We are holding a number of Family Drop-in Sessions at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London over the summer holidays. Book your ticket to our Anniversary Exhibition and join us for a fun embroidery workshop during your visit.

Families will have the opportunity to try their hand at needlework while visiting ‘150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk’. Children will be able to experiment and learn some basic hand embroidery stitches to decorate a printed word design.

The Family Drop-in Sessions take place from 11.30am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm on the following days:

• Thursday 4 August
• Thursday 11 August
• Thursday 18 August
• Thursday 25 August
• Thursday 1 September

Thank you to all the schools that came to the museum over the summer term. We really enjoyed showing the children around the exhibition and teaching them hand embroidery. Thank you also to The Worshipful Company of Broderers who have generously sponsored both the Family Drop-in workshops and School Sessions.

Book your ticket to the exhibition here 

Read more about our Anniversary Activities here 

The RSN Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery grows from strength to strength with Tutors now teaching online to students across the globe.

Meet a group of Online Certificate students, from three different time zones, who met on the course and have decided to continue their tuition together. Mikiko Ando in Tokyo, Japan, Deb Bryan in North Carolina, USA and Bev Pearson in Lancashire, UK, are all learning together at the same time!

Mikiko started to learn needlework from her aunt when she was 6 years old.

“After I got married, I lived in London for over ten years, and discovered how beautiful and fun Cross Stitch was and my passion for embroidery was ignited! At the time, I knew that the RSN taught classes, but I was unable to attend them as I was raising my three children.

Last year, I learnt that the RSN had started to teach online and I jumped at the chance straight away! As classes are well structured and my Tutor is so patient, I was able to give myself deadlines. Then in 2021, I attended the RSN’s Online International Summer School so I have been kept busy! Currently, I am working on my Silk Shading piece and will continue to complete the Certificate from September.”

Deb has been stitching for most of her life primarily focusing on Needlepoint and Cross Stitch.

“I discovered the RSN four years ago and was immediately intrigued by the variety of embroidery techniques. Shortly thereafter, I signed up for my first class, an in-person Pulled Thread class at RSN Scotland in Glasgow. I loved it!

When the RSN started Online teaching I was thrilled! For me, this meant endless opportunities for learning new techniques with the most premier teachers in the world.

After taking more Online Day Classes, I made the decision to take the Online Certificate course. Our group, representing Japan, England, Scotland, and the USA, quickly bonded. We have continued our Certificate journey together with RSN Tutor Pippa Foulds.

I share my story in hope of inspiring others to embark on your very own RSN journey. May your experience with the RSN enrichen and delight you as much as it has for me. Happy stitching!”

Bev started her embroidery journey many years ago when she was at school and, prior to starting the Certificate, she mostly stitched from kits.

“I wanted to develop my embroidery skills and started by attending some RSN Day Classes. While attending a Silk Shading class in Lancaster, I found out about the RSN’s plans to start teaching the Certificate online and decided to book a place.

Our group is truly international and I have new sewing friends in America, the UK and Japan. We enjoy being together so much that we asked if we could continue to study together and are now about to embark on our fourth module as a group!

Learning online is a very positive experience with the opportunity to listen to the advice given to others in the group and to learn from each other. Most importantly though, is the moral support and encouragement everyone gives each other. I have enjoyed every module so far and learned so many new skills. I’m very much looking forward to the Goldwork module and then starting the Diploma.”

So, why not start on your RSN Certificate journey with us whether Onsite or Online, whether it’s for your career, you have always wanted to learn and now have the time, or simply want to do something for yourself.

Watch our Certificate & Diploma programme video here.

Our autumn term start dates are:

Hampton Court Palace: 17 September
Bristol: 1 September
Rugby: 17 September
Durham: 12 September
Glasgow: 24 August & 21 September
Online: 31 August

Read more about the Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery here. 

Book on an Open Day here. 

Images

Jacobean Crewelwork by Mikiko Ando

Jacobean Crewelwork by Deborah Bryan

Jacobean Crewelwork by Beverly Pearson

We have a number of events taking place over the summer and hope you can join us.

RSN Sip & Stitch – Saturday 30 July

Host your own event and have fun with stitch with friends, family and neighbours. Share your passion for needlework and celebrate World Embroidery Day with RSN Sip & Stitch.

