Royal School of Needlework - June 2025

June is always a busy time at the Royal School of Needlework, especially for the third-year degree students as they present their final show. Each year the Broderers Charitable Trust (BCT) awards a prize and the winner this year was Charlotte Farrant with her very special coat and boots. Based on the character and writings of Anne Lister an English diarist of the early 19^th century – who might be better known as Gentleman Jack.

Anne Lister was known for writing her diaries in code and Charlotte created her own code of stitches to embroider Lister’s most famous saying ”…..I am made unlike anyone I have ever met. I dare to say I am like no one in the whole world.”

(above) Charlotte proudly standing with her prizewinning coat and co-ordinating boots. The coat alone took 741 hours of stitching as well as the time to design and source all the threads and fabrics. The coat buttons are contemporary with Anne Lister’s life and the lining is specially printed with copies of Anne’s own diary writings.

The BCT also award bursaries and this year Philippa Palmer used her bursary and final piece to highlight the power of red. A stunning demonstration of how red can invoke so many different emotions, all embroidered on a simple black shift dress.

(above) Philippa shaped her embroidery to emphasise the natural curves of a body and used various shades of red with different textures to prompt a range of responses to light and movement.

Izzy Ager was a BCT bursary recipient last year and her final artwork highlighted her love of flowers, with a beautiful interpretation of a peony on the left shoulder. The flower sits on an embroidered ‘cage’ which is completely stand alone and references how a journey would be documented on a map.

(above) Izzy standing with her dress and a close up of the peony flower. The fabric was stiffened with millinery spray to emphasise the bloom of a peony.

Edith Miller won a prize from the Worshipful Company of Needlemakers. Her bag is inspired by the idea of an exo skeleton, with the embroidery backed by leatherwork. The embroidery includes beads, spangles, metal threads and studs and took 840 hours to complete.

(above) Edith with her prize-winning bag.

All of the artworks demonstrate the dedication and skill of the students and we wish them all, the very best of luck in their future careers.