We have launched a brand new Self-Paced Video Online Course called ‘Festive Christmas Sampler’.

Join RSN Tutor Helen McCook as she leads you through techniques and stitches to complete this joyful, festive design. In this course, you will learn how to read a stitch chart and perform a variety of counted stitches, from Back Stitch to French Knots, through a variety of Cross Stitches to Algerian Eye and Rice Stitch. This stunning course is a modern spin on a traditional band sampler and the perfect Christmas present or decoration.

‘Festive Christmas Sampler’ is the latest course added to the wide range of video online courses we offer, in partnership with David & Charles. There is now a choice of 11 different courses covering a range of techniques and levels. Study online from the comfort of home and learn at your own pace. You can re-watch the videos as often as you like and learn new skills with our expert RSN Tutors, wherever you live in the world.

Watch the new course trailer here.

View all RSN Self-Paced Video Online Courses on our dedicated website. Click here.  

Thank you to everyone who has been involved with, and visited, our Anniversary Exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum. It is open for just 2 more days – Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 September.

We can’t believe how time has flown by so quickly! We have loved showcasing our history and celebrating our 150th anniversary at this very special museum.

If you’re able to visit before the doors close, click here to book your tickets.

If you can’t make it to the exhibition, watch our Online On-Demand Talk ‘150 Years of the RSN: Crown to Catwalk’ with RSN Chief Executive, Dr Susan Kay-Williams, to learn more about the show and hear the stories behind some of the fascinating objects on display.⁠ Click here.

Find out more about our Anniversary celebrations here.

Join us this September for our brand new Day Classes, celebratory exhibitions and Open Days.

Day Classes:

• Designing for Embroidery: ‘Jacobean Crewelwork’ – Tues 13 Sept, 3 – 9pm
• Goldwork Fundamentals – Wed 14 Sept, 6 – 8pm
• Ribbonwork Hearts – Sat 17 Sept, 10am – 4pm
• Technical Tuesdays: An Introduction to Crewelwork Stitches (Daytime) – Tues 20 Sept – 29 Nov, 12.30pm – 2.30pm
• Technical Tuesdays: An Introduction to Crewelwork Stitches (Evenings) – Tues 20 Sept-  29 Nov, 7.30pm – 9.30pm
• Experimental Embroidery – Wed 21 Sept – 12 Oct, 7 – 9pm
• Visible Mending for Sustainable Fashion – Sun 25 Sept, 10am – 4pm
•  Stumpwork Poppy Brooch: at D-Day Story in Portsmouth – Fri 30 Sept, 10:30am – 4:30pm

Events & Exhibitions:

 

• A Girl’s Education in Stitch Exhibition
• RSN Graduates of 2022 Exhibition at Sunbury Gallery – 6 Sept – 16 Oct 2022
• C&D Open Day – Online Open Day, via Zoom,  Tues 20 Sept, 1pm
• Degree Open Day – Online Open Day, via Zoom, Fri 30 Sept, 2pm

We hope you can join us!

We are delighted to be opening an exhibition at Sunbury Gallery in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey from 6 September until 16 October. 

Selected work by 2022 RSN Graduates from our BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery and the Future Tutors programme will be on display at this award-winning gallery. 

It will showcase two and three dimensional pieces that explore dynamic and innovative approaches to hand embroidery as well as traditional. 

Sunbury Gallery has a café onsite and overlooks an 18th Century Walled Garden. Opening times are 10:30am – 4pm Tuesday to Sunday (closed all day Monday). 

Entry to the exhibition is free of charge.

For further details on the exhibition, please visit the Sunbury Gallery website. Click here.

RSN Degree Students are proud to have contributed to an ambitious project called Fields of EveryWhen by international artists, musson+retallick. Fields of EveryWhen is a unique artwork in the form of a 25m high hot air balloon, which brings stories of Thamesmead, in south east London, to life through needlework.

Artists Neil Musson and Jono Retallick, who won the Thamesmead Open, an international art competition organised by Peabody, spent two years working with the Thamesmead community, inviting them to share their personal memories and remarkable tales, to capture a contemporary snapshot of the area.

Inspired by the embroidered storytelling of the Bayeux Tapestry, each of the stories has been interpreted by residents, community groups, artists and RSN Degree Students. These designs have been collaged together and digitally enlarged onto 800 metres of balloon fabric to create a spectacular ‘floating gallery’.

Angie Wyman, Degree Course Leader at the Royal School of Needlework said:  “Our Degree Students were really moved by the stories of the Thamesmead local community and it was really interesting to see how they translated them, not only in their designs but also in their chosen embroidery techniques. It was wonderful to bring these unique stories to life with the art of hand embroidery and for the person who shared their story to see how it had been interpreted by the student.”

Neil Musson said:  “It has been a pleasure working with students from the RSN on our Fields of EveryWhen project. We have been really impressed by the way in which the students have interpreted personal stories as embroideries, especially given the sensitive nature of some of the content.”

As well as floating overhead, the balloon can be inflated on its side to create an immersive installation visitors can walk into and view the artworks up close.

