Winter is here: Game of Thrones embroidery in the snow

On a chilly morning in Essex, an enormous embroidery of the Night King from Game of Thrones, which took 140 people to make, was revealed against the backdrop of snow.

The monumental size needlework and embroidery of a scene from the hit TV show ‘Game of Thrones’ is coming up for auction later this month at Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers in Stansted Mountfitchet.

The complete piece of textile art, measuring 585cm long and 406cm high in four panels, is made of embroidery thread, printed and dyed leather, manipulated fabric, surface stitchery, beads and metal thread, ribbons, Swarovski crystals, Japanese tissue paper, dye, paint gouache, metallic powders, string, fabric, LED lights and a bauble.

This unique embroidery, known as the ‘Hardhome, Embroidery’, was produced by members of the Embroiderers’ Guild, the UK’s leading educational charity promoting embroidery, as a commission for HBO to celebrate the DVD and Blu-ray launch of the fifth Game of Thrones series.

The textile demanded the input of more than 140 people, took over 30,000 man hours to make, and displays a wide variety of traditional and cutting edge needlework techniques across its expanse, including appliqué, beading, digital printing, machine embroidery, metal, thread work, quilting, as well as surface stitching. It was completed and presented to HBO Home Entertainment within a matter of months on 18 March 2016.

It is being sold in the Out of the Ordinary Auction on Tuesday 12 February with an estimate of £5,000-8000.