Module 1005: Embroidery for Luxury Interiors

Location: This course is delivered online via Zoom & WhatsApp

Duration: 10 Week Embroidery Course (1 x 3 hour session per week for 10 consecutive weeks) 

Embroidery has long held a place within the world's most luxurious interiors, transforming walls, furnishings and architectural spaces into richly layered environments that evoke beauty, craftsmanship and emotion. In this module, you will explore how embroidery and textile art can move beyond the garment and become an integral part of interior design, creating tactile surfaces that enrich, define and transform a space.

This unit will teach you the art of traditional textile embellishment techniques including flocking, foiling and silk painting alongside delicate hand embroidery.  You will learn the qualities and characteristics of techniques required to produce luxury hard wearing interiors items. You will then work with our expert tutors to hand embellish your final piece inspired by the brief adding beautiful depth and dimension to your work. 

Entry Requirements:  No formal qualifications are required for joining the course, but those who have never embroidered before are encouraged to attend at least one Hand & Lock online course first.

Immersive Atmospheres

Each of our Diploma units has a bespoke design brief to help you begin to craft your design ideas. *Disclaimer: The amount of inspiration you take from the brief is up to you, the brief is designed as a guide to assist you in starting the design process and can be taken in any direction you desire as long as it is explained. 

Luxury interiors are not simply decorated, they are carefully curated experiences. Every texture, material, colour and surface contributes to an atmosphere, telling a story and shaping the way a space is experienced. Embroidered textiles have the unique ability to soften architecture, introduce depth and movement, and create moments of intimacy, drama and wonder.

Throughout this module, you will explore how embroidered textiles contribute to atmosphere and spatial experience. Drawing inspiration from nature, architecture, art, culture, storytelling and contemporary interior design, you will investigate how texture, scale, colour, light and dimension work together to shape the feeling of a room. 

Explore the sweeping hand-painted panoramas and embroidered wallcoverings of de Gournay, where landscapes unfold across entire rooms; the sculptural textile artworks of Aiveen Daly, whose intricate stitched surfaces blur the boundary between textile and sculpture; and the richly layered botanical embroideries of Natasha Hulse, where thread appears to grow organically across fabric. Consider how contemporary designers use embroidery not only as embellishment, but as a means of creating atmosphere, enhancing architecture and immersing the viewer within a carefully crafted environment. 

You will investigate the relationship between embroidery, textiles and interior environments, drawing inspiration from contemporary makers, luxury design houses and artisan studios renowned for their innovative approach to decorative surfaces. Rather than viewing your embroidery sample as an isolated piece, think about the role your work plays within a larger interior. Could your piece become part of a feature wall, a statement textile panel, an upholstered artwork, a decorative screen, a luxurious headboard or a  room divider? How might it transform the mood of a room or influence the experience of those who encounter it? 

Week 1: Introduction to the course

Students meet each other and tutors

Course overview (mark schemes, submitting work, deadlines, how the course will run)

Brief Overview (review of the content of the brief for the Module)

Research and Design (design techniques, creating moodboards, using resources, Hand & Lock resources, guidelines for research and design)

Guidelines of work that need to be produced 

Week 2: Design Session

In this session you will learn the basics of designing. Taking elements of your mood board and creating an inspiring composition. 

Your tutor will show you several different ways to start creating your initial design ideas as well as some drawing exercises to get you warmed up.

Week 3 - 4: Fabric Painting & Embroidery Sampling

Mark making and sampling with paint and dyes

Embroidery Sampling - week by week sessions of taught content using the embroidery kit and materials provided to create your class sampler

Students will be working on their design ideas in their own time. Emailing ideas over to the tutor for feedback.

Week 5: Application & Embroidery Sampling

Design Application presentation 

Embroidery Sampling - week by week sessions of taught content using the embroidery kit and materials provided to create your class sampler

Week 6: Embroidery Sampling

Embroidery Sampling - week by week sessions of taught content using the embroidery kit and materials provided to create your class sampler

Week 7: Final Design Presentations

Students to present their final designs and talk about their designs to students and tutors 

Week 8: Stitch Planning

Stitch plan presentation, students will learn what is required and how to turn their design into a set of stitch plans. 

Tailored help and advice sessions for students as they realise their final designs tweaking stitching and plans week by week

Week 9: Combining Embroidery Techniques

Learn how to take all of the embroidery techniques you have learnt and create something new and relevant to your final design.

Week 10: Your Formative Hand In 

Final session with the tutor, help and advice on designs, submission guidelines etc. 

How to create a finalised Diploma Module Submission, looking at past students' submissions.

After the live taught teaching session (optional)

Week 24: Formative Submission

All students hand in their first submission for feedback and advice.

Between week 24 - 104: Final submission 

Students will have two years from the start of the course to create their final piece. 

Kit List

Included within this course is a generous kit of basic materials for you to produce the fundamental technique samples within this unit of the Diploma.

We encourage you to be as creative as possible and we would love for you to source your own original materials to add to the final piece you create with us. When you sign up to the course we will share our comprehensive list of suppliers for any materials you would like to purchase additionally. This is not mandatory but it is encouraged as you will be able to explore individual design creativity. Students will also receive 10% off the Hand & Lock shop online and in person for the duration of their course. 

You will need to source a slate frame or 10 inch embroidery hoop for working each unit (this frame/hoop can then be used across all of your units).Students will also need to have drawing and designing implements for the design elements of the course. Please ensure you have pens, pencils, coloured pencils, paints and any additional materials you would like to design with. 

See below for Technical and Shipping information, please make sure to read all of this before booking

Embroidery Design Elements

Each unit of the Diploma includes an element of hand embroidery design. This can often be seen as intimidating but we encourage you to see it as the most exciting aspect of the course as you can craft your own pieces. Our tutors will guide you through the design process from creating moodboards and researching your designs to creating your final stitch and padding plans. No prior design or drawing experience is required for the course.

Embroidery Techniques

Fabric painting using dyes, and different mediums to create a base, chain stitch, stem stitch, french knots, seeding stitch, feather stitch, couching thread, running stitch, silk shading (long & short), padded satin stitch, satin stitch, felt padding, applique, soft string padding, cutwork, chipping, bricking loops, bullion loops, pearl purl, overstretched pearl purl, essing, fabric manipulation, Suffolk puffs, smocking, wired shapes

You will also learn how to take these techniques and apply them to your design. Learning how to manipulate and experiment with the traditional embroidery to create something new and exciting. 

Assessment Information

Assessment of work is completely optional, students will be awarded with a Certificate of Completion if they choose not to submit their work for marking and a Certificate of Achievement if they do. The Certificate of Achievement will detail the level achieved through the assessment process. There are three submission points. The first two submissions occur as you are completing each unit to provide you with detailed feedback as you work through the unit to give you a clear direction and understanding of improvements and developments. The final submission is then used to determine your final assessment mark.