L'Aiguille en Fete 2015

This week the Selvedge Team have been in Paris at France's answer to The Knitting & Stitching Show; L'Aiguille en Fete. Taking place at Porte De Versailles this annual event features over 250 stalls and variety of textile exhibits. Here's a few of our favourites... Laurence Aguerre: After many years in working in fashion, Laurence retrained in textiles and graduated from École Duperré. Her floral installation 'un peu d'air' (above) takes her back to her childhood days in the countryside in the south of France.  And these breeze-blown blooms also give Parisian city dwellers a welcome sense of fresh air. This year is the 250th anniversary of Oberkampf Toile de Jouy. To celebrate  The Musee de la Toile de Jouy  are here with a selection fabrics, wallpapers and clothing. The museum in Jouy-en-Josas, south east of Paris, founded in 1977, has a permanent exhibition of Toile de Jouy as well as printing equipment, old drawings and keepsakes and objects from factory founder, Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf. Claire Coudairs put together one of this year's stand out displays – a range of tribal textiles from cultures across the globe. We love her Indigo pieces which are dyed and hand stitched by the Miao Hmong women in China. The creation of the indigo dye is a lengthy process. Leaves are collected in September and soaked in vats of water for days or weeks dependent on the temperature. Once fermented the leaves are removed and lime is beaten in to introduce oxygen, the water is then drained off and an indigo paste is left. You can see Claire's full collection at Galerie et magasin de curiosités asiatiques, 5 Rue des Vignes, 84200 Carpentras, France   Visit Selvedge, stand C9.2, until Sunday 15 February. Fri 9.30-9pm, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-5 L'Aiguille En Fete,Parc des expositions, Porte de Versailles, Hall 6, 1 place de la Porte de Versailles, 75015 Paris.