News Archives

The RSN is thrilled to return to the Artisan Fayre which will take place at Hampton Court Palace East Front Gardens from 12 to 14 May – a great family day out to look forward to during the warmer months!

The RSN will teach a 90 minute workshop every day of the Artisan Fayre. The workshops will take place in our learning studios which are part of the original grace in favour Palace apartments, not usually accessible to visitors.

We will teach this striking black and gold design to celebrate our 150^th Anniversary Year, inspired by an original hand drawn illustration by Selwyn Image (1849-1930) from our extensive archive.

You will learn a variety of surface stitches and beginners’ Goldwork techniques. This is an opportunity to learn stem, trellis and chain stitch along with couched gold metal thread and spangles. Goldwork is synonymous with both Royalty and Ecclesiastical vestments and is just one of the many techniques the RSN is famous for.

The 90 minute workshop will take place from 11.30am-1pm every day and is £30, including the kit…with only eight places per day you must book early! Booking for the workshops is through the RSN website:

Friday 12 May at 11.30am-1pm

Saturday 13 May, 11.30am-1pm

Sunday 14 May, 11.30am-1pm

Please note that, to attend the RSN workshop, you must buy an entry ticket to the Artisan Fayre or show your Historic Royal Palaces membership card.

See you there!

If you would like to further explore a technique this summer, join our International Summer School this July and August either onsite at Hampton Court Palace, south west London, or at The Glasgow Art Club, Scotland.

We have announced the summer dates for our Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery Summer Intensive Programme. You can learn one or more Certificate and Diploma techniques during July and August at Hampton Court Palace, Durham and Glasgow.

The Summer Intensives teach one technique over two weeks, which can be ‘intensive’ (hence the name!) but also very achievable if students follow their Tutor’s guidance and manage their time effectively.

We will welcome students from across the world. Michel Gerards, from Holland, started the Certificate Summer Intensive at Hampton Court Palace last July, with the first technique, Jacobean Crewelwork and will return this summer for her next module, Blackwork.

“Growing up in Holland, I can’t remember a time when I did not have some sort of fiber art project on the go. I have always knitted, crochet, cross-stitched beautiful patterns, sewn, quilted, done lacemaking and more. Making was always a hobby on the side and, when I retired last year, I was finally able to tackle all the ideas that had been roaming around in me for so long.

To focus my creativity and exploration, I started making small pieces out of anything that included fibers, into which embroidery was frequently incorporated. In order to expand my skills, I purchased many books and I was looking to see if there were classes I could take.
It didn’t take me long to find the RSN and to realise that it was the only school that specialised in the craft and could provide a true grounding into the techniques.

I quickly joined the Jacobean Crewelwork intensive course when the RSN reopened and started planning my trip. The two weeks were fast paced, full of information both big and small with the stuff you just can’t get out of a book. This summer I am looking forward to my second module, Blackwork!”

Summer Intensive Dates

If you would like to join us for one of our Summer Intensives, we have listed the dates below. If you are new to the Certificate course, start with the Jacobean Crewelwork Summer Intensive, however if you are already studying C&D and would like to do an intensive course for your next module, we also run them in Canvas Stitches/Blackwork; Silk Shading; Goldwork and the Diploma techniques.

RSN Hampton Court Palace
• Jacobean Crewelwork Summer Intensive: Mon 26 June to Fri 7 July
• Diploma techniques: Mon 26 June to Fri 7 July
• Canvas Stitches/Blackwork Summer Intensive: Mon 10 July to Fri 21 July
• Silk Shading Summer Intensive: Mon 24 July to Fri 4 August
• Goldwork Summer Intensive: Mon 7 August to Fri 18 August

RSN Durham
• Spring Intensive: Mon 24 to Thurs 28 April Only 1 space left
• Summer Intensive: Tues 4 to Fri 7 July; Tues 11 to Fri 14 July

RSN Scotland
• Summer Intensive: Mon 19 to Thurs 22 June; Mon 26 to Thurs 29 June Only 2 spaces left

If you are interested in a remaining place or would like to put your name on a waiting list please contact: [email protected]

Find out more about the Certificate & Diploma Course to attend our next Online Open Day at 1pm on Tuesday 6 June. Register here.

Future Tutor Student, Eve Commander, originally from Birmingham, started the course in September 2022 and moved from Manchester. The RSN’s Future Tutors Programme is a three year full time course specifically designed for those wanting a career in teaching hand embroidery to the highest technical level, and based at Hampton Court Palace.

Eve says, “I’ve had a few job changes, but it was when I was working for the Police that I decided to enrol on the RSN Certificate in Technical Hand Embroidery Course, which fed my creative passion and kept me busy. I’ve always enjoyed embroidery and throughout my life, I have stitched things for friends and family. I like crafting and have spent most of my spare time on art courses, from painting, to glass fusing and printmaking!