The balloon plans to fly over Thamesmead on the following dates:

• Saturday 10 September Birchmere Park, Thamesmead
• Saturday 24 September Crossways Park, Thamesmead
• Sunday 25 September Gallions Reach Park, Thamesmead

All flights take place in the evening from approximately 18:30 – 21:00 with side inflation during the afternoon. All dates and times are subject to change as the balloon inflation depends on suitable weather conditions. Please check www.g-foew.art for updates before planning your visit.

If you are unable to travel to Thamesmead the Fields of EveryWhen website includes an interactive 3D model of the balloon where you can listen to the contributors’ stories and view the artworks in detail.

If you would like to know more about the BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery, please book onto our Online Open Day at 1pm on Tuesday 20 September. Book here.

Gallery shows images of the balloon (Getty); artists musson+retallick and some of the stories stitched by RSN Degree Students.  

 

 

Thank you to everyone who took part in our inaugural RSN Sip & Stitch.

We are delighted to receive your lovely feedback and see the wonderful photos from your events. If any hosts still need to forward their fundraising monies, please donate by Wednesday 7 September to be in with a chance of winning an exclusive RSN anniversary bundle of goodies. The winner will be the host who raised the most money.

All money raised this year will go towards RSN Stitch Bank and as part of RSN Sip & Stitch we added another 25 stitches so there are now 250 stitches! Each stitch entry contains information about its history, use and structure as well as a step-by-step method with photographs, illustrations and video.

We can’t wait to see you all next year for RSN Sip & Stitch 2023!

Click here to donate to RSN Sip & Stitch.

Find out more about the RSN Stitch Bank – explore the 25 new stitches.

Photos show RSN Sip & Stitch events and RSN Anniversary Collection Prize Bundle

 

We have enjoyed celebrating all the RSN has achieved during our 150 year history, however, we are not an organisation to dwell on the past. Instead, we see many exciting opportunities for the future and are bringing together plans to create new programmes to meet the needs that you have requested.

As a charity and non- profit, we must raise funds to initiate these plans. We need to raise £150,000 so that we can make a start on the most urgent initiatives. Will you help us to build the RSN of the future by making a donation today?

You can read about and view all our ideas for the future in this 150 Forward Booklet. Please read it to see the breadth and variety of our ambitions.

Dr Susan Kay-Williams, Chief Executive of the RSN writes,

“We have many exciting plans to take embroidery to new communities, to different age groups, to broaden participation and enable more people to enjoy the professional and therapeutic benefits of stitch. This is the biggest and potentially most far reaching campaign the RSN has ever launched, so may I ask you to join me in supporting the 150 Forward Campaign. With your help, we can create an exciting, relevant and dynamic future for hand embroidery in the 21st century at the RSN.”

Support the RSN’s 150 Forward Campaign. Click here.

If you are a US tax payer, click here to make your donation.

Every gift makes a difference, but if you can give £150 or £1500 or more, we have a special thank you gift in the form of copies of designs from the archives by Walter Crane and Edward Burne Jones respectively. See more information in the booklet.

The next 150 years of the RSN starts here, please support this important campaign today.

150 Forward Campaign

This September the RSN sees a change of Chairman. We say a huge thank you to outgoing Chairman, Andrew Palmer. Andrew has served the RSN as both Honorary Treasurer and, for the last five and a half years, as Chairman. In that time he has carefully overseen the RSN, in particular achieving more financial stability to build on for the future.

RSN Chief Executive, Dr Susan Kay-Williams comments: “Andrew has played a huge role in the development of the RSN. I have greatly valued his financial knowledge and wise counsel over the last 12 years.”

Replacing Andrew is Pip Wood. Pip joined the RSN Council in 2021 and brings a background of Chairmanship at one of the UK’s highest performing state secondary schools and a professional career of senior corporate and consumer communications roles in FTSE100 companies.

Pip regularly participates in RSN short courses and attended our 2022 International Summer School. She also spent time recently listening to feedback from customers, students, tutors and staff to help in planning our future development.

Pip Wood said:  “I discovered the RSN just before Lockdown in 2020 and welcomed the opportunity to become a trustee. Our activities during the pandemic have really extended our reach and given us even more ambition to look at how hand embroidery can enrich people’s lives.”

 

We will be returning to The Knitting and Stitching Show in London, 6 – 9 October. Visit our stand and view RSN Collection pieces alongside contemporary work, highlighting the organisation’s history, versatility and expertise. Also on the stand will be a special 150th anniversary design and everyone is invited to add some stitches.

As part of our anniversary celebrations, there will also be a quiz trail throughout the exhibition halls, challenging visitors to locate images of RSN students’ work, with a prize draw at the end.

For this special year, the RSN is teaching a striking black and gold design, inspired by an original hand drawn illustration by British artist and designer Selwyn Image (1849-1930) from our extensive Archive. During the 90 minute workshop taught every day, you will learn a variety of surface stitches and beginner Goldwork techniques. Goldwork is synonymous with both royalty and ecclesiastical vestments and is just one of the many techniques the RSN is famous for.

