The Needlework Development Scheme (NDS) was a collaborative program between industry and art education that ran from 1934 to 1961. Its aim was to encourage and initiate a new standard for British

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

design in both hand and

machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...

work. The organisation was primarily responsible for developing collections of foreign and British embroidery, that could be loaned to training colleges,

Women's Institutes The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

, and schools.

Establishment

The scheme was started by the four Scottish art schools,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1934 under the name Needlework Development in Scotland Scheme. The project was a collaboration between industry and art education, that was to help elevate the standard of design and technique in Scottish embroidery. It provided teachers and students with opportunities to study directly from high-quality examples carefully selected from leading designers across the United Kingdom and Europe. The scheme was sponsored anonymously by thread producers J & P Coats. The idea had been conceived by Coats' marketing director in Vienna, Colin Martin. Inspired by the enthusiasm for embroidery and needlework in Hungary, he believed something similar could be done in Scotland and had approached the art schools.

Development and Growth

By 1939, the scheme had collected over 900 embroideries but the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

saw the project temporary disbanded. The scheme was restated after the war in 1944. Throughout the 1950s, the program was extended to include schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the nation began to recover from wartime shortages, new educators brought renewed enthusiasm and innovative techniques improving the standards of the needlework. This period saw an increase in publications by talented designers, featuring rich illustrations that highlighted their unique approaches to embroidery challenges. From 1950 to 1957, exhibitions showcasing pieces from the Scheme were held across the UK, including at the 1951 Festival of Britain. British artists, including the painter and illustrator Mary Kessell were speciality commissioned to create experimental designs for the scheme which could then be reinterpreted in embroidery.

Impact and Legacy

The program ended in 1961, having achieved its original aims, and the collection of over 3,500 embroideries, was given to various museums and organisations, including the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London and the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

in Edinburgh.

References

Needlework Visual arts education Embroidery 1934 establishments in Scotland 1961 disestablishments 1934 in art Collection of National Museums Scotland Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum Edinburgh College of Art Glasgow School of Art {{UK-museum-stub