A dazzling palette of flora and foliage, inspired by the famous Red Border at Hidcote Manor Garden, influences a vibrant machine stitched lace panel. The design of the embroidered work references the flapper dresses of the 1920s, and the Art Deco era of Scott Fitzgerald sparks a lively fizz of textures and patterns.

Free machine embroidery fashions an intriguing textile work: intricate stitched lace patterns of fine viscose threads using water-soluble techniques; layers of silky strands of vintage 1940s parachute cord freely form a decorative mesh and a flowing fringe; delicate silks are embellished with stitch to create flowers; beautiful Swarovski crystals and sequins capture a Jazz Age sparkle.

This textile work was created especially for my display at Art in Action 2011.

A page from 'La Mode' magazine, 1927 (bought at a flea market in France this spring) Flapper dresses inspire the shape of the lace, and fringe details influence a lacey texture of fine stitched cords.

'Work in progress': creating the machine-stitched lace surface. The machine embroidery is worked on a hot water-soluble voile material background. In places a clear film of water-soluble is used to enclose the layers of parachute threads, before machine stitching.

The ‘Hidcote lace’ features in Sue’s latest book Embroidery Atelier.

Hidcote Manor Garden, Gloucestershire is owned by the National Trust