When I saw the RSN Future Tutors Programme, I thought it would be an amazing chance to do something I enjoy and to share this with other people. In our first term of the Future Tutors Programme, we covered Jacobean Crewelwork, Canvaswork and Silk Shading. I’ve enjoyed the variety of stitches involved in Crewelwork, which makes it a good technique for learning, as well as being able to generate my own design for it. As a History Graduate, I also like learning about the history surrounding the different techniques, the traditional motifs and their origins from a range of cultural backgrounds.

I really enjoyed assisting at The Knitting & Stitching Show, London, helping with the workshop and encouraging visitors to get involved with stitching a motif celebrating the RSN’s 150th anniversary. I look forward to being involved in more projects, particularly looking at historical objects as well as new commissions.

When I graduate, I would like to teach classes, to encourage a wider range of people to take up stitching…but I’m keeping an open mind! I would like to design kits and I’m also interested in conservation and restoration work.

My Top Tip to readers would be to wear (some form of) thimble and to use hand cream! I didn’t do either at the beginning of the course and my hands were the worse for wear after the first month or so of intensive stitching on the Future Tutors Programme!”

We wish Eve the best of luck with her studies and look forward to sharing more of her work with you.

You can follow Eve on Instagram.

Due to popular demand, we are bringing you a new RSN Self-Paced Video Online Course, ‘Next Steps: Jacobean Crewelwork with Deborah Wilding’. This is the perfect follow on course from Deborah’s Introduction Course, or for stitchers with some Crewelwork experience already.

In this Next Steps course RSN Tutor Deborah Wilding shows you how to develop your Crewelwork techniques to take your stitching to the next level. You will create this stunning tonal crewelwork pomegranate, learning techniques to elevate your stitching skills, including how to add dimension and complexity to traditional stitches from the Jacobean era. You will also learn useful tips and tricks to help you achieve a professional finish on all your embroidery.

View the Course Trailer

The course comes with an exclusive materials kit that includes all the elements you need to create this traditional design, including a piece of printed linen with the design, needles and threads. The step by step videos in this course are available for you to watch via online streaming, anytime, on any screen, and at your own pace. You can watch and re-watch as often as you need to learn techniques that will last you a lifetime.

If you have not tried Jacobean Crewelwork before, we recommend starting with the Introduction to Jacobean Crewelwork course to learn the basic principles of this technique. If you are new to embroidery, this introduction course is also perfect for beginners. The RSN Self-Paced Video Online Courses are available on a dedicated website rsnonlinecourses.com

There are now 15 RSN Self-Paced Video Online Courses to choose from, covering a wide range of hand embroidery techniques. These courses are developed in partnership with David & Charles.

Visit the dedicated RSN Self-Paced Video Online Courses website: rsnonlinecourses.com

Using contemporary approaches to traditional hand embroidery techniques, the RSN’s BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery Degree is your springboard to a creative career in fashion, interiors, costume and textile art. Meet second year student, Denisa Manoila,

Denisa moved with her family from Romania when she was 11 years old, and then moved to London from Rugby, Warwickshire, to pursue her love of hand embroidery. She explains her journey to the RSN.

“I first started my embroidery journey in sixth form with an art workshop in sewing machine embroidery. Following that, I decided to give hand embroidery a go, and taught myself. I liked the way I was able to capture flowers and nature through sewing and, therefore, carried on, in the hope of improving and quickly learning more. My mother was, and still is, my biggest inspiration. She was a seamstress, so I was always surrounded by sewing and fashion when I was younger.

“I attended Rugby High School sixth form and studied Fine Art, English Literature, and Theatre Studies. In year 13, my Textiles teacher told me about the RSN Degree Course and, after researching the school, it inevitably won me over. I was completely inspired by Hampton Court Palace as well as the huge number of possibilities and opportunities that come with learning at the RSN – hence, I made it my mission to try and get in, and succeeded! When I graduate, I would like to work in fashion design and to do some travelling.”

If you are interested in finding out more about our Degree in Hand Embroidery, visit our website here.

You can also read about the success of our students and view work from our 2020 and 2021 graduates.

You can follow Denisa though her Instagram account.

The BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery is validated by Kingston University

We teach in the heart of the Midlands, in a beautiful art deco hall in Rugby, called The Arnold House. Meet RSN Tutors Helen McCook, Angela Bishop and Helen Jones who teach our Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery at RSN Midlands.

The RSN Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery (C&D) is a really flexible course – you can choose when you start and which days you study! We teach the course in Bristol, Rugby, Durham and Glasgow, as well as at our base in Hampton Court Palace, and Online.

