RSN Embroidery Studio & Well-being through Stitch

Originally known as the Workroom, the RSN Embroidery Studio is the backbone of the organisation. The Studio produces high-quality work, undertaking new commissions, conservation and restoration, using the same tools, equipment and skills as those in the Workroom creating art needlework in the 1870s and 1880s. Today the RSN Embroidery Studio has extensive knowledge and expertise. There is still collective working; pieces look like the work of one person. There is still the understanding that never a seat shall go cold when a job is required to a deadline and of being able to call on additional skilled embroiderers, all trained by the RSN, when needed for a large project. All the work is undertaken at Hampton Court Palace.

The RSN Embroidery Studio team never knows what work might come in next, but such is its skill level and versatility that it can handle anything from wedding dresses, to samplers and insignia, to domestic items. The team is particularly adept at restoring pieces that have been battered, neglected and even chewed!

With the RSN’s knowledge of the therapeutic benefits of stitch, we were not been surprised by the resurgence of embroidery during the lockdowns. During lockdown 2020, the RSN participated in two special projects. One was called Postcards From Home which invited people to stitch something based on where they were, or where they would have like to be, during lockdown.

For the second project, RSN Degree Student Lucy Martin, came up with the idea of stitching a heart and the NHS logo as a way of recognising and thanking all the people who were working so hard on our behalf.

The Woodland

1980s

Appliqué and surface stitching, cotton, wool,
Made by the RSN

This piece was originally commissioned by a company for their Head office in the 1980s. A take over and amalgamation saw it being returned to the RSN in 2019. This shows that embroidery can be many things including restful to look at as well as restful to do.

On loan from the RSN Collection

Portrait of HRH, formerly The Duchess of Cornwall

2019

Linen and black cotton threads

When in 2019 Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, our Patron, said she would come to open our exhibition Faces and Figures in Embroidery the RSN Embroidery Studio decided to create a portrait of her in blackwork technique. A time-motion video was made of the working of the face which can be seen below.

watch video

An Unfinished Symphony in Stitch

2022

Linen, woollen threads, paint
New work from the RSN Embroidery Studio

This stunning contemporary twist on a traditional Jacobean design with instantly recognisable motifs is brought to life with areas of meticulous embroidery balanced with areas left deliberately without thread. The embroidery is stitched on a background of linen with threads from the Studio’s archive of materials, ensuring nothing is wasted.

This piece was made for the Worshipful Company of Broderers’ exhibition in February 2022 by staff of the RSN Embroidery Studio.

NHS Hearts

2020

This programme was devised by RSN Degree student Lucy Martin during the first lockdown for people to embroider hearts with the NHS initials to show their support for our NHS workers who were at the sharp end of the Covid 19 pandemic.

The scheme was a great success, this is just a small number of the hearts that were worked and photographs sent to Lucy.

Postcards from Home

2020

The RSN launched its own campaign during lockdown based on the fact that stitching was one of the activities that people could do while remaining indoors and it had a calming effect. People were encouraged to picture their view of home, whether that was their own room, the place they lived, the place they were born or the place they really wanted to call home. Entries were submitted from all over the world, often accompanied by stories about how the stitching had helped the individuals.