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Rachel Doyle is an RSN Graduate Apprentice, Tutor and Studio Embroiderer. She has produced inspiring kits and products for the RSN Shop. Rachel uses many techniques in her work.

Rachel is also the author of the RSN Essential Stitch Guide to Canvaswork. This title is now sold out but due for re-publication in the new larger format.

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A sumptuous hardback book of 200 essential stitches, curated by the Royal School of Needlework

Embroidery is a living art. The aim of RSN Stitch Bank is to ensure that hand embroidery is not just kept alive, but flourishes into the future. The 200 stitches in this book are a mix of practical and purely decorative, carefully selected to provide a broad and varied basis for any embroiderer. This book aims to empower every embroiderer to create contemporary works informed and supported by centuries of experience. 

• All 200 stitches are fully explained with written instructions, illustrations and photographs. 

• To make the book as easy-to-use as possible, each stitch details the embroidery disciplines it is used for, and any alternative names. 

• The stitches have been divided across seven chapters, each covering a particular usage, from shading to edging, to make them easy to apply to your own work. 

This book also showcases historical pieces from the RSN’s unparalleled Collection and Archive, with stunning photography and expert insight, bringing the skills, work and experience of the past to life. 

The book is designed to complement the unique RSN Stitch Bank (rsnstitchbank.org), an online resource created by the Royal School of Needlework to conserve and preserve every stitch around the globe. 

The Royal School of Needlework, or RSN, was founded in 1872 with a mission to preserve the art of hand embroidery. To mark the RSN’s 150th anniversary, RSN Stitch Bank (rsnstitchbank.org), was launched to continue this mission; digitally conserving and showcasing the wide variety of the world’s embroidery stitches and the ways in which they have been used in different cultures and times. 

The RSN Stitch Bank is an ongoing project. More stitches are added regularly and the RSN works with partners around the world to include stitches from different traditions.  The Stitch Bank currently includes more than 400 stitches, divided across 28 disciplines, from crewel embroidery to whitework. 

RSN Stitch Bank: 200 Essential Embroidery Stitches: A directory of over 200 essential embroidery stitches  

Author: The Royal School of Needlework 

Every purchase of this book supports the Royal School of Needlework Charity no 312774

Product Details

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Opus Anglicanum, ‘English work’, was one of the high arts of the Middle Ages, treasured and traded by princes and bishops across Europe. This practical guide explains how just two seemingly simple stitches – split stitch and underside couching – can give extraordinarily complex and sophisticated results that exploit the qualities of silk and gold thread. It introduces new techniques through fourteen projects that progress in difficulty. The book advises on shading, adding detail and authentic use of colour; gives in-depth instruction on stitching faces, hair and hands, as well as wings, animals and landscaping and includes detailed reproductions of original pieces, as well as some with a contemporary twist. The book concentrates on the heyday of Opus Anglicanum, from the twelfth century to the fourteenth, when mastery of this art was at its height.

ISBN: 9781785008962

WIDTH: 215mm

PUBLISHED: 29/06/2021

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This beautiful guide to church embroidery starts with detailed instruction of the techniques needed before including a range of designs. It gives ideas for modern interpretation of age-old symbols and provides inspiration on how embroidery can be used in the church and on Eucharistic vestments. Over 600 photos, stunning examples and in-depth advice make this book an essential guide for everyone who wants to learn or develop their skills for this very special use of embroidery. Starting with a guide to the liturgical colours and Eucharistic vestments, it covers the whole process of first collecting together the materials and equipment that you’ll need, through to creating and transferring the design, and then stitching, finishing and constructing the piece. Throughout the text, Heather Lewis shares her practical tips and ideas learnt from years of embroidering at the highest level so you can achieve the best results. Beyond the practical, this book also provides inspiration and encourages you to interpret traditional themes in new ways to keep the embroidery and Christian message as relevant today as ever. Projects range from a golden cross on a stole to the flames of the Holy Spirit using applique. Step-by-step instructions, supported with clear photographs and templates, complete this impressive book.

