Couture Tambour Beading (Luneville) Course

Location: Hand & Lock School for Embroidery & Creative Arts, 86 Margaret Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 8TE
Duration: 2 Day Workshop (10am - 4:30pm each day) 

Join us for our two-day Tambour (Lunéville) embroidery course and discover the art of couture bead application. Embroidery using hooks originated in India and China, arriving in France in the 19th century and is now seen across catwalk collections in the world’s most renowned fashion houses from Dior to Chanel and many more.

Throughout your two-day course you will explore the delicate art of tambour beading using a specially designed hook to attach beads and sequins to silk fabric. You will work on a pre-framed slate frame which keeps the fabric stretched tightly like a drum and we will provide you with a guide on how to reproduce this framing method at home. You will learn how to apply seed beads, cupped or flat sequins (depending on your selection from our couture collection) and bugle beads. What makes this course so special is that you can tailor it to your own preferences by choosing your thread colours (both matte and metallic Fil à Gant threads) and your beads and sequins from our bead wall.

Another unique element of our Couture Tambour Beading course is that we teach both the classical French method of bead application and the Indian method using Aari embroidery. This means you will gain experience embroidering with a hook from both the top and the underside of the stretched fabric.

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• All courses are non-refundable. If you cannot attend, please let us know as soon as possible and we will try to move you to another course.
  

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Our ‘Couture Tambour Beading (Luneville) Embroidery Course’ takes inspiration from French couture embroidery. The swirling design you will work on is influenced by Art Nouveau and its flowing natural forms like vines, leaves and floral scrolls. These shapes are ideal for practising tambour as the continuous lines let you focus on movement and rhythm while the different areas of the motif give space to try beads, bugles and sequins.

The design was chosen because it is both decorative and practical. The spirals allow you to build confidence in smooth stitching and the embellishment sections encourage you to explore colour and texture using couture materials. It reflects the type of work seen in couture fashion embroidery and provides a strong foundation for developing your own tambour style.

• You will begin by learning the mechanics of using a tambour hook safely, understanding all elements of the hook itself and practising how to bring the hook in and out of the fabric without snagging the fibres.

• Next, you will learn the fundamentals of creating a chain stitch (also known as a Beauvais stitch). This decorative stitch is used throughout couture fashion embroidery and forms the basis of all tambour beading. It is worked from the top of the fabric.

• You will then flip the fabric over and begin working from the back. Tambour (Lunéville) embroidery is mostly worked from the back of the fabric using the French method, and this is the technique we begin our two-day tambour course with. You will start by learning how to attach seed beads from the back of the fabric.

• From there, you will progress to attaching both bugle beads and sequins. All embellishment materials are your own choice — you will select your thread, beads, and sequin colours from our couture collection in the Hand & Lock studio. You will work in both matte and metallic threads. 

• As you develop these skills, you will also explore Aari embroidery techniques. Aari embroidery originates in India and focuses on bead and sequin appliqué from the top of the fabric. This will complete your fundamental training in couture tambour embroidery.
  
  

Artisans in 18th century India developed and refined the tambour beading technique using a fine hook known as a tambour or aari hook to form a continuous chain stitch that fastens beads or sequins to fabric. Aari embroidery refers to the hooked chain stitch technique used to apply decorative elements on top of the fabric while