Book your place now on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

The show organisers are kindly offering a £2 discount code for standard advance tickets, so adults pay £16.50 and concessions pay £14. (Excludes Saturday 8 October and booking fees apply.) Code: WT22

For more information about the show and to book your tickets click here.

We will also be at The Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate from 17 – 20 November and bookings for those workshops will open soon. Find out more here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

We were thrilled to welcome the 2022 graduates from our Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery and Future Tutors Programme to Hampton Court Palace for our annual prize giving ceremony.

We have included a gallery of some of their work for you to enjoy.

Congratulations to all our Certificate & Diploma graduates – We teach the C&D course onsite in Bristol, Rugby, Durham and Glasgow, internationally in Japan and North America, and at our base at Hampton Court Palace, south west London. We also now teach online, so students can join from around the world. It is the most flexible course you will find – you can start your RSN Certificate journey at any time during the academic year, choosing when to take your classes. And, as we teach this course online, you also have the flexibility to join wherever you live! View the C&D 2022 Graduate Gallery.

If you are interested in joining the Certificate & Diploma, attend our Online Open Day at 1pm on Wednesday 24 August. Book onto the Open Day here.

Congratulations to our new Future Tutors – Amanda Rymel, Natalie Rowe, Nao Nagamura, Sally Randle and Sonia Lee. We can’t wait to see your new class designs and how your careers grow!

If you are passionate about hand embroidery and maintaining these traditional skills by teaching new generations, then the RSN’s Future Tutors Programme may be for you. It will give you a professional career in embroidery, not only teaching what you love, but also with the option to develop your expertise and technical skills in a commercial setting at the RSN’s very own specialist Embroidery Studio.

To find out more about our Future Tutors Programme, you can visit our website here or email [email protected]. Open Days for this course will be in 2023.

Watch our Future Tutors Programme video here to see where and what you will be studying.

Images

Future Tutors Graduates with their Certificates

Graduation Ceremony at Hampton Court Palace

Jacobean Crewelwork by Future Tutors Graduate Natalie Rowe

Stumpwork by Future Tutors Graduate Sally Randle

Canvas Shading by Future Tutors Graduate Amanda Rymel

Blackwork by Future Tutors Graduate Nao Nagamura

Silk Shading by Future Tutors Graduate Sonia Lee

Silk Shading by Certificate Graduate Christina MacDonald

Advanced Goldwork by Diploma Graduate Lianne Hart

Blackwork by Certificate Graduate Jo Taylor

Canvaswork by Certificate Graduate Chui (Joyce) Ping Wong

Silk Shading by Certificate Graduate Monica Dumitrescu

It was fantastic to see our graduates from 2020, 2021 and 2022 come together to attend their graduation ceremony, having been cancelled the past two years due to Covid. Congratulations to everyone and to our prize winning Third Year Students who were awarded on our exhibition stand at New Designers.

The award winning Third Year Degree Students for 2022 are:

• Sabina Lima for Best Final Major Project
• Linnea Lyndon for Best Overall Student sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Broderers
• Eliza Gomersall for Best Stitch Innovation, sponsored by the Needlemakers
• Daisy Streatfeild for Best Use of Metal Threads, sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Drawers
• Jasmine Hollowday for Best Contextual Essay, sponsored by the Arts Society Greater London

If you are interested in finding out more about the BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery, please visit our website for more information and book onto our forthcoming Open Day at Hampton Court Palace at 12pm on Saturday 17 September. Book here.

Visit our Degree website here.

BA (Hons) in Hand Embroidery is validated by Kingston University.

The doors are now open for our new exhibition, ‘A Girl’s Education in Stitch’. 

Taking place in our Embroidery Studio at Hampton Court Palace, the new display demonstrates the variety of work stitched by girls as part of their education and features fascinating objects from the RSN’s unique Collection & Archive.

In the early days of formal education, embroidery substituted for reading, writing and maths, using needlework samplers. The RSN’s new exhibition features a range of pieces across the 18th and 19th centuries, from band samplers to map and darning samplers.  

Moving through to the 1900s, the exhibition highlights dressmaking, which became part of the curriculum and features examples of miniature outfits, from knickers to pinafores. From the 20th century, the exhibition focuses on the Needlework Development Scheme and other ways in which children were taught to stitch, as well as examples of work from girls across the UK.

Dr Susan Kay-Williams, RSN Chief Executive and Curator of the exhibition said,

“Our Collection houses a myriad of samplers sewn by children and young adults. The samplers in the exhibition date from the 1730s to the 20th century, including the use of Map Samplers in which girls learned writing and geography as well as embroidery.”

Visitors can book Curator Tours with Dr Susan Kay-Williams, Guided Tours and Talk & Tours. Please note that as the exhibition is in our working Embroidery Studio, it is only open on a limited number of set days, so pre-booking is essential. 

There are currently spaces available for the following sessions in August:

• Talk & Tour: 11am on Thursday 11 August
• Curator’s Tour: 10:30am on Saturday 13 August

Group Bookings

• Group Tour: 2pm on Thursday 11 August
• Group Curator’s Tour: 2pm on Saturday 13 August

Book your place now to avoid disappointment.