The Great Tapestry of Scotland

The brainchild of bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith, historian Alistair Moffat and artist Andrew Crummy, the Great Tapestry of Scotland is an outstanding celebration of thousands of years of Scottish history and achievement, from the end of the last Ice Age to Dolly the Sheep and Andy Murray's Wimbledon victory in 2013.

This book tells the story of this unique undertaking from its original conception and creation by teams of dedicated stitchers to its grand unveiling at the Scottish Parliament in 2013, its subsequent touring and the creation of its permanent home in the Scottish Borders.



Alistair Moffat was born in Kelso, Scotland in 1950. He is an award winning Writer, Historian and former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television. He is the founder of Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry Of Scotland.

Andrew Crummy began his professional career in London, where he contributed to a wide range of publications, including NME, The Observer and Timeout. A series of large-scale murals for Midland Bank developed into an interest for artworks in public and community settings, and he has been involved with many such projects around the world. He continues with this work as well as undertaking book illustration, and painting skyscapes and portraits.



'This remarkable teamwork has made Andrew Crummy's artistic vision a reality, and The Great Tapestry of Scotland is now a gift to the nation'



'[T]he most ambitious attempt to capture the past in needle and thread since the Bayeux Tapestry ... The result is not just visually stunning but intensely moving and occasionally very funny'



'The beauty of this book lies in the ample space devoted to illustrating each panel of the tapestry, allowing the reader to study the detail in the crafting of each story at their leisure'



'This sumptuous book details every single panel in rich detail, giving a real sense of the scale of the project [. . .] perfect as an introduction to this wonderful work of art, or as a reminder for anyone who has seen the exhibition'



'If you are unable to see the Tapestry in all its glory, this wonderful book will take you through the country’s history from the Ice Age to the present day as told in the stitches of 160 panels'



'[T]his beautiful book follows the journey taken during the creation of this fascinating project'