We are very excited to be exhibiting at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in just a few days time, with this year’s theme being Goldwork, and are looking forward to meeting lots of you!

You can find the Royal School of Needlework at Stand TGA7, to see some of our stunning work on display, as well as the chance to shop RSN products and chat to us about all things needlework.

The show organisers are kindly offering a discount code for standard advance tickets. The discount codes gives £2 off standard adult / concession tickets. (Not valid Saturday 7th October. A booking fee applies. Offer expires 11.59pm Wednesday 4th October). Enter code: RSN23 to use.

See you there!

Knitting and Stitching Show, Harrogate

Unable to make it in October? We will also be at The Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate on 16 – 19 November, where we will also be teaching the beautiful Luna Moth workshop and displaying the beautiful work of our students and RSN shop items.

Book your tickets

The Knitting & Stitching Show London

The Knitting & Stitch Show Harrogate

Due to popular demand, our Coronations Display at Hampton Court Palace has been extended until May 2024.  Book your place to visit the special display, and find out more about our role from behind the scenes of these historic events.

Visitors will enjoy a fascinating insight into to our work for the Coronations of 1902, 1937, 1953 and 2023 as well as the opportunity to get up close to rarely seen pieces from our Archive, including official images, designs, interesting leftovers and souvenirs from fabrics to needle cleaners.

The display is open on set days so please check the website for details.  Pre-booking is essential.  There is currently availability for the following Tours from January – May 2024:

Talk & Private View.  Visit us on your own or with a friend to hear in-depth information about the RSN Special Display and visit the exhibition with a Volunteer Tour Guide

Curator Talk & Private View.  Hear stories behind our Coronation work with one of our Curators followed by a Tour of the Special Display.

Group Talk & Private View.  Visit us with your local stitch group or Guild, WI, church or Arts Society group.

Find out more about the Royal School of Needlework & Five Coronations 1902 – 2023

We are delighted to welcome our new First Year Degree Students to Hampton Court Palace, seeing their summer project, ‘Postcard From Home’, embroidered onto caps,  as well as welcoming back our returning Second and Third Year Students for another wonderful year of inspiration and creation.

If you are interested in joining the Degree Course for the next academic year, starting September 2024, book your place on our Open Days this month to find out more.

The next Degree Open Day at Hampton Court Palace will take place on Saturday 20 October at 11am, and an Online Open Day at 4pm on Friday 13 October.

Book your place on the Degree Open Days here.

Read more about the course here

To celebrate the Autumnal Equinox, On Friday 22 September we released another 25 stitches to the RSN Stitch Bank, which totals up to 400 stitches!

Some of these new stitches include the Jessica Stitch, the Diaper Couching Stitch, the Block Trellis Stitch and many more.

RSN Stitch Bank is an incredible resource, featuring videos, written instructions, illustrations and photographs for each stitch. It also includes history of its use and images of the stitch on items from the RSN Textile Collection.

RSN Stitch Bank is available online via the website rsnstitchbank.org and is a unique resource for all stitchers, teachers, curators, historians, researchers and students. Stitchers are able to find a new stitch to use in a project and learn how to work it. Researchers, curators, historians and students can use the site to learn about the use, structure and history of each stitch, in a range of embroidery techniques, and to identify individual stitches on a textile

RSN Stitch Bank has been made possible thanks to a number of charitable trusts and many individual donors who have ‘Adopted a Stitch’ for themselves, a friend, group, or loved one. If you would like to support the project and ‘Adopt a Stitch’, visit royal-needlework.org.uk for more information.

Visit rsnstitchbank.org to see the full RSN Stitch Bank.

Join us this month for more fascinating Live Online Talks, and a range of exciting events and exhibitions. 

Events and Exhibitions

The Royal School of Needlework & Five Coronations 1902 – 2023 – RSN Embroidery Studio, Hampton Court Palace – October 2023 – May 2024 – NEW dates added

The Knitting & Stitching Show London – Alexandra Palace, London – Thursday 5 October – Sunday 8 October

Decorex Interior Trade Show – Sunday 8 – Wednesday 11 October

The Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers 400th Anniversary Exhibition – Guildhall Art Gallery, London – Saturday 30 September – Sunday 12 November

Online Talks

’The History of English Sampler Making’ – Wednesday 4 October

‘Quilts and Quilted Objects in the RSN Collection’ – Wednesday 25 October

Degree Open days

Online – Friday 13 October 2023

Hampton Court Palace – Saturday 21 October 2023

Future dates for your diary

The Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate – Harrogate Convention Centre – 16 – 19 November

Certificate & Diploma Online Information Session – Online – Tuesday 28 November 2023

We are delighted to continue our partnership with Royal Collection Trust with an exclusive hand embroidery class inspired by the acclaimed exhibition, ‘Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians’ at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, on 5 October.

