Needlework Development Scheme
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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 design in both hand and machine work. The organisation was primarily responsible for developing collections of foreign and British embroidery, that could be loaned to training colleges, Women's Institutes, and schools.[1]
The scheme was started by the four Scottish art schools, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow 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.[1] The scheme was sponsored anonymously by thread producers J & P Coats.[1][2] The idea had been conceived by Coats' marketing director in Vienna, Colin Martin.[3] 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.