A Girl’s Education in Stitch – New Exhibition at Hampton Court Palace

• Talk & Tour: 11am on Thursday 11 August
• Group Tour: 2pm on Thursday 11 August
• Curator’s Tour: 10.30am on Saturday 13 August
• Group Curator’s Tour: 2pm on Saturday 13 August

Fashion and Textile Museum Exhibition – Family Drop-in Sessions

• Thursday 4 August
• Thursday 11 August
• Thursday 18 August
• Thursday 25 August
• Thursday 1 September

Family Drop-in Sessions take place from 11.30am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm. To take part, simply book tickets to see our 150 Anniversary Exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, ‘150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk.’

Online C&D Open Day

• 1pm on Wednesday 24 August

View all RSN Events here. 

In July, we will be staging our first exhibition at Hampton Court Palace in three years, ‘A Girl’s Education in Stitch’. The exhibition will demonstrate the variety of work stitched by girls as part of their education and will feature fascinating objects from the RSN Collection and Archive.

In the early days of formal education, embroidery substituted for reading, writing and maths, so we see the use of Map Samplers in which girls learned writing and geography as well as embroidery. Moving through to the 1900s, we see the start of dressmaking as part of the curriculum through miniature outfits from knickers to pinafores.

Objects on display will include notebooks from students as they learn their dressmaking, some with fine penmanship, and samplers from the early days ranging from band samplers to map and darning samplers, including items from across the 18^th and 19^th centuries. From the 20^th century we will focus on the Needlework Development Scheme and other ways in which children were taught to stitch along with examples of work from girls across the UK.

We are offering Curator Tours with RSN Chief Executive and Curator Dr Susan Kay-Williams; Guided Tours and Talk & Tours. The exhibition opens 20 July and runs until March 2023.  Book your place now to avoid disappointment. Click here.

We will be teaching at the Holburne Museum in Bath on Friday 3 September.

This exclusive partnership class is inspired by the museum’s exhibition ‘Marvellous Makers, Wondrous Worlds; Raised Embroidery from the 17th Century’ which runs until 11 September.

Students will learn how to create a beautiful motif based upon the Esther and Ahaseurus Raised Embroidery panel stitched in approximately 1640. The RSN design is based on a section of the intricate panel showing a bird flying around a tree under sun rays and beautiful sparkling cloud. You will have a chance to view and learn about the history of this panel and many other wonderful objects during the day from the museum’s unique collection and exhibition.

To find out more about the class and to book your place, click here.  

To find out more about the Holburne museum, click here. 

Come and see work from this year’s Graduates of our Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery course and Future Tutors Programme.

Their wonderful work will be on display in our Embroidery Studio at Hampton Court Palace from Wednesday 6 – Saturday 9 July. The exhibition will be open from 10am – 4pm each day and is free to enter. To access the exhibition, please enter through the RSN Shop, located at the East Front gates.

If you are interested in joining the Certificate & Diploma course, please book onto the C&D Online Open Day at 1pm on 24 August to find out more and meet the Education Team.

Information on our Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery here Information on our Future Tutors Programme here 

Images, clockwise left to right:  Silk Shading by Future Tutor Graduate, Amanda Rymel;  Pulled and Drawn Work by Future Tutor Graduate Nao Nagamura;  Stumpwork by Future Tutor Graduate Sally Randle;  Appliqué by Future Tutor Graduate Sonia Lee;  Jacobean Crewelwork by Future Tutor Graduate Natalie Rowe;  Blackwork by Diploma Graduate Susan Leve Ghosh;  Silk Shading by Certificate Graduate Rachel Carey

If you like to learn at your own pace, from the comfort of home, our Self-Paced Video Online Courses would be perfect for you.  With each course led by an RSN Tutor, there is a wide range of courses available from Introduction to Jacobean Crewelwork, Goldwork, Blackwork and Silk Shading to Next Steps courses to continue your learning journey.

This series of Video Online Courses have been produced in partnership with David and Charles, and give you the opportunity to:

• Study online from the comfort of home, led by an expert RSN Tutor in your chosen technique
• Work at your own pace and re-watch the videos as often as you like
• Stitch along, using the professional-grade materials that will be posted direct to your door
• Enjoy the wellness benefits of embarking on and completing a creative project
• Learn new skills, whatever your previous level of experience
• Immerse yourself in 90–180 minutes of high-definition video, delivered in step by step lessons
• Access supplementary downloadable content and clearly written steps to success

You can view and purchase these courses from a dedicated website – rsnonlinecourses.com

For a limited time only, David & Charles is giving 10% off two of the recently launched courses – Introduction to Stumpwork and Introduction to Appliqué.  Use the coupon code “10OFF” to receive 10% off the RRP.   NB: This offer is only valid on rsnonlinecourses.com website and until 30 June 2022.

