London Embroidery School

Central London Embroidery School

hand embroidery

You’ve been asking for it and we have heard you!

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You’ve been asking for it, and we have been listening so today we are announcing a new online series dedicated to the Art of Monogramming! Even more excitingly as a thank-you for your seemly endless support which we have been absolutely overwhelmed by over the past few months, the first part of this series will be free!

Monogramming is a very technical area of embroidery and so for the first part, we will be taking it right back to basics and hopefully, taking away any complexity barrier that might stop you from getting started.

During this complimentary class we will encourage you to start with things you are likely to already have at home. Therefore there are no kits required for this class or indeed the rest of the series, we will just make suggestions on how you can go about approaching this way of working.

Classes 2 and 3 will build on your newly kindled interest in embroidered lettering, going into more classic styles as you build up skills.  These will become available to purchase from the London Embroidery School Website on the two following Fridays. Although these classes are a series, each part will focus on a particular approach to lettering and so can also be enjoyed as a stand alone.

 

The only thing you need to decide now, is what you want to embroider on first?

Introduction to Embroidery Online Class Part 2 Now Out

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Introduction to Embroidery: Part 2 is now out! If you purchased all the Introduction to Embroidery Parts together, then Part 2 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 part we move on from your line stitches and focus more on texture featuring chain stitch, sequins and beads, split stitch and french knots, working on the Lily and Pomegranate heads. There is lots of stitching to do in this part, building your confidence for the slightly more tricky stitches coming in Part 3 next week.


Head over to our website to get cracking on the new part, or if you haven’t started the series yet; what are you waiting for?

These kits have been selling like hot cakes so if you want to get started on your stitching skills, don’t miss out!

New and Wannabe Embroiderers! This one is for you

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New and wannabe embroiderers, today’s online class launch is just for you. We see you guys who clearly love looking at embroidery, but as yet haven’t quite got involved in stitching for yourself. Well, this is your call to arms, to become fully fledged in the embroidery community and start embroidering.

 

Presenting our Introduction to Embroidery Online Class Series of which Part 1 is now available. There will be 3 Parts to this series during which you will join us working on the Lily design together, stitch for stitch. We will introduce you to 8 classic techniques, countless approaches and getting you into some excellent stitching habits that will set you up for a great foundation as you build on your new skills.

By the end of the series you will have a beautiful finished piece, techniques under your belt and a hunger to use them on your next project. When you have made your purchase, the link will be sent to your email and kits through the post. You can buy part 1 now on its own or with parts 2 and 3 which will follow automatically as they are released on consecutive Fridays.

 

Full details and purchase can be made from the Online Classes section for the London Embroidery School website you are looking for where you can see your class and kit options if your ready to get started.

 

Masons Military Shop comes to the London Embroidery School

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Along with our new bead and sequins section, we also have a selection of items now available on the London Embroidery School from Mason’s Military Shop. These include blazer and cap badges, cufflinks and buttons in military style from a range of squadrons, universities and establishments.

All the badges are hand made and vintage so they have plenty of character to them, no two are the same! They make great examples of the traditional application of techniques such as goldwork, applique and silk work which are beautiful pieces in their own right but can also serve to inform your own stitching progress.

With pieces starting at £9.99 for a cap badge, they are well worth a look if we do say so ourselves!

Pro Tips: Framing up a Round Frame

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Framing up a frame might seem like one of the most basic things you could possibly do in embroidery, and in truth, it is. But here are a few little tips that might help to bring your embroidery up a knotch just in the preparation of your stitching:

1. Ironing your Fabric

For embroidery, you want a nice, flat, even surface on which to embroider as this will help to create consistent tension. Any creases in the fabric represent an area of fabric that has already been distorted before you begin. A crease will have lesser tension than the rest of the fabric and therefore has the potential to become a gather or pucker whilst you work therefore if you give it an iron before you begin you should be able to illiminate this risk. (Always test your fabric somewhere inconspicuous first before ironing all over and follow the ironing instructions for that fabric if provided)

2. Wrapping your Frame

Within the frame, whilst you work, you put pressure on the fabric which can change the tension. Wrapping your frame in calico or a similar fabric provides a bit more of a grippy surface for the fabric to pull against and maintain your tension (see our previous blog on this for more details).  You may also find for some fabrics that the calico provides the extra bonus of a little padding which can decrease your chances of having frame marks on your fabric when you finish.

