TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING: THE WOMEN RECREATING THE BAYEAUX TAPESTRY
As the original Bayeux Tapestry returns to Britain for the first time in almost 1,000 years, Swedish-born artist Mia Hansson has revealed the remarkable story behind her own full-scale recreation of one of the medieval world’s most venerated works of art.
Photo Credit: Mia Hansson, Bayeaux Taptestry Replica, Castle Fine Art
For Hansson, the Bayeux Tapestry represents a labour of extraordinary patience, precision and devotion. For more than ten years, she has painstakingly created her own full-scale reproduction of the 70-metre-long artwork, recreating its astonishing imagery, colours, details - and even its imperfections, by hand. Working directly onto fabric, Hansson has carefully mapped out each section before embroidering it inch by inch, an undertaking that has brought her closer to the medieval artisans who originally created the masterpiece nearly a thousand years ago.
Born and raised in Skanör in southern Sweden, Hansson was introduced to cross-stitch by her grandmother Greta at the age of five. A fourth-generation needleworker, Hansson grew up surrounded by textile traditions, with a great-grandmother who was a quilter, a grandmother who knitted and crocheted, and a mother who also made her own clothes.
Her passion for historical textiles developed further through Viking reenactment, where she began creating period clothing. After moving to London in 2003 and later becoming a full-time carer, Hansson found herself with more time at home to pursue her needlework. In 2016, she began what would become her extraordinary decade-long Bayeux project.
Hansson’s work has attracted international attention since 2022, with her progress featured by news outlets, radio and television channels around the world. She has also published books inspired by the project, including Mia’s Bayeux Tapestry Musings and Embroider the Bayeux Tapestry, with The Bayeux Tapestry Colouring Book due for release later this month.
Photo Credit: Mia Hansson, Bayeaux Taptestry Replica, Castle Fine Art
Her approach is about more than historical accuracy. By recreating the tapestry entirely by hand, Hansson brings its story into the present, reminding audiences that this iconic piece of history was itself made by people, through patience, skill and storytelling.
Hansson’s recreation has also inspired Bayeux Illuminated, an exclusive collection of limited-edition artworks created in association with the British Museum. Six pivotal scenes from her reproduction - Oath, Coronation, Comet, William, Hastings and Harold - have been selected and transformed into contemporary works, hand-finished with metallic leaf inspired by the illumination of medieval manuscripts.
Photo Credit: Mia Hansson, Bayeaux Taptestry Replica, Castle Fine Art
With the original Bayeux Tapestry currently on display at The British Museum, Hansson’s extraordinary recreation offers a rare opportunity to see this landmark of medieval storytelling through the eyes, and hands, of a contemporary artist.
The Bayeux Tapestry will be on display at the British Museum between 10 September 2026 and 11 July 2027.
This is the first time since it was made nearly 1,000 years ago that the Tapestry has returned to England, making it a unique and historic opportunity to see it outside of France.
Click here for tickets.