London Embroidery School

Central London Embroidery School

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Bring on the Beads!

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We’ve built the base, it’s time to bring the beads. Part 2 of the Tambour Online class series is now available. Working with the most popular use of the tambour skills, adding beading into the equation ups the difficulty level as we navigate the additional weight, changeable stitch length, shrinkage and working that underneath hand. Starting off with a pack of practise beads we will work on the techniques before we apply the skills to our landscape design, incorporating round beads, seed beads and bugle beads, straights, corners, curves and fills.

If you haven’t got any idea what those things mean, start off the tambour 1 to fill in the gaps and catch us up. Those who got in fast and purchased the whole series as a bundle will have the class waiting for you in your inbox. Kits are going quickly so if you haven’t managed to bag one or have plenty of beads of your own, you can purchase the online class on its own. This comes with a downloadable version of the design template to use your own materials with and start stitching at home right away. 

Check out all the options so you can just buy what you need. All the variations are explained on our website, follow any of the links for more info. Begin couture beading like a pro with the Tambour Online Class Series from the London Embroidery School.

The Endlessly Versatile Chiffon Rose

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Available in 4 colours, mix and match or stick with your favourite as you make these soft, luxurious, 3-D flowers.  This class is great value as £15 gets you unlimited access to the class to watch, re-watch, rewind and replay as many times as you like and a mini kit containing enough supplied to make 3 roses.


Be sure to check out the stitch along we did on our YouTube channel, working on the chiffon rose below for more ideas about how to adapt the artwork to give the roses different characteristics and best suit your outcome.

Pro Tips- The Scissor/ Tweezer Method

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It might seem like an obvious thing, but getting a high quality finish on your hand or machine embroidery is often overlooked. Trimming away those pesky loose threads brings the care and attention to your piece that it deserves.

Do you ever find though that sometimes you don’t catch the thread right and end up cutting it short, but it is still visible, the stump them unravels leaving you with a little fuzzy patch or fluffy looking section. This can be avoided by using the scissor tweezer combo where you add tension to the loose thread by pulling on it with the scissors so you can make a close, clean cut.

Unfortunately there are no shortcut when it comes to making a good cut with your finishings, but given the time one has usually already put into a project by this point, it is worth doing this last part right.

Items Shown:

Curved Scissors

Pointy Tweezers

 

 

Credits:

Artwork- Hawthorne & Heaney

Music- ‘Rain’ by @Ikson

Tambour Beading Class Goes Digital

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Well do we have a treat for you or what! As one of our regulars you may already have guessed but we are a big, brand new, technically focused online class series show you as our Tambour Online Class is now available.

 

Perfect for those who have never tamboured before or if you are looking to smarten up your existing skills, the class series will take you through all the classic tambour skills; stitches, beads and sequins on this triptych of landscape designs. 

Part 1 will take you from scratch, setting up your hook and frame, forming stitches, starting and stopping.Then we can move onto the design together and show off our skills on knotted stars, straight stitch seascape and curving wind stitches. Working in this variegated thread we can focus on practising good technique, getting comfortable with the new tools and building a strong foundation.

Parts 2 and 3 will push these skills onwards as we add the extra challenge of the weight of beads and dexterity required for sequins. Covering round, seed, bugle beads, flat and cupped sequins; this class series will start you off with all the challenges you are likely to face when working on your own future tambour designs. 

The classes will be available as standalones or as a bundle with the materials and or equipment depending on your requirements for this high end technique. Head to the online classes section to pick your bundle and start your couture beading education with the London Embroidery School.

 

August’s Student of the Month

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Feels like Summer might be coming to an end, but what we do know has gone is August and so it is time to announce that July’s Student of the Month is….. @laurasanders_costumes !

Introduction to Embroidery Online Class by @laurasanders_costumes

Arming ourselves with new skills is a passion we all seem to share and Laura Sanders is no different. This busy University of the Arts Bournemouth graduate is always making something new and has now extended her skills into hand embroidery.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Costume- @laurasanders_costumes

We feel sure that these embroidery skills will come in very handy with her costume and dressing works for the likes of ‘Miss Saigon’ and ‘Strictly Ballroom’ in London’s Piccadilly Theatre.

Work Experience at Dorset Opera Festival – @laurasanders_costumes

Trying out smocking techniques – @laurasanders_costumes

 

 

Look out for this name… I’m sure we will be seeing more of Laura and her skills.

 

If you would like to be the September’s #studentofthemonth, use the hashtag #londonembroideryschool or tag us when sharing your photos from your London Embroidery School class or the things you have gone onto make following one of our class.