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This comprehensive insight into her work guides you from her initial ideas, right through to the finished, astonishing pieces of work, collectively titled Trace.

Rich in symbolism and drawing inspiration from throughout history, the book contains three created, embroidered artefacts: a lavish glove, jewelled bodice and Japanese-style hair pin. From these she extracts a narrative which becomes the basis for three embroidered artworks, exploring themes of human duality and our behavioural effects on society and the planet. The book begins with an immersive, exquisitely photographed gallery tour of all the pieces, showcasing Michele’s work in incredible detail. Following on from this, each artefact and artwork is discussed in detail, giving insight into the working process, creative choices and techniques used.

Michele has worked for many years in the film and TV industry, including as Costume Embroiderer for HBO’s Game of Thrones, and HBO’s 2005 Emmy award winning production of Elizabeth I. The last chapter of the book features a selection of images from her inspiring catalogue of work.

The post Trace, The Embroidered Art of Michele Carragher appeared first on Royal School of Needlework.

In this book, Jane has selected 12 designs and interpreted them in a variety of ways using combinations of goldwork, raised and surface stitching. The projects feature a charming array of motifs including butterflies and other insects, Japanese plants and flowers, each is worked on an assortment of silk Japanese kimono fabrics, and is accompanied by detailed instructions, a stitch diagram and the outline for the design.

At the start of the book there is a fascinating history of Japanese family crests, followed by a stitch directory and a techniques section covering how to prepare your background fabric, how to transfer the design and how to work with wire. Illustrated throughout with sumptuous photography and informative diagrams, this is a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration for embroiderers and lovers of Japanese culture alike.

Published in hardback by Search Press

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Inspirations Magazine is published quarterly in Australia and available from the Royal School of Needlework online shop.

This popular journal is packed full of beautiful projects, in a variety of techniques, by international needlework artists. It also contains listings, reviews and artist profiles.

Occasionally  do have back issues of this lovely journal available, while stocks last!

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Natural’, ‘no waste’ and ‘plastic-free’. If this is how you want to live your creative life, you will find a greener, more natural path with this book. Found and Ground details a more sustainable and fulfilling approach to painting. Readers will learn to create professional-quality paints using colour from the earth itself: the rocks, clay and soil in their locale. The palette created will be unique to the individual’s local area, their eye and their tastes. Foraging for pigments and creating paints from scratch is both life-affirming and fascinating, and this book teaches new skills while also introducing the reader to the land outside their door. Starting with a foreword by award-winning author and environmentalist Paul Kingsnorth, this book covers every aspect of making natural paints, from finding the raw materials to the techniques needed to refine it into a pigment. Suitable for the complete beginner as well as those with some experience in art, Found and Ground will also appeal to those with experience in drawing and painting, but who until now have only used shop-bought materials to make their work. Found and Ground is the ideal reference book for artists and crafters wishing to move away from plastics (such as those found in acrylic paints), and use natural paints in their place. The book covers how to make a series of simple natural paints such as watercolour, gouache, tempera, and glair. It also includes innovative vegan ‘egg paint’ alternatives. Aimed at a general readership, all specialist art terminology is clearly and simply explained, and all the techniques demonstrated through step-by-step instructions. The book will also give fresh ideas to those stuck in a rut with their use of watercolours, and introduce readers to try new ‘old ideas’. Most importantly, it will teach readers how to forage and gather successfully and safely.

Number of pages: 128
Dimensions: 280 x 216 mm

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Back issues available

Embroidery ~ The Textile Art Magazine from the Embroiderer’s Guild.

This publication is a survey of current trends in the world of contemporary embroidery. Published bi-monthly it includes features on international and British textile artists, reviews and listings.

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The post Botanical Watercolours Through the Seasons: An All-Year-Round Guide to Painting Flowers and Plants appeared first on Royal School of Needlework.