A WIRRAL woman has been recognised for her work in supporting the local community through sewing.   

Nicola Daniels was one of three people crowned Singer Sewing Heroes after a nationwide request by Singer Sewing Machines for nominations in partnership with Hobbycraft.

She was honoured at a lunch in London with Patrick Grant and Esme Young, judges on the BBC programme The Great British Sewing Bee.  

For the last couple of years Nicola, from Hoylake, has been teaching a young lady with Down's Syndrome and helped her through an awful time when she had to leave the college she was attending.

That young woman has now made so many bags and quilts and has found her passion. Nicola also teaches every week at a sewing club for young adults with learning disabilities, sourcing machines, thread, fabric whatever she can from anywhere she can get it.

Wirral Globe: 'Sewing Hero' Nicola Daniels with Patrick Grant and Esme Young, judges on the BBC programme 'The Great British Sewing Bee''Sewing Hero' Nicola Daniels with Patrick Grant and Esme Young, judges on the BBC programme 'The Great British Sewing Bee' (Image: Howard Robinson / Astute)

This club now has a proper base and they're calling it Quilt Stitch Social. Nicola helps these people to get tuition with their sewing, as well as interact with the world in a face-to-face situation.

That social side of their meet-ups is vital, and Nicola works so hard to get them what they need at the club, sourcing machines, thread, fabric whatever she can from anywhere she can.

On being named a UK Sewing Hero, Nicola told the Globe: "I first heard about this through a couple of cryptic messages from friends and thought their accounts had been hacked.

"They told me to check my emails and it was such fantastic news!

"I get so much pleasure from working with such amazing people; people who nobody has really expected them to be able to access sewing as a skill; people who haven’t had these opportunities before.

"Most of my group have an additional need, whether it be educationally or socially.

"We have a fantastic creative community locally and everyone who has helped are also heroes in their own right. I just want to show that anyone can find their passion and succeed in it if they’re given support and encouragement."

The other Heroes named this year were Marion Scott-Baker, from Thatcham, near Newbury, who has taught people at every level to create properly fitting clothes, improve hand stitching skills and use sewing machines, empowering them to sew and launching them into the joys of creative sewing, and Lydia Higginson, from Bristol, who has made it her mission to help women who have fled the war in Ukraine sew their way to a brighter future.

Patrick Grant said: "The stories of these three sewers are inspirational and reflect the enormous contribution that amateur sewers around the country are making to their communities every day.

"It's not an exaggeration for Singer to call Marion, Lydia and Nicola heroes and their local communities as well as the whole sewing community should be very proud of them and all the other amazing nominees."