All Images courtesy of @laurasanders_costumes

Make your own Lace Jewellery

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Today’s Class launch is aimed at our novice embroiderers where together we will be working to make a pair of embellished lace earrings. Using basic techniques we will guide you towards good practises as we add the beads and sequins to the lace, whilst considering the piece as a whole for a 3D outcome. If you are fairly new to embroidery then this one is great for you as we share some of our tips that will help you on your way. Oh and did we mention, the class itself is free so you can enjoy the techniques taught and apply them to your own projects if you like.

This approach is more of a challenge on how to be delicate and tension your work as it is a bit fiddly, so could be a great one to get kids involved with as they have the advantage of smaller hands.

It’s also a lovely thing to make and gift to someone special as the outcomes are so pretty and will post well if you aren’t able to see one another. 

This leaves design kit will be the first design in this style, though there will be more kits to come which you can apply the same techniques to, or freestyle it to really make them your own.  Kits are available to purchase in the online classes section of our website so head there now to grab your class and choice of kit today. 

15k Giveaway Time!

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This week we have reached some new milestones as there are now 15,000 of you following the London Embroidery School on Instagram and 1,000 on our new YouTube channel. To celebrate with you our community we have some embroidery goodies to give away and we’d love to be sending one of these ten parcels to you! 

It will be a lucky dip as to who gets which bundle, but there will be embroidery frames, cotton, cross stitch fabric, tapestry wool and machine threads up for grabs.

To be in the running to win one of these bundles and join in our celebrations, head over to Instagram, like the post, follow the London Embroidery School on Instagram and tag a friend in the comments below the post before 12pm UK time on Friday 28th August. You can tag in as many friends as you like for multiple entries, just one tag per comment though please. Winners will be selected at random and will be contacted by Direct message on Monday 31st Aug.

See the full t’s and c’s below:

This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram. Entries will only count on the original post on instagram. Over 18’s only, no purchase necessary. Items will be sent out by Post so if you win, your address will be required to receive your prize. Open Internationally where we are able to ship. Void where prohibited. 

Part 2 Broiderie Anglaise Is Out!

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Part 2 of the Broiderie Anglaise Online class series is now out. Moving on from the circular shapes of the first class, we will be trying our hand at the other cut work shapes in our traditional whitework design and creating contrast to our piece. After focusing on taking away fabric to create the design, we will offset this by adding satin, raised satin and outline stitch elements for some extra texture. 

If you purchased a bundle for this course then part 2 will be waiting for you in your inbox. If not, or if you are new to the course, flow the link for the second and final part of this series.

Could this be your new mending method when you get a hole or tear in your favourite garment? Does that piece really need mending in the traditional sense, or could you make a feature of its flaw? In today’s ever increasingly aware culture of conspicuous consumption and slow fashion movements, the techniques included in Broiderie Anglaise online class series can be put to great use with a little creativity. It is a beautiful art in its own right, but it’s safe to say, the skills used to create it have some transferable and handy applications.

With skills like these, holes and eyelets have never looked so good, when you know what to do with them. 

Adding to our Embroidered Lace Online Classes- Broiderie Anglaise

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Adding to the lace embroidery online classes, today we have the Broiderie Anglaise series to bring you. This distinctive technique focuses on creating a lace effect onto woven fabric with lots of different textures offset against one another. Bridging the gap between embroidery and lace, this whitework technique has been harnessed for fashion, lingerie, home ware and childrens’ wear to name a few. 

During this two part series we will walk you through a classic Broiderie Anglaise design where we will try out six different stitch finishes and learn to safely remove the necessary parts of the design. We will also get to know our star tool for this technique, the stiletto. 

Regulars to the London Embroidery School will already know that this series can be bought as your choice of single products or as a bundle; getting the classes and either the deluxe or mini kit with a discount. The second class will be released next Friday so you haven’t long to wait and there is plenty of stitching to be done in the meantime. 

Pop over to the Online Classes section for all the details and to make your selection, or find our other online class options if this one doesn’t quite tickle your fancy as there are lots of techniques to master with the London Embroidery School.

July’s Student of the Month

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Happy August everyone! A month coming to an end means it is time to announce that July’s Student of the Month is….. @ceinwenrees !

Introduction to Goldwork Cherry Design by @ceinwenrees

Having completed the Introduction to Goldwork Cherry Design as seen here, she now has plans to level up to the goldwork online class pear design with her Mum. Such a nice though to spend some time with others occupied by shared interests!

Homemade cakes by @ceinwenrees

This talented ladies skills seem to have no bounds as she turns her hand to other crafts as well as sewing and embroidery.

Homemade dress by @ceinwenrees (made in 2 hours!)

We are sure their pears will be just as lovely as Ceinwen’s Cherries, looking forward to it already.

 

If you would like to be the August’s #studentofthemonth, use the hashtag #londonembroideryschool or tag us when sharing your photos from your London Embroidery School class or the things you have gone onto make following one of our class.

All Images courtesy of @ceinwenrees