The event will begin with a highlights tour of the exhibition, led by Deputy Surveyor of the King’s Pictures, which will include the magnificent portrait of Queen Charlotte by Thomas Gainsborough, which inspired the delicate motif that you will stitch.

During the class, you will learn a variety of techniques, including Whitework, Goldwork and Appliqué, to create this stunning golden rose motif.

This class is suitable for all abilities, and your kit will include everything you require to complete the project after the class.

See class details here

September marks the beginning of the RSN’s programme to catalogue and digitise its extensive collection and archive. The RSN has in its collection textiles spanning multiple continents and more than a thousand years. Its archive includes important documents from its founding in 1872 to today. Together, the collection and archive include many thousands of items.

The digitisation project is being led by the Royal School of Needlework’s Curator, Isabella Rosner, and its Archivist, Emily Mitchell. The pair will photograph the RSN’s holdings and thoroughly catalogue each item. Catalogue entries will then go online so that the public can virtually access items like past RSN registers and collection items ranging from seventeenth-century embroidered panels to embroidery worked at the RSN’s Training School. The majority of objects in the RSN’s collection and archive have never been shared publicly or studied in depth.

The digitisation project will begin with 100 items chosen by the RSN Staff, Studio, and Tutors. These items represent the breadth of the RSN’s collection and archive and will be available on the collection website by the end of 2023. Items will continue to be added to the website regularly for the next few years. Keep an eye out for new website entries and monthly blog posts about items we’re cataloguing!

We are looking for a small number of On-site and Virtual volunteers to help us with our digitisation. If you are interested in getting involved, please see our vacancies here. Our call for volunteers closes on Monday 25 September 25, 2023. Make sure to follow our new Royal Needlework Collection Instagram, where we will be posting photos of the digitisation process, and we look forward to sharing the RSN’s collection and archive with the world!

We are incredibly proud to have three RSN Degree Graduates selected for The Métiers d’Art Embroidery Fellowship, a 24-week programme with CHANEL & The Prince’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Fellowship in Partnership with Le19M.

This specialist postgraduate-level programme provides students with intensive training opportunities in the field of embroidery for Haute Couture and the Luxury Fashion Industry.

The Experience

Towards the end of January, the programme began with a weeklong trip to Paris for Ecole Lesage level 1 and 2 training to learn the main embroidery skills used in Haute Couture.

The students then arrived at Highgrove Gardens to gather inspiration from the beautiful surroundings and receive their brief: to create a hand-embroidered piece that demonstrates a high level of technical skills, inspired by Highgrove Gardens.

A second trip to Paris then occurred for an Atelier immersion week, as well as the students finalising the brief to create a clear concept and creating a range of samples. The final stage required students to produce final concepts guided by expert tutors and advice from their assigned mentors, with samples produced to go in an exhibition.

Elsa’s Experience:

‘This experience has made my skills much more refined. I’m much more confident as an embroiderer and know where I sit in the fashion industry. I’ve also made friends with the other people on the course, and we all got along very well during the course. I had pictures taken of my work and received advice for my portfolio. The main thing I got out of this experience was a great portfolio ready to step into the fashion industry and Haute Couture.’

Follow Elsa on Instagram

Durga’s Experience:

‘The whole journey of the course has changed me; I have become more confident in myself as a hand embroiderer, and my techniques have become more refined and polished. I had never thought I would get an amazing opportunity like this programme, getting to work in the ateliers and meeting people from industry who know who I am and have seen my work. I’ve always known colour was my unique selling point, but being on this course has made me embrace it even more.’

Follow Durga on Instagram

Eliza’s Experience:

‘I feel extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to be part of The Métiers d’Art Partnership, Embroidery programme. It was an intensive educational and skill-building experience, and I feel privileged to have met and been mentored by highly skilled creative professionals from CHANEL, The Prince’s Foundation and Le19M. The industry contacts I have acquired will benefit me greatly when seeking potential employment opportunities in the next chapter of my embroidery journey.’

