Eleven tutors, a staff member and the Chief Executive have just returned from our biggest ever event: two weeks of the first USA Summer School held in Lexington, Kentucky. It was a very successful event with some 200 happy stitchers exploring a variety of techniques. People had come from all over the USA to be part of it. We helped fulfil many people’s bucket list wishes and may even have persuaded a few to come over to Hampton Court Palace.

Each day there was stitching, meet the tutors, a talk or dinner and lots of chatter, as well as an opportunity to visit the shop and, once in the week, the opportunity to see some pieces from the RSN’s unique Collection.

There were many wonderful comments including: “Just a note to express how much this week has given me.”

“I could not have asked for a more enjoyable and informative experience”.

“Many thanks for the delightful week”.

“I never thought I would get the chance to be taught by the RSN; I have enjoyed this so much. Thank you for coming.”

We are delighted that so many of you have been asking when the next one will be and will let you know as soon as we have had a chance to review all the logistics.

Congratulations to our graduates from our Certificate & Diploma Course and Future Tutors programme.  We held a special awards ceremony in July and showcased their excellent achievements at our recent Summer Exhibition at Hampton Court Palace. We hope many of you were able to come and view their work too.

If you are considering joining the Certificate & Diploma course, a good place to start is to come to our next Open Day at Hampton Court Palace on Saturday 11 August.  We will also be holding an Open Day at RSN Midlands in Rugby on Saturday 17 November.

Contact: [email protected] to book your place for either 11am or 2pm, for either venue.

Congratulations to two of our Degree students who recently won awards.   First Year Student, Rebecca Offredi won first prize winner in the National Glove design competition by the Worshipful Company of Glovers and 2018 Graduate Alex Standring was presented with an award at the recent dinner of the Worshipful Company of Gold & Silver Wyre Drawers (see images of Alex below).

The Worshipful Company of Glovers of London was formed in 1349 by glove makers in London who wished to protect the high standard of their craft and was granted its Royal Charter by King Charles I in 1638.

The Worshipful Company of Gold & Silver Wyre Drawers trace their origins to medieval times and to the ancient trade of making the gold and silver wire used in embroidery, notably of uniforms and ceremonial costumes.

We will be teaching a series of Day Classes in Williamsburg, Virginia this October.  RSN Tutor Pippa Foulds will teach 4 one-day classes and 2 two-day classes giving a choice of techniques including Crewelwork, Goldwork, Silk Shading and Fine Whitework.  From a William Morris inspired Crewelwork design and historic ecclesiastical motif to a creative dragonfly and delicate flower, join us this October.

Click here to read more about our Williamsburg Venue and view upcoming Day Classes.

Our Certificate & Diploma Courses in Williamsburg in October have sold out.  Watch this space for details on when dates for Spring will be released.

Our new Day Classes from January – August 2019 are now online and available to book.  We have a wide variety of designs and techniques for all levels. All our Day Classes across the UK and Ireland feature in the brand new Day Class brochure.  If you are a WI or Embroiderers Group and would like us to send you some of the new brochures in the post, please can you email Olivia Gecseg with your name and address and the number required.

The new brochure includes over 150 different classes across seven venues – Hampton Court Palace, Exeter, Bristol, Rugby, Durham, Glasgow and Dublin.

To view our current brochure in PDF click here or contact: [email protected]

Catch us at The Knitting & Stitching Shows at Alexandra Palace in London and in Harrogate this autumn!

The Knitting & Stitching Shows are the definitive events for anyone with a love of textile based craft. The Autumn show at the iconic Alexandra Palace is the biggest textile event in the UK, with hundreds of workshops, demonstrations, interactive features, professionally curated galleries, as well as 300 exhibitors selling specialist craft supplies.

The RSN will be exhibiting with a brand new look stand at this year’s shows and teaching 1.5 hour Learning Curve workshops – the perfect chance for beginners to try their hand at embroidery.

The Knitting & Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace, London, 11-14 October 2018:

Bookings for tickets and Learning Curve workshops at Alexandra Palace are now open!

Introduction to Canvas Stitches: Top Topiary, Thursday 11 & Saturday 13 October, 11.45-13.15

Introduction to Crewelwork Embroidery: Tulip, Friday 12 (SOLD OUT) & Sunday 14 October, 11.45-13.15

The Knitting & Stitching Show, Harrogate Convention Centre, 22-25 November 2018:

Sign up here to be notified by email as soon as bookings go live for Harrogate.

