The RSN Embroidery Studio originally worked the pieces of embroidery for the Royal Opera House (RBO) house curtains and the pelmet in 1997/99. We are very mindful with commissions such as this, to retain as much information as possible, including the working drawings, suppliers and samples. The original working drawings were in our modern archive, which we used as a guide for the new pieces. We were in contact with the College of Arms, who provided the cypher and crown ensuring we got every detail correct. The pieces currently on the curtains were originally worked using a domestic machine, with the embroiderer carefully guiding the pieces through the machine following the complicated shape. Technology has moved on and this time we have been excited to be able to work with Pete Tarrant and Digitek who digitally produce the machine embroidery. It has been fascinating to combine both hand and digital machine embroidery together to produce this amazing piece.

We worked with Digitek by sharing the original drawings to replicate a similar design. We spent time with the original curtains taking measurements as well as matching samples to find the nearest and most suitable fabrics and threads. The main changes were the crown, now a Tudor crown and His Majesty’s cypher. The change in cypher lead to us adjusting the surrounding decorative foliage to accommodate the differing proportions of the new cypher. Digitek worked a few test pieces allowing us to stitch these to a sample of the velvet. This informed us about how the rigidity of the pieces, particularly the edges, worked with the pile of the velvet. We could then experiment to decide on the most effective way to apply them, taking into considering all these factors. In addition, we experimented with surface embroidery to confirm the suitability and visual aesthetic both from a distance and close up when shows are live streamed to cinemas.

While we were working on the testing, the digital embroidery was being undertaken. The corner design is too large to fit one of the largest Digital machines. This added a complexity to pulling the components together as we needed to ensure they look like one whole piece. Working with Digitek we assessed how we could suitably divide up the foliage design surrounding the cypher so when reassembled it looked as if it was one piece. The result was to divide the section into 3 pieces. While this area was all being worked the leaf designs for the borders were set up and run on multiple machines producing them as separate units, there are 48 leaves and 12 centres.

The programming of the designs is an intricate part of the process and once complete allows multiple replications of the inputted designs. It will also give us statistics that we could not achieve with hand embroidery. To give some idea of the stitch quantity for the machining, each corner section contains 1.1 million digital stitches as well as a 100,00 plus hand stitches. The digital machine embroidery took 30,000 metres or 30 Kilometres of thread.

To work through the intense machining the Studio needed to use fine needles which were changed regularly to maintain the condition and quality so as not to catch or disturb the machine Satin Stitch. In some areas we had to use curve needles to add the surface embroidery which take practise to master.

The size of this commission adds a complexity as well as working on velvet. We have worked closely with Gerriets, the curtain makers, who will be applying the woven bands and the corners to the main curtain, to ensure all areas of the applique are applied in the same technique maintaining continuity as well as longevity. The processes used allows for individual areas of the embroidery to be removed and replaced in the event of any damage occurring, making them more sustainable for the future. We will provide for the RBO a pack of spare fabrics and threads for this purpose, as well as keeping a pack in our modern archive here at Hampton Court Palace.

RSN Studio in the Press

Our work on the 2026 Royal Opera House curtains was recently featured in Country Life magazine, capturing the meticulous detail and heritage techniques behind this landmark commission. Click on the link below to view the article.