Tuesday 30 September, 10 - 4 pm: Workshop, Rowan Tree Crewelwork with Phillipa Turnbull of The Crewel Work Company

Museum Of The Home, The Pavilion, 136 Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA 

In a quiet corner of Appleby-in-Westmorland, The Crewel Work Company has woven a remarkable story over three decades—of thread, tradition, and transformation. Founded by embroidery specialist Phillipa Turnbull, the company is now co-owned and run by her daughter Laura, blending heritage with fresh energy to preserve and reimagine historic needlework. 

More than a business, The Crewel Work Company is a family—small, close-knit, and dedicated to reviving 17th-century embroidery designs with historical accuracy and artistic integrity. Partnering with museums and stately homes, they create exquisite kits, courses and immersive retreats that empower stitchers worldwide. 

Working closely with prestigious heritage collections such as the Burrell Museum, Gawthorpe Hall, Glamis Castle and Muncaster Castle, the team gains privileged access to antique textiles and their stories. These partnerships help ensure that needlework traditions are not frozen in time, but remain vibrant, evolving, and accessible to today’s stitchers. 

This special workshop, led by Phillipa Turnbull, invites stitchers to explore the Rowan Tree design – a celebration of Arts & Crafts style. Swirling foliage and bright red rowan berries are stitched using a wide variety of crewelwork techniques, including Long and Short Stitch for soft shading, French Knots, Crewel Stem, Pistil and Spiral Buttonhole, Whipped Spider’s Web, and Raised Satin Stitches.

Materials provided (two ticket options are available):

£345 – Workshop and Kit Only:

• Appleton's embroidery Wools
• Printed Linen, folded to A4 size
• Needles - 2 gold, 2 nickel
• 1 x A3 Stitch Chart
• Essential Guide booklet
• Stitch Instruction booklet
• Wrap around the kit poster
• Box in an A4 deep Crewelwork Company box

£390 – Full Workshop Set:

Includes everything above plus:

• 1 x hands-free seat frame with 8" hoop
• 1 x Curved-tip embroidery scissors
• Lifetime access to a bespoke instructional video.
  

Materials to bring:
Each participant is asked to bring a seat frame with an 8" hoop and embroidery scissors unless purchasing the full set.

This workshop is best suited to intermediate or advanced embroiderers. You will leave with the start of an intricate crewel work piece, along with the skills, techniques, and confidence to continue stitching independently at home.

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