We are excited to share news of our new collaboration with menswear label E. Tautz. Signature pieces from the latest E. Tautz Collection were hand embroidered by RSN Degree Students and launched at London Fashion Week Men’s as part of their Spring/Summer 2019 Collection.

The new Collection, ‘Give Me a Future’, is a modern day demonstration of the labour movements in British history. It features symbols and slogans that appeared on placards held during the Miners Strikes, a vintage trade union banner and cartoon from an edition of Punch magazine in 1848.

Students from the RSN Degree Course brought E. Tautz Creative Director Patrick Grant’s message to life through the traditional art of hand embroidery. Using Appliqué and Goldwork, they hand stitched slogans and embellished digitally-printed designs onto pieces in the new Collection.

E. Tautz Creative Director Patrick Grant said: “The E. Tautz SS19 collection was inspired by the trade union banners of the 19th century. These were always hand-made and it was important to us that the pieces in the collection mirrored this with hand-embellished elements. The RSN brought not only incredible skill but also wonderful knowledge and creativity to the process. The pieces are some of my favourites from my ten years of designing E. Tautz.”

Angie Wyman, Degree Course Leader said: “Our collaboration with E. Tautz has provided students with the opportunity to gain hands on experience in the world of fashion which is a vital part of their Degree course. It also enabled us to contribute to this powerful story and showcase traditional hand embroidery skills in a very visual way.”

Every stage of the production of the E. Tautz Collection happens in UK factories. After raw cotton is imported from JG Ballard in California, the yarn is spun in Duckinfield, Greater Manchester, it is knitted in Leicester, finished and dyed in Leicester, cut and sewn in Blackburn, and the embroidery was hand stitched by us at Hampton Court Palace!

Congratulations to RSN Tutor Amy Burt whose superb Tapestry Shading ‘The Young Stevie Nicks’ from pop group Fleetwood Mac has been chosen for display at the prestigious 250th Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in London.

Amy embroidered this stunning piece in her Third Year studying the RSN’s Future Tutors programme. She graduated in 2017 and now teaches Day Classes and Taster workshops at the RSN.

To view Amy’s forthcoming classes, click here.

The Summer Exhibition features over 1,200 pieces handpicked by a committee led by Grayson Perry RA and themed ‘Art Made Now.’

It runs until 19 August.

We are delighted to announce that we will be holding a special embroidery exhibition in Durham at the exclusive World Heritage Site Visitor Centre.

The exhibition will run from Tuesday 31 July to Wednesday 29 August and feature work from current and past RSN Durham students showcasing a wide range of stunning pieces from the Certificate & Diploma Course and Future Tutors Programme.

The exhibition will open daily 9.30am – 5pm, including Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Images below are: Advanced Goldwork by RSN Durham Diploma Student, Jane Drummond and Blackwork by Sally Bird RSN Durham Diploma Student

We have a few last remaining spaces on two of our July classes in Dublin:

One day Introduction to Goldwork Flower on Saturday 7 July and

Two day Intermediate Stumpwork Strawberry design on Tuesday 10 & Wednesday 11 July.

RSN Tutor Pippa Foulds will be teaching these popular classes.

Pippa is a graduate from our Future Tutors programme and worked on a number of exciting projects including one of the pictorial panels on Magna Carta (An Embroidery) for artist Cornelia Parker; The Hardhome Embroidery for HBOs Game of Thrones as well as being lead embroiderer for the RSN at Burberry’s Makers House in conjunction with The New Craftsmen.

Click on the links above to book or contact:  [email protected]  or tel: +44 203 166 6938

RSN Tutors have been busy finishing their stunning embroidery designs for our USA Summer School taking place in July in Lexington, Kentucky. You can see all the class images on our website.

Don’t miss the delicate Silk Shaded Butterfly created by Owen Davies and the beautiful Prairie Rose Stumpwork Brooch by Heather Lewis. Alternatively, certain to set off your taste buds, are Kate Barlow’s candies and Annalee Levin’s Goldwork cherries, and if horses are your passion, then Helen McCook’s Queen’s Silks Metalwork class will be the winner for you!

And not forgetting all the extra evening events you can attend and the special pieces from our Textile Collection that we will bring with us for you to see.

For more information and to book click here.