A heritage project at the Tower Museum in Derry has concluded after conserving and documenting textiles tied to the city's historic shirt-making industry. The work was funded through the Northern Ireland Museums Council's Museum Collections Capital Grant.

The project, called Stitched and centred on shirt factory quilts, allowed museum staff to assess and record a collection of locally made textiles. This has improved their care and preservation for future generations, the council said.

Museum staff worked with volunteer quilters led by Margaret Lee of Shirt Tales NI. The partnership captured specialist knowledge about quilt design, materials and textile traditions that had not previously been documented. The collaboration also strengthened links with local volunteers whose expertise added interpretation to the collection.

Alongside the quilt project, the museum team delivered an archive project exploring the shirt factory archive. That work included archival research, community engagement and oral history interviews with former shirt factory machinists and a former factory owner.

The projects have already led to the donation of eight additional quilts, as well as archive material and objects connected to shirt factories. The legacy of this work is informing the development of the new DNA Museum at Ebrington Square in Derry.

Margaret Edwards, museum service manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council, said the project changed understanding of the shirt factory collections. She said volunteer expertise and community generosity produced new information and important donations, and that the work celebrates traditions and skills that supported generations of families in the north west.

Former shirt factory workers and anyone with related memories, photographs, documents or objects are invited to attend Shirt Factory Memory Days. A drop-in event takes place at the Tower Museum on September 4 from 1pm to 5pm. A second event is scheduled later in September at Strabane Library.

These events will record oral histories, identify photographs and objects, gather extra information for museum collections, and encourage further donations. Further details are available from the museum service by email or via the Tower Museum's social media channels.