Canvaswork Angel
The second module of the FTP is Canvas Stitches. The idea is to recreate the textures, shapes and colours found in the original image. Students often choose a landscape scene for canvas stitches, as did I when I completed this module as part of the RSN...
Jungle Jacobean – Part 3 | Ricamo in lana in stile giungla – Parte 3
With all the main design features in place, it was time to think about the smaller elements and finer details, such as the fronds, vines and ground foliage. I learnt the stitch ‘raised chain band’ during the Basic Skills module and knew instantly that I wanted to use...
Jungle Jacobean – Part 2 | Ricamo in lana in stile giungla – Parte 2
With the design transferred to the linen twill, all that remained was to start stitching! The areas of a crewelwork design that are worked first are the background elements, which are often stitched in filling stitches (so-called because they ‘fill’ the linen twill)...
Jungle Jacobean – Part 1 | Ricamo in lana in stile giungla – Parte 1
The future tutor course proper kicked off with Jacobean Crewelwork, a technique using Appleton’s crewel wool, which is 2-ply wool (two strands twisted together to make one thread), embroidered on linen twill. The brief was simple: to create an embroidery in the style...
Needlework 101 | Ricamo 101
Before we were unleashed onto the various modules and techniques at the RSN, we first had to complete the ‘Basic Skills’ module. This consisted of stitching a simple floral design with a focus on a stitch known as ‘long and short’. We were taught by the lovely Debra...
Art week! | Settimana dell’arte!
The Future tutor programme (FTP) began in earnest last week with three days of art taught by the amazing Caroline Homfray. I got to meet my fellow first-year FT, Caroline, for the first time, as well as the second and third years, who we had met briefly on Zoom in...
Shy Smile | Sorriso Timido
Ever since I got my hands on DMC Library’s Chinese Embroideries book I’ve fancied having a go at re-creating some of the Chinese character embroidery in the book. The book uses DMC threads (of course). But I fancied a quicker project, so I opted for some DK wool I had...
It’s official! | È ufficiale!
This week I received the formal offer letter from the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) for my place on their Future Tutor Programme (FTP), which is due to start in September 2020. I’d already received an informal offer by email a couple of days after the interview but...