Celebrating the RSN's 150th Anniversary - Berlin Wool Work

In this film, RSN Chief Executive & Exhibition Curator, Dr Susan Kay-Williams, talks about the reason behind why the RSN was founded in 1872. Founder, Lady Victoria Welby, was concerned that the traditional techniques and stitches of English hand embroidery were being lost as Berlin Wool Work, which is worked in a single stitch, had gained in popularity. This was mainly due to the fact that, for the first time in history, a fairly large number of women had leisure time to devote to needlework. The ‘School of Art Needlework’, our name at the time, was therefore established to ensure the future of hand embroidery, which remains our mission 150 years on, today. Learn more about our history: https://royal-needlework.org.uk/our-history/