IT could be said that Skipton's economy was once held together with sewing thread.

Major cotton thread manufacturers Dewhursts, whose mills in Broughton Road dominated the town, provided work for many Skiptonians for more than a century.

In its heyday thousands of bobbins of thread for a variety of sewing uses were churned out of the huge mill.

The familiar wooden bobbins were found all over the country but, as ready made clothes became cheaper and cheaper fewer people made their own attire, and less and less practised "mend and make do".

From a time when every woman and girl was skilled in dressmaking, sewing has now become a hobby rather than a necessity and stitching crafts such as embroidery and tapestry are emerging as popular pastimes.

Sadly Dewhursts did not survive the change away from home dressmaking and it fell victim to recession and dwindling markets in the early eighties. The building is still there, now occupied by a greetings card manufacturer, but the mill chimney which dominated the town has now gone. Once dominating the town's landscape, it was first matched then eclipsed by Skipton Building Society's offices, physically as well as metaphorically marking the demise of cotton and rise of finance.

But locally some remnants of the cotton trade can be found and a firm founded by a Bradley man is flourishing producing sewing threads for industrial and consumer customers.

Way back in 1927 Alderman John Ball started his business supplying yarns to weaving mills. As a youngster going over the Heath from Bradley to Skipton, Dewhurst's chimney would have been a familiar site to him.

Empress Mills Ltd, which started life in Empress Street, Colne, and moved recently to Hollin Hall Mill, Trawden, is now run by Alderman Ball's grandchildren. Sister and brother Christine and Winston Driver are the current directors of the firm which is enjoying life as a modern thread manufacturer. When cotton went into decline Empress Mills began to produce sewing thread as well as yarn, and eventually the thread became its major product.

Over the years the range of threads made by Empress Mills has improved and expanded and has kept pace with the increasing demands of both industrial and domestic machines.

Quality has become even more vital as faster, more efficient machines need tangle free, reliable thread, and ironically just as the company makes its name for its British sewing thread, the weaving trade is once more turning to it for supplies. Weavers now need specialist sizes and types of yarn to cope with super efficient machines in the industry.

At Hollin Hall Mill all the machinery is less than 10 years old, although Empress Mills has kept some fascinating artefacts to remind them of the past.

Within the mill is the Hollin Hall Sewing Centre, developed to meet the needs of sewing enthusiasts. The centre was inspired by the firm's direct contact with customers as it only sells its products via mail order - you won't find its threads in retail outlets.

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