RSN Midlands is located in a central location in Rugby, Warwickshire in the UK. Thanks to its convenient location, we welcome students from all around the surrounding area, including Birmingham, Leicester, Milton Keynes, Gloucester, Stoke-on-Trent, Northampton, Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Coventry, Kettering and Cambridge.

RSN Tutors Helen McCook and Angela Bishop teach C&D at RSN Midlands as well as Online, which is particularly popular with those both in the UK and abroad who are unable to attend one of our satellite teaching centres on a regular basis.

Angela Bishop became a Tutor following her love of learning hand embroidery on the RSN Certificate course.

“After starting the Certificate course in Rugby, I learned about the Future Tutors Programme and was inspired to develop my love of embroidery further, so joined the programme in 2013, graduated in 2016, and have not looked back since!

“The C&D course is a great way to dive deeper into different techniques for those interested in developing their own ideas and designs. From beginners, who have never stitched before, to those who haven’t stitched since school, the C&D programme is for all levels and taught in a flexible and inspiring environment.

“I love all the techniques I teach, but am inspired most by Appliqué and Stumpwork where you can explore and blend different media and techniques together. My Top Tip would be to give hand embroidery a go and see where a class can take you. You will not regret it!”

RSN Tutor Helen McCook joined the RSN in 2000 as an Apprentice after studying a BA (Hons) in Printed & Dyed Textiles with Non-European Art History.

“I was in the university library in my third year, pulled out a book, and, as I did so, a leaflet for the RSN Apprenticeship fell to my feet. The course immediately captured my interest and I applied. I fell in love with embroidery and have never looked back!

“What I enjoy most about teaching is getting to share my knowledge and love of hand embroidery with others, spreading the scope of people engaging with this amazing heritage craft whilst helping to keep it relevant in modern day life. I also love seeing students develop as they travel through their chosen course of study.

“I truly believe that there is an embroidery technique to suit everybody’s aesthetic style and needs. If you haven’t found one you enjoy yet, there is definitely something that will hook you in in unexpected and joyous ways. Engaging with your creative self is so much more than you think it will be and will take you in directions you never imagined!”

RSN Tutor Helen Jones, who is based in London, also teaches in Rugby as well as at Hampton Court Palace. Helen’s first experience of the C&D was as a student over 10 years ago and, on completion, she was invited to apply for the Future Tutors Programme. She already had a teaching qualification, specialising in teaching adults. To anyone thinking about registering for the course, Helen would say,

“Don’t just think about it, do it. You will get a lot of help from your Tutors. You will meet lots of interesting people going on the same journey. You will learn a lot.”

If you are thinking of joining our Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery Course, please reserve your place on our next C&D Online Open Day at 1pm on Monday 20 March. Book here.

You can also email [email protected] with any queries.

RSN Certificate & Diploma

We have added new Tour dates for our exhibition at Hampton Court Palace, A Girl’s Education in Stitch. Join us from February to May 2023 and find out more about the variety of work stitched by girls as part of their education. There are only a limited number of dates before the exhibition closes in May, so please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Talk & Tour costs £22 per person and lasts 1.5 hours. It features a 30 minute illustrated lecture, followed by a guided tour around the exhibition. There are a few places remaining for this month at 11am on Thursday 16 February. Additional dates in March, April and May are also available.

Forthcoming Talk & Tour dates

Curator’s Tours cost £30 per person and last 2 hours. This Tour includes an in-depth lecture from the Curator as well as a chance to examine exhibits in close detail. There are a few places remaining this month at 10.30am on Saturday 11 February. Additional dates in March, April and May are also available.

Forthcoming Curator’s Tour dates

If you are a group, we also have special Group Tours and Group Curator Tours. Please check the website for the dates remaining.

A Girl’s Education in Stitch

We have a few spaces remaining on our Day & Evening Classes taking place in February. Join us online or in person and enjoy a class with us.

Online Classes

From Wed 15 Feb: Learn Jacobean Crewelwork and create a design of Hampton Court Palace and celebrate our 150th anniversary.

From Thur 23 Feb: Inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream and 17th Century Stumpwork Caskets, create a stunning ‘Golden Oak’.

Mon 27 Feb: Designing for Embroidery ‘Jacobean Crewelwork’ – perfect for learning how to produce your own designs for embroidery.

Hampton Court Palace

Sun 26 Feb: An Abstract Introduction to Embroidery is a great starter kit for beginners.

The above is just a snapshot of the different classes available. View all Day & Evening Classes.

Congratulations to the RSN Winners and Finalists of the recent international Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery. Read more about their entries and view images from the prize evening at Gallery Different in London.

