A real stitch-up

“These things are cyclical,” says Hayat Palumbo, the founder of Tapisserie, a London specialist in handmade needlepoint for 30 years. “It went out of fashion when computers came along and designers were all experimenting with digital prints. But it’s been making a gradual comeback. The computer can never give you the satisfaction that you get from something created by hand.” Her Walton Street store offers needlepoint kits and classes, and houses an archive of about 5,000 designs.