London Embroidery School

an embroidery school for all abilities and budgets.

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The Introduction to Embroidery Online Class Series is Complete

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Introduction to Embroidery Online Class Series is complete as Part 3 is now out! If you purchased all the Introduction to Embroidery Parts together, then Part 3 is now waiting for you in your inbox. Otherwise it is now ready to purchase from the London Embroidery School Website– Online Classes Section.

In this last section, we will try some more advanced stitches, starting with the very luxurious satin stitch, both in parallel and turning. We learn to make plush little flowers in the form of wheel stitch and have a few chain stitches, french knots and styling our dangling root threads thrown in there just for good measure.

At the end of this class, your design will be ready to reframe and display so you can enjoy the fruits of your labour.

If you havent yet begun with the introduction to embroidery series, you can get all the parts and the kit in one transaction from the online classes section of our website, or if your starting to plan what you might like to work on next with your newly fledged embroidery skills, you know where we are…

 

Alexander McQueen Flagship

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London is very lucky to be able to offer a wealth of great free exhibitions and museums on many subjects. This open to all attitude really helps to keep feeding the minds of our designers and innovaters that one can go out and have your eyes opened to all sorts of  information. One such jem that might be a little lesser known is the top floor of the flagship Alexander McQueen store on Old Bond Street.

They have started to use the stop floor as more of an exhibition type space, sharing insights from the vast archives that the house of McQueen holds. At the moment, the space is dedicated to roses, curated by the Creative Director Sarah Burton.

What we found really special about this space, as an embroiderer in particular is that you can get right up close to the pieces to see the details often lost in show and large scale exhibitions. Something that we found even with very well done exhibitions like Savage Beauty. In addition to this they are sharing a lot of the background research and technical craftsmanship that goes into making a collection and show with this kind of dramatic results. There are development moodboards, fitting notes, embroidery placements onto pattern pieces and draping directed onto the model. There is also a viewing booth with footage from the shows to fully round out the experience and see it in the final context for which it was intended to be consumed.

If you find yourself in the area, it’s definately worth a trip it to see some beautiful things and get some of the background scoop on how these things all come together. The notes and quotes from behind the scenes really give you a sense of being emersed into their world. We are already looking forward

Pro Tips: Pricking a Design

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Prick and Pounce as a method of transfering a design onto your cloth is a great way to get an accurate draft to work from. Much of the embroidery process is about the preparation of your materials and design, as if your preparations are not right the final piece will never be that great no matter how skilled your subsequent stitches.

Prick and Pounce is the traditional way of doing this and they way we favour. This does not mean that there aren’t other ways of doing your design transfer that might be equally sucessful, or easier for your particular project, such as using a light box or dissolvable pens. Each method has their pros and cons, you just have to choose which you think is best for what you are looking to create.

Firstly, trace your design outlines onto some tracing paper with an area of unused tracing paper around the edge. This is important as when we come to pounce the design, we do not want any stray pounce marking around the edges (see future post for more details on pouncing).

 

Then using a pin or needle (having a needle mounted in your tambour handle can make this process easier as it gives you similar control to drawing- see previous post on using a tambour handle as a pricker for more details) make a series of holes through the traced lines you created. There are some conficting opinions on which side of the design you should use to prick from. We prefer to prick the design from the back (as shown) as each hole you make forces the tracing paper to create a little channel of the displaced tracing paper which is then on the rightside of your design. This makes the rightside rougher with the holes formed which catches the pounce as you pass it over the design.

Therefore when you are pricking, it is important that you keep the angle of the needle at 90 degrees to the paper (verticle) so that the channel created is straight through the paper so as not to distort the design when the pounce falls through it.

Making Memory at the Design Museum

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British based Architect of Ghanaian descent, Sir David Adjaye OBE, known for his beautifully and carefully thought out landmark structures within the architectural world, is showcasing his past, present and future work at The Design Museum.

Adjaye’s international recognition comes from his ability to immerse himself and fully understand a culture’s past in order to design and build a structure that not only holds the information and artefacts of that specific time, but holds the memory and tells the story of those that were involved and lost during those times. Throughout the exhibition, every room is dedicated to a specific building that has been designed by Adjaye to hold, preserve and experience the memories of that specific time.