Follow Eliza on Instagram

The RSN would like to congratulate Elsa, Durga, and Eliza on their participation in such a special experience, and we cannot wait to see what they achieve next.

 Read more of our RSN Graduate success stories here.

Are you interested in learning more about the skills and opportunities available when doing an Undergraduate Degree in Hand Embroidery? Join us at Hampton Court Palace on our next open day!

Images Credits: Ana Clark

Join us this autumn for more fascinating lectures about hand embroidery and our amazing collection of objects.

RSN Chief Executive, Dr Susan Kay-Williams, will uncover more secrets from our prized Grove Book in September and discuss Opus Anglicanum in November.

In October, we’ll introduce you to our wonderful new RSN Curator, Isabella Rosner, who will be examining both the history of English sampler making and quilts and quilted objects in the RSN Collection.

Further talks include exclusive insight into our acclaimed Embroidery Studio and an exploration of the extravagant wardrobes of King Henry VIII’s wives with historian Eleri Lynn.

Please join us to discover more about embroidery and textiles and discover why we’ve been the international centre of excellence for the Art of Hand Embroidery for 150 years.

Missed one of our Online Talks? Catch up On Demand now.

We will be opening the Royal School of Needlework’s doors at Hampton Court Palace as part of this September’s Open House Festival, on 16 and 17 September. Come along and see behind the scenes of our Embroidery Studios, not usually open to Palace visitors.

Entry is free from 10am to 4.30pm (last entry is at 4pm). Please enter the Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Studios through the RSN Shop, which can be accessed via Hampton Court Palace’s East Front Gate. You can gain access through the Palace gardens which are free to enter over the weekend.

We will also be giving free Tours of our Education Rooms at 11am and 2pm, although places for this must be booked in advance. Tickets for these tours can be booked through the Open House Festival website and places are limited to 20 people per Tour. Please meet outside the RSN Shop 15 minutes before your scheduled Tour.

There are over 800 buildings, walks, talks and tours in the Open House Festival programme, including the Palace gardens, so why not make a day of it!

See our event during the Open House Festival here.

Are you thinking of joining our Certificate & Diploma Course? With booking now open for the next academic year, now is the perfect time to sign up and elevate your hand embroidery skills to the next level, wherever you are in the world.

Meet Adriàn Quinones, an Online RSN certificate student who is taking the course from his home in Lima, Peru.

‘Before the pandemic, I had no experience with hand embroidery. Then, during lockdown, I asked myself what I could do to spend my time in a fun and relaxing way. I looked at many options but felt a deep need to find an activity in which I could use both my hands and brain.

I started with an Online embroidery course, learning Silk Shading. The experience was very enjoyable, and since I am a very curious person, I started practicing the basic embroidery stitches every day. I used what little I knew and did my first design alone by copying a painting by Renoir and Van Gogh.

Over time, I then dedicated myself to exploring and researching everything related to hand embroidery by practicing a lot with patterns from books or searching on the internet.

I didn’t know anything about the RSN to begin with, but whilst researching the best embroidery schools, I came across the RSN. Over time, I began to take the Online C&D course, starting with Crewelwork, Goldwork, Silk shading and then finally the Goldwork Silk shading course. I hope to be able to complete all the Online modules one day because, for me, they are very useful as an introduction to the different techniques.

After two years of self-learning, I decided to increase my experience and knowledge in order to be able to teach in the future with a broader knowledge of embroidery and feel more secure and comfortable with my skills as an embroiderer. Those were the reasons why I started my first certificate and hoped little by little to complete the process until I reached the Diploma.

My experience since the first day has been very pleasant and interesting. Each day of classes, I have learned a lot through getting to know my Tutors, who are a great source of inspiration and knowledge. It is always difficult when starting something new, but with hope, practice, patience, and love, you can achieve all your goals.

Each technique is a universe of knowledge that leads to exploring different ways of seeing and recreating reality or exploring your unconscious. Over time, I have been experimenting more with Silk shading, Goldwork (a technique that I adore), Appliqué, Opus Anglicanum and Crewelwork.

I am learning embroidery at the RSN because of the school’s long history of teaching, great quality of Tutors and worldwide prestige. If you feel passionate about embroidery, want to explore your skills, learn different techniques with great Tutors and grow as a person, do not hesitate to take the Certificate & Diploma course.’

Follow Adriàn on Instagram

If you are interested in join our certificate & Diploma Online Course, Booking is now available for September enrolment!

Read more about our Certificate & Diploma Course here