Degree Graduate, Eliza Gomersall won The Worshipful Company of Broderers Associate Award and the Textile Art Student Category for her work ‘Palingenesis’ (Rebirth): A Story of Transformation

As a symbol of transformation, Eliza has chosen the form of a moth to tell a story of change, adaptation, and rebirth both in nature and within textile practices. Eliza’s hand embroidered fantastical moth measures approximately one metre in wingspan. She asks the observer to look within its wings to discover a continuing story of transformation and to consider the critical environmental challenges facing our planet.

Degree Graduate, Sabina Lima won The Worshipful Company of Gold & Silver Wyre Drawers Associate Award for Ablaze
Powerful wildfires are having a devastating impact on our climate, communities, and infrastructure. Fire, climate change and our fragile nature are the motifs chosen for Sabina’s project. It juxtaposes organic shapes representing trees with the shapes of flames consuming it. Ablaze evokes an emotional response in the viewer highlighting the importance of preserving our vulnerable ecosystems.

There were also two RSN Finalists:

1. Degree Graduate 2022 Linnea Lyndon in the Fashion Student Category for ‘Memorylands’

The concept for this project sees nature within the context of childhood memory. In combination with Linnea’s Scandinavian heritage, She has been inspired by memory and folklore to explore the patterns and textures within the natural forms seen in everyday life. The full ensemble mimics sunlight pouring through the treetops, the light beginning as a blinding silver, and fading out to reveal the colours and textures of the forest below.

2. Future Tutor Graduate 2022 Sally Randle in the Textile Art Student Category for ‘Environmental Change/Changing Environments’

Sally’s inspiration for this work is the vast contrast between the light, space and air of the Australian environment, and the lush soft grey green colours of the English environment.
To communicate the global impact of the environmental change, Sally has created interrelated scenes and systems, building images that link together through embroidered layers of texture and transparency, to show we are at a tipping point, and give the choice to move in either direction.

This year, Hand & Lock’s brief was to take inspiration from the power of nature. Evolution, adaption, biomimicry, texture, colour, craft and sustainable practices, imagining a future where humans learn from nature to live in harmony with nature. As you can see, our Graduates work varied hugely but all with this common thread.

RSN Graduates have now won one of the two main Awards five times over the last six years! Congratulations goes to all of the Finalists and Winners and we look forward to seeing more amazing work in the H&L Awards 2023!

Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery

Save the Date

This year we are delighted to be offering our popular International Summer School both online as well as onsite at Hampton Court Palace. And new for 2023 we will also be offering one week in Glasgow.

Online classes will take place in July, starting weeks commencing 10 July (US time) and 17 July (UK time).

Onsite classes will take place at Hampton Court over four weeks, commencing 31 July, 7 August, 14 August and 21 August and in Glasgow during week commencing 7 August.

Bookings will open on Monday 27 February and over the coming weeks we will share more information about the classes on offer to whet your appetite, so keep an eye on social media.

RSN Staff and Tutors donned hard hats, hi-vis vests and got stuck into our Skill Swap Day with Fullers Builders back in September. Last month we returned the favour and staff from Fullers Builders came to Hampton Court Palace to learn the art of hand embroidery.

The initiative was part of our 150th celebrations and partnership with Fuller Builders, who like the RSN, use traditional skills in their trade and are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. For one day only, the RSN team learned to use their hands a little bit differently, gaining skills in brick laying, plastering, plaster moulding and even plumbing.

In return, a special design of a builder’s crane was created by RSN Tutor Marg Dier, and she got to work teaching all kinds of stitches including Brick Stitch and Laid Work – of course! The team at Fullers Builders were also taken on a guided tour of the RSN including our Embroidery Studio and current exhibition A Girl’s Education in Stitch.

Emma Doggart, Director of Strategy & External Relations at the Royal School of Needlework said: “Our Skill Swap Days celebrated the wisdom and knowledge of traditional crafts and the skilled hands that continue to shape our environment. However, they also proved to have an added more mindful benefit. Participants said that both the break from the norm and the sense of achievement when learning new skills really helped boost their mental health. In fact, it was so successful that we hope to run more next year.”

William Fuller at Fullers Builders said: “Have we got the materials ready? Are our tools to hand? How long have we got? We cannot possibly do this in that amount of time! – This may sound like a typical day in the building industry, but no, this is stitching! A warm welcome, plenty of encouragement and broad smiles throughout the day, not to mention the benefit of our new found skills. What fun, we didn’t even want to stop for lunch! The very most memorable of days spent at the Royal School of Needlework, when can we come back?!”

Fullers Builders specialise in the conservation, repair and restoration of buildings of historic interest. The company was established by Edward Fuller in 1872, the same year as the Royal School of Needlework, and continues to be managed by the Fuller family to this day.