When you first enter the exhibition, you are met with an introductory room with images of well-known historical landmarks. Here, Adjaye introduces himself with a written statement giving his opinion on how structures of remembrance should be designed, as well as what the exhibition will entail.

 

Gwangju River Reading Room

The first official room of the exhibition was dedicated to the Gwangju River Reading Room which Adjaye was invited to help design. Collaborating with writer, Taiye Salasi, this structure was intended to be designed and made in remembrance of the hundreds of students and citizens who were killed in the South Korean city of Gwangju’s ten day uprising in May 1980. The exchange of book and ideas in this space was intended to keep the memory of those who passed, alive.

The room was dimly lit with the small scale model of the designed reading room, which sat in the middle. Images of the real reading room were lit up on one side of the room and a book shelf on the opposing side. The sombre feel of the room reflected the events, being immersed into the experience of those who suffered all those years ago.

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Moving onto the next room, showcasing a landmark, located in Washington’s National Mall which was solely designed and made to remember as well as celebrate the African American community and their contribution to building America during slavery. Adjaye, knowing and learning about their history, came to know the contribution that African American slaves had in many trades including ironwork. From this information, the exterior panelling of the building honours this trade and the slaves that contribute to it. This is only a small snippet of the how Adjaye and his team designed this building to honour and most importantly remember the lives that were lost during slavery in America.

Sclera Pavilion

One of Adjaye’s smaller and temporary structures was the Sclera Pavilion which was made to be a safe space for self-reflection and contemplation for the public, designed in the shape of an eye. Within the room that was dedicated to this building, was a life size version of the design in the corner of the room. Different levels of wood, with different widths, descended from the ceiling gave the room a feel as to what it would have been like within the structure, alongside a smaller scale model of the building which sat in the middle of the room. This room, unlike the others, was lit up changing the feel and overall experience of the room.

UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre

Out of the 22 countries directly involved in the Second World War, the UK is the last to build a memorial to commemorate the horrific event in our history. However, this is about to change with Adjaye’s proposed plan of a national landmark for the remembrance of the Holocaust which is to be finished in 2020. The memorial will sit next to Parliament,  with the proposed design including a powerful architectural memorial above ground where 23 bronze fins are located which lead to underground exhibitions which reflect the 22 countries before us who have remembered. This building looks to be architecturally striking and I urge you, when it’s built to go and see this long awaiting structure and exhibitions.

There was so much more amazing things to experience and learn about these structures from this, as well as the other rooms that were dedicated to the Adjaye’s planned proposals for structures such as the National Cathedral of Ghana and the Mass Extinction Memorial Observatory. This exhibition left me in awe. The showcase of all the memorials allowed me to enter that time and learn the importance of remembering the past so that we can shape our future the right way by learning from our mistakes. This exhibition should not be missed!

 

By Kiah Fisher. All photos courtesy by Kiah Fisher

 

Exhibition Details:

David Adjaye: Making Memory Exhibition

Dates: 2nd February 2019 – 5th May 2019

Location: The Design Museum

Opening Times: 10:00- 18:00

Last exhibition entry: 17:00

For ticket pricing see the Design Museum for further details

Hawthorne & Heaney for London Craft Week

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For the past 3 years, London Craft Week has become a highlight of the creative calendar with all sorts of exciting workshops, demonstrations and talks taking place across town. These celebrate the most unique and interesting craft skills London has to offer. Ranging from whisky tasting to watchmaking to weaving there is something to interest everyone. This year, our sister company Hawthorne & Heaney have been invited to take part in London Craft Week and are excited to be hosting two workshops in the studio to showcase our own skills.  In these workshops we will be teaching one of our stable skills, monogramming which we regularly use on shirts, suits and accessories from our tailoring clients.

You can join us to learn the delicate art of monogramming and leave with your own monogrammed handkerchief or cuff links at the end. Follow the link to secure your place as spaces are strictly limited, tickets are £60 plus VAT and can only be bought directly from the London Craft Week Website.

Goldwork bumps are back in stock!

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For those of you who are interested in Goldwork, our goldwork bumps are back in stock! Available in white and yellow, the soft string padding are used to give height to goldwork pieces! It has a total of 60m in individual strands, loosely twisted together making it perfect to practise your raising techniques!

We have also added new dates for the goldwork course so why not book yourself in and get a head start to learn this beautiful technique.