To view all the RSN Self-Paced Video Online Courses, please visit rsnonlinecourses.com

Terms and Conditions of the 10% discount:

• This offer is only available from the rsnonlinecourses.com
• It is only available until 30 June 2022.
• Offer is applicable to the ‘Introduction to Stumpwork‘ & ‘Introduction to Appliqué’ on the rsnonlinecourses.com website
• David & Charles is the promotor of this offer.

Our Degree Students have been very busy showcasing all their beautiful work at Hampton Court Palace.  Starting with a special celebration and awards evening with friends and family, followed by a spectacular showcase of the Third Years’ Final Major Projects at our Degree Show.

Thank you to international artists, Neil Musson and Jono Retallick, who made the celebration evening extra special by presenting the awards to our First and Second Year Students.  RSN Degree Students have recently worked with musson+retallick on a project called ‘Fields of EveryWhen’ which is a unique artwork, bringing stories of a local community to life through needlework and a hot air balloon!

Congratulations to:

• First Year Degree Student Rosie Sykes, winner of Most Promising First Year, sponsored by RSN Friends
• First Year Degree Student Millie Darnell-Hayes, winner of Raised Embroidery Award, sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
• Second Year Degree Student Kirsty Farrer, winner of Contextual Essay Award, sponsored by The Arts Society
• Second Year Degree Student Lizzy Gray, winner of Contextual Essay Award, sponsored by The Arts Society
• Second Year Degree Student Jenna Riddell, winner of Most Developing Second Year, sponsored by RSN Friends
• Second Year Degree Student Chloe Rogers, winner of Best Technical Stitch, sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Needlemakers

More awards will be presented to our Third Year Degree Students at New Designers. Come and meet our students on stand T32 at the Business Design Centre in London from 30 June – 2 July.

For more information on our BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery, visit our Degree website here.

Images: 

1. Jono Retallick, Dr Susan Kay-Williams Neil Musson, Livia Papiernik and Chloé Rochefort
2. First Year Degree Student Fleur Webb
3. First Year Degree Student Amelia Merrick
4. Third Year Degree Graduate Linnea Lyndon
5. Third Year Degree Graduate Sabina Lima
6. First Year Degree Student Imogen Campbell
7. Second Year Degree Students Elizabeth Gray and Jessica Wilkinson
8. Second Year Degree Student Anfaal Hussain

RSN seeks new trustees to replace important experience and expertise on its Board

We may be celebrating 150 years of history but we are also passionate about continued growth and development. As with many arts and crafts, embroidery is experiencing a revival following the pandemic and the RSN is ensuring that traditional skills and techniques are preserved for future generations while also remaining relevant today.

While similar organisations struggled to survive and/or continue operations during the pandemic, we transferred activity online within two days of lockdown, ensuring teaching continued. We introduced lectures and talks and created a global community and a lifeline for many in enforced isolation as well as providing significant health and wellbeing benefits.

We are now seeking new trustees to help us continue to adapt and strengthen the impact we have on our many stakeholders. You can lend your own professional experience and expertise to help support our endeavours. We are particularly interested in applicants with any of the following expertise and experience to complement and expand the skills of our current trustees: Legal, HR, Fundraising, Diversity & Inclusion, Digital and Financial.

These roles come at a time when we are actively reviewing how we learn from and build on the experience of the last two years and successful applicants can be part of helping us emerge stronger as we look forward to our next 150 years. All trustees play a full role in leading our strategic direction and continued development as we re-establish face-to-face teaching and capitalise on the global online audience attracted during lockdown.

What will you be doing?
As one of our trustees you will provide leadership, develop policy and share the joint responsibility of the RSN’s board of Trustees (The RSN Council) for setting strategic direction, ensuring financial sustainability, overseeing the efficient and effective performance of the charity and complying with all legal and regulatory requirements.

Being a trustee can develop your strategic thinking, provide new experiences and perspectives, and can help you gain valuable governance experience. You will contribute to discussions and decisions on all aspects of our operation, get to know more about our history and royal heritage, and share your own professional expertise as appropriate.

We are based at Hampton Court Palace, but trustees are currently located throughout the UK. We have a mix of virtual and physical meetings and encourage you to get to know our onsite team of staff so you can better understand what makes us tick.

