Clara Emilie Marie West (1844–1907) was a Danish schoolteacher who is remembered for emphasizing the need to include needlework as a subject for primary school education. Thanks to her 1899 textbook Vejledning til methodisk Undervisning i kvindeligt Haandarbejde (Guidelines for the Methodical Teaching of Needlework for Girls), needlework was introduced first in schools in Frederiksberg. It soon became an integral part of the curriculum in Copenhagen and was extended to the whole of Denmark. For the next hundred years, needlework was taught in accordance with West's proposals. It was also included in teacher-training courses for primary school teachers.[1][2][3][4]