3. Pressing on the Frame

You’ve ironed your fabric beautifully flat, and your frame is wrapped to perfection. All that is left is to put the fabric in the hoop, how you do that can also makes a difference, particulally if you have a seat or clamp frame. Put the top side of your hoop face down on a table, lie the fabric centrally over the hoop then place the inside of the frame within in. You are looking for the part of the outer hoop that has the bolt in it to be smoothly within the hoop first. This is because it is the area of highest pressure due to the bolt and the ends of the hoop being there so if this goes in first, the pressure created when we push the frame into place is displaced equally around the hole curve of the hoop rather than condensed onto these corners.

4. Respect your Frame

This last one is more of a bug bear for us, but getting into this good habit will increase the lifespan of your frame. Anytime you want to look at the underside of your embroidery, loosen the screw that attached the frame to the stick so that it can move easily. When this screw is tight, is it what is holding your frame at your desired angle to work on, so when you force it up and down, inevitabley over time the screw will loosen and no longer be able to support the weight of the frame at your prefered angle (plus it makes a horrible screech). Loosening it will give it a much better chance of serving you long and well.

Other blogs you might find useful on the subject are ‘How to pick your embroidery frame‘ and ‘Stitching with both hands‘ for a little further reading.

 

Hope you found this helpful!

Out of the Blue: 50 Years of the Designers Guild at the FTM

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The Designers Guild is a renowned design studio that has played a key role in the world of interiors. Established in 1970 by Tricia Guild OBE, the Designers Guild has since reinvented interior design within our homes. From furnishing fabrics,wallcovering and upholstery to bed and bath collections, it has grown from its humble beginnings in London to becoming an influential global successful brand.

Out of the Blue: Fifty Years of Designers Guild is the exhibition currently being held in celebration of its long history and influential power at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in London. It explores the creative approach of Designers Guild’s founder, Tricia Guild OBE, looking at her inspiration, design methodology and the techniques, processes and materials that go into each and every collection.

The museum first leads into a sitting space that showcases the beautiful wallpaper that was specially designed to celebrate the Out of the Blue exhibition in all its majestic beauty and detail. It is here that you can witness the evolution of the initial hand painted imagery into its finished high quality digitally printed wallpaper as well as a chance to sit down to flick through fabric samples and the accompanying exhibition book, ‘Out of the Blue: Fifty Years of Designers Guild’.

The early years

This leads onto the main exhibition space that gives us an insight to the unique collections that the studio has created over the years. This includes the Village Collection, created within the early years, rich with colours and a unique style, as well as a look into Tricia Guild’s love for floral designs that has played a key role throughout Designers Guild’s history through the Flower Power space.

Travellers’ Tales: Indian Summer       Travellers’ Tales: Venetian

In contrast, the collections for Travellers’ tales brand shows the impact of different cultures within the Designers Guild’s collections. The Venetian collection draws inspiration from the elegant ornate designs of the Italian Renaissance and the Indian Summer collection is cleverly draped to invoke the feeling of summer and rich culture alongside its beautiful colours.

The Shape of Modernity

The Designers Guild has also looked towards Modernism through The Shape of Modernity which combines many products both current and in the past, often as a result of working in collaboration with many designers, resulting in a stunning space that is full of geometric patterns and ombre patterns that are digitally printed today at a large scale.

        Silks                         Embroidery and crewel work

The upstairs exhibition space explores the design process that goes into each collection. With displays looking at silk and embroidery it looks at the fabrics, colours to techniques and the target audience. These aspects that are carefully considered and laid out alongside their finished products, giving us the insight into the inspiration and the carefully thought out properties of each object.

There is also a particular emphasis towards the importance of moodboards and hand painting techniques. With every collection, Tricia Guild always starts with mood boards that draw inspiration from numerous sources such as architecture and fashion. Using these moodboards the design studio experiment with hand painted imagery before getting developed and refined digitally. While the use of rotary screen printing used in the beginning has been replaced by digital printing in 2010, each design starts of life by being hand drawn before being developed into the highest quality products and designs.

 

Overall, this exhibition is a great celebration of the fifty years of Designers Guild with a fantastic insight into the history and the collections. A fantastic source of inspiration for those that are passionate about the home and interiors and I can’t wait to see what the next fifty years will bring.

 

Words and photos by Jenny Li

Out of the Blue: Fifty Years of Designers Guild

14 February – 14 June 2020

Fashion and Textile Museum,

83 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XF

Opening Hours:

Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 6pm

Thursdays until 8pm

Sundays until 5pm

Ticket Pricing: £9.90 Adults / £8.80 concessions / £7 Students / Free entry for under 12s