My Top 5 Textile Artists To Watch in 2025

I love searching for textile artists who push boundaries, delivering a visual feast for the eyes. These are my top five for 2025 so far. Who will inspire you? Tap the images to visit their websites.

Mar 28, 2025

Chit Chat Source: lizcooksey.bigcartel.com

Wire, hand-cut metal and hand-dyed threads are used to create landscapes and free-standing structures.

I am so pleased to have discovered the work of Liz Cooksey, a textile artist. Working from her studio in Manchester, Liz uses metal and wire alongside crochet to create stunning two and three-dimensional pieces. She draws inspiration from hedgerows and verges, focusing on small details. The colour palettes chosen by Liz are beautifully delicate and create a real feeling of harmony. The combination of wire and crochet is really interesting, and I feel that the two work incredibly well together. Crocheting onto the wire maintains the crisp, clean lines and structure created by the wire, but also brings a softness to the piece through the texture of the yarn.

The work pictured above is one of my favourite pieces because of the colours Liz has used and the way the simple shapes and forms capture the feeling and essence of the hedgerow.

Olga Prinku

Whispers

Commissioned by the Michelangelo Foundation for the “Love” room at Homo Faber: The Journey of Life 2024 Source: prinku.com

Dried flowers, grasses, seed heads, grasses, berries.

When I came across the work of Olga Prinku, it totally blew me away. Olga is the originator of the flowers-on-tulle embroidery technique, and the work she produces is incredible.

I love the delicacy of Olga’s work and how the flowers appear to float in mid-air. The neutral colour palette creates a serene feel to this piece, and the doves symbolise the emotion of love.

The flowers and foliage are all carefully dried and applied to a background of tulle. The tiny stitches used to attach the delicate stems to the tulle are often barely visible, giving the illusion of the flowers floating in their frame.

Olga is currently exhibiting at the Aga Khan Gallery, London, 31 Jan - 8 June 2025, and I am certainly hoping to visit to see her work in person.

Lynn Comley

Summer Meadow Source: upanddowndale.co.uk

Felt using the wet-felting technique, natural fibres and machine and hand-stitched embellishments.

Based in North Yorkshire, Lynn makes full use of the beautiful scenery around her in her work, and her love of flowers is evident! Using the wet felting technique, Lynn builds layers and blends colours to create the landscape for her embroideries. Other natural fibres, such as linen and silk, are often incorporated. Hand stitching and free-motion embroidery are used to add detail and texture to the background, bringing the flowers to life.

The image I have included here captivated me. It embodies everything about an English meadow in summer, and I was instantly transported to a beautifully warm summer day.

Lynn is the co-founder of Embracing Wool, a collaboration of artisans from Yorkshire and neighbouring counties. You can visit their website for details of their work and exhibitions.

Corinne Young

Anemone Pot Plants Source: corinneyoungtextiles.co.uk

Hand-made flax paper developed by Lynn, embroidery.

Corinne comes from a family with roots in the Lancashire textile industry. Her mother was a keen gardener and shared with Corinne her knowledge and love of plants. This background is evident in the incredibly beautiful three-dimensional works produced by Corinne, the perfect marriage between textiles and flowers.

When I first saw a photograph of one of Corinne’s pieces, I have to admit I did a double-take! I marvelled at the delicacy of the shading in every petal, the care and attention to detail. I was amazed that what I was looking at was not a real plant, but a handmade, stitched sculpture.

Corinne’s work is strongly influenced by the technique of stump work which was popular in England from 1650 - 1700. As a base for her embroidery sculptures, Corinne has developed a flax fibre paper, which she stitches into. This gives the structure and support to the floral sculptures.

I don’t know about you, but I just can’t stop looking at these mini masterpieces!

Susan Brubaker Knapp

Hollyhocks Source: susanbrubakerknapp.com

Cloth, thread, acrylic fabric paints, dyes, Tyvek, Angelina fibres, and water-soluble wax pastels.

The image shows Hollyhocks, a stunning piece stitched by Susan in 2023. Hollyhocks are one of my favourite blooms and Susan has captured the essence of this flower beautifully. I love the vibrancy of the colours used, and the expert use of plain and printed fabrics alongside the free-motion quilting brings the fabric to life!

Susan works with paints, dyes, wax and synthetic fibres to enhance and transform the background fabric. The works are often heavily machine-stitched, giving a wonderful texture and added depth. This piece has inspired me to test my quilting skills in the very near future!

Now it’s your turn!

I hope that experiencing these wonderful floral pieces has inspired you to seek out these talented artists to see more of their work, or to have a go yourself to see what you can create. Using the images as a starting point, find your own style and ways to interpret the subject you choose to portray. You will find a link to each of their websites alongside the images above.

I am extremely grateful to each artist featured in this post artist for generously allowing me to use their photographs for this article. Please follow the links in the photographs to find out more about their work, visit an exhibition, or even enrol on one of the courses they offer.

Happy sewing!

Suzanne, Charlotte and Rebecca