embroidered the inner planets, Jupiter and Saturn.
Exhibitions
We are finalising plans for forthcoming exhibitions in 2026, so please check back on this page for more details later this year.
Past exhibitions
2025 National Astronomy Meeting, Durham University, July 2025
2025 'A stitch in space time' at Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement, May-June 2025
2024 'Stitching satellites and stars' at Norfolk Makers Festival, The Forum, Norwich, April 2024
2024 'An astronomical patchwork quilt' at Orkney International Science Festival, St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, September 2024
2023 'Stitching the stars' at the Royal Society Summer Science exhibition, Carlton Terrace, London 2023