Conservation & Restoration

Conservation may include gentle surface cleaning, surface couching and supporting weak areas. We can also protect very fragile areas by covering them with conservation net discreetly stitched. In line with current practice, all our conservation work is reversible.

For restorations, we can match original thread colours and replace missing stitches, or repair holes in the ground fabric. The RSN Studio specialises in canvas re-weaving to strengthen canvas work, such as cherished furnishings, so that they give you many more years of pleasure and continue to be passed onto the next generation.

Sometimes it is appropriate to conserve and archive an original piece and to create a reproduction. We can produce a piece in authentic stitches and the original colours (as seen on the back of an item) or in the existing faded colours. We can also re-embroider sections that may have been lost, worn away or damaged.

When the embroidery on a piece still looks in good condition but the background fabric is worn and cracking we can transfer old embroideries onto new background fabrics. We specialise in transferring ecclesiastical embroidery on vestments and altar frontals, as well as on church, livery, masonic and organisation banners, to give them a new lease of life.

Fabrics which have not been cleaned are prone to decay from mounting or storage materials such as card, wood and non-acid-free tissue paper which can lead to irreversible damage and a short life-span of the piece.

The Studio can remount work and provide acid-free and conservation grade storage solutions.