London Embroidery School

Central London based Embroidery School

embroiderers

December’s Student of the Month…

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We have a new student of the month to announce…. @annbeckembroidery


Ann has been working hard for some months now on this beautiful box as a Christmas present, from original design to fruition. We have been watching eagerly from the sidelines and now as it is finished we certainly think she deserves congratulating!

Using a combination of silk shading, goldwork and beading, it makes for a truely stunning gift that’s we are sure will be very well received.

So, to Ann, look out in your email for your winners discount voucher and we hope to see more beautiful things from you!

If you would like to be the first #studentofthemonth of 2021, 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 @annbeckembroidery

 

Happy New Year from the London Embroidery School

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Happy New year to you from the London Embroidery School. I dont very often show my face on here but I thought I should make an exception today as we’re feeling a little reflective and wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all making this a year like no other. The London Embroidery School has come on leaps and bounds in the past year and that’s all because of and for you guys. We’ve been talking about some of the things we have achieved in the past few months for literally years, it only took a global pandemic to make them happen.

You have been so supportive and encouraging as we have tried to switch tact to keep bringing the embroidery to you. And whilst this wasn’t the plan and has not always been as seamly as we would like it to be, we really feel like you have been there cheering us on regardless. From giving us your feedback in the reviews, sharing our giveaways and chatting with me in the instagram live session; it’s been a real pleasure to get to know you more personally than ever before.

So thank you and well done for being so incredible. We are really excited about 2021, keeping this momentum going and releasing more new and enticing classes.

Head to our YouTube Channel to see the video

The Goldwork 5 Day Course

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Have you ever thought about taking one of our 5 day course? Is it really worth it?

We thought we would try and share with you a few glimpses into the progress of our recent students from our 5 day Goldwork Course so you can see what it is like to take the course and how much students can achieve in that time.

The 5 day course gives us the time to share with you some of the more detailed aspects of hand embroidery, thoroughly taking you through the preparation and execution of each stage. This means that when you are done, you will have the skills not only to embroider the beetle you work on in the class, but how you would apply those skills to other artworks of your own.

Once you have some of the base layers down, we start to move onto the ‘good stuff’, gold things!

For both beginners and intermediate levels, there are a whole range of techniques which are covered in the design, and it is clear to see the development in the proficiecty in each technique.

Every step of the way is guided by one of our lovely tutors, sharing their own personal tips and tricks along the way, accumulated from their professional experience.

Once all the techniques are covered, the rest of the design can be finished off later in the same style so you can see how far you have come.

5 days is quite an intensive course, as you can see, we fit a lot onto that time! It is also a luxury to take the time and really get stuck into these precious techniques, put in the practise and hone them. If you would like to find out more about joining our next 5 day course, follow the link to secure your place and join us in the studio.

 

Gift Certificates Christmas 2018

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Having a crafter in your life can be a great thing, along with all the pretty things they make they’re also great for fixing buttons or darning sock and just generally lending their skills to all sorts. However if it’s not your personal field of interest, trying  to purchase crafty gifts for them can be difficult when you dont know the difference between a mellor and a stiletto, and you though that goldwork would be something a jeweller does not an embroiderer. In this case, we have the new Gift Certificates section of our website to make it easier to purchase this kind of gift for them without having to make the tough decisions (to tambour, or not to tambour…).

With the choice of £10, £25, £50, £100 and £150 certificates, you can select how much you would like to spend. Once you have made your purchase you will be redirected to the confirmation page with your downloadable pdf highlighted in purple so you can print it out and add the personal details to present to the lucky recipient.

Example:

The recipient can then use their unique code at the checkout for the item of class they would like to put it towards. Simple!

This is now an automated process so should you wish to purchase one whilst we are closed for the Christmas Break, you will still be able to complete your purchase and have access to your certificate.

 

Pro Tips: Stitching with Both Hands

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One of the things about embroidery, particulally hand embroidery, that you can not get away from is that it takes time. It takes a lot of practise to become proficient in each technique and time to keep your skills at a good level. In addition to that there is the time it takes to complete each piece depending on your proficiency. Whilst this makes it quite a relaxing, luxurious pursuit for a lot of people, the million dollar question is always ”how do I get faster?”

 

The simple answer to this is that you have to use both hands for stitching. Everyone has their prefered hand to work with, but to get faster at embroidering you need to save on the time that it takes for your hand to travel around the hoop from the front to the back to the front again to pull through and reposition the needle for each stitch. I’m sure you are probably thinking that this is only for ambidextrous people because you non-dominant hand just does not do the same as your dominant hand when you have tried to write or catch with it. With practise, you can train your non-dominant hand to share the load with your dominant hand.

What you are looking to achieve is being able to pass the needle back and forth, through the fabric, between your hands a bit like in the above. Each hand stays on its side of the hoop and controls the needle and thread only when it is on that side. Which way around you choose to position your hands is up to you, both of the embroiderers shown here are right hand dominant, but the embroiderer shown above prefers right hand on top, left underneath; whilst the embroiderer in the clip below has the left hand underneath and the right above (seen only in shadow).

So next time you are stitching, give the two handed method a try. Admittedly, when you first start it feels very awkward and you will probably feel like your stitches placed with the non-dominant hand are a little clumsey, but the more you use it the easier it will feel.

 

Happy quick stitching…

Pro Tips: Open Sided Thimble

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A firm favourite with our inhouse embroiderers, this thimble may not look like your standard thimble but it sure does the job. Looking more like a piece of jewellery than a piece of equipment, the open sided thimble has cage back of this thimble allow it to fit snugly over your finger and allow for size adjustments. This leaves the top open making it great for longer nails and allows it to be flatter across the body of the nail so it cant slip around your finger whilst you use it.

 

The ‘pad’ is dotted to help to catch the needle, with a lip at the top so can add a bit of extra pressure for getting through the toughest bits without the risk of the needle shooting painfully under you nail.

The open sided thimble come in a range of sizes, which are each adjustable as well. Officially they are bronze coloured but get brighter and more goldy with use (gold star to the person with the shiniest therefore most used thimble!)