Reasonable expenses can be claimed, based on the RSNs expenses policy, for attendance at board meetings and other events necessary for the fulfilment of trustee duties. This is a voluntary role and trustees receive no remuneration.

To find out more about the role and apply, click here.

RSN Degree Students have created a unique hand embroidered dress for musician and poet, PJ Harvey. The dress was inspired by Harvey’s new book Orlam, a beautiful and profound narrative poem, set in a magic realist version of the West Country (south west England) and will be worn for her poetry recital tour.

Inspired by Harvey’s own drawings of insects and birds, our Degree Students have captured the essence of the book’s narrative and beautifully translated it through the art of hand embroidery. The specialist needlework was designed to connect with the embroidery heritage of the West Country and features a combination of traditional stiches, including Dorset Feather, Buttonhole, Chain and Fly Stitch. These are stitches which are known worldwide, but also have a distinctive connection to the locality.

Designer Todd Lynn and RSN Degree Course Leader Angie Wyman spearheaded the project. Angie said:

“To connect directly with an artist through their drawings is such a powerful experience. Hand embroidery was the perfect medium to translate the sensitivity of the drawn mark and bring the imagery to life. It not only captured the notion of the maker and the hand, but also a contemporary interpretation of a traditional process.”

RSN Degree Technician and Graduate, Jasmine Dawson, managed the project development through the hand embroidery sampling stages. Jasmine then worked directly with the students, who hand embroidered individual components. Each embroiderer worked to a defined colour palette which contributed to the overall composition whilst offering the artistic freedom to interpret the image through colour and stitch. The final garment was assembled by RSN Textile Technician, Emily Howse.

You can see PJ Harvey and listen to poems from Orlam on 2 June at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. PJ Harvey was awarded an MBE for services to music as well as an Honorary Degree in Music from Goldsmith University. She is the only artist to have won the Mercury Prize twice. Harvey’s debut poetry collection was The Hollow of the Hand in 2015. Orlam is a coming of age tale and the first full length book written in the Dorset dialect for many decades.

View work from RSN Degree Graduates 2021

Watch PJ Harvey’s interview with Frank Skinner on YouTube where she acknowledges the embroidery created by the RSN (2.51 to 3.18mins).

If you would like to find out more about our Degree course, book your place on the forthcoming Open Day at Hampton Court Palace at 1pm on Thursday 16 June.

Photo of PJ Harvey © Sumit Bothra

The RSN Embroidery Studio is producing a series of NEW kits to celebrate our 150^th anniversary and we are launching the first one today. The kit is inspired from a design by artist Selwyn Image and can be made into a Tote Bag which is included in the pack as well as needles and threads.

Selwyn Image (1849–1930) was a leading British artist, designer, writer and poet with close links to the Arts and Crafts Movement. After an early career in the church, he studied with the architect and designer A. H. Mackmurdo and went on to produce many designs for stained glass and furniture as well as embroidery. The design featured in the kit is part of the RSN’s Collection and one of many that Selwyn Image created for us.

The RSN’s Collection is rich in designs from leaders of the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic Movements: Walter Crane, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Selwyn Image, George Aitcheson, Gertrude Jekyll and many others. To mark our 150th Anniversary, the RSN Embroidery Studio searched through the RSN’s amazing design archive and rediscovered many treasures, including the design used in this kit. 

To purchase your kit, click here. 

Find out more about the RSN Embroidery Studio. 

We are very excited for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and, in anticipation, have produced a wonderful stitch design of a crown, so that everyone can celebrate, wherever they are! The design has been produced for RSN Sip & Stitch which launches next month, but we wanted to release this design early, so you can have fun with stitch and feel part of the festivities.

Download here: Crown Template

We feel very privileged to have designed and embroidered the Coronation Robe of Estate for Her Majesty and that she was our royal patron from 2002 – 2017. To create this stunning design, we hand embroidered 18 varieties of gold thread and used a technique known as Coronation Goldwork. Don’t worry, you don’t need to duplicate that technique for your crown! Just have fun and free style it. We would love to see your completed crowns, so please share them on social media and tag @royalneedlework.

If you would like to see the stunning ‘Wheat and Olive’ design that we created for The Queen’s Coronation Robe up close, a special Goldwork Sampler is on display at our Anniversary Exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. The exhibition, ‘150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk’, runs until 4 September.

The crown stitch template has been designed by RSN Tutor Kate Pankhurst. Download here: Crown Template

Find out more about the  RSN Sip & Stitch

Photo of Her Majesty The Queen © Jacob King/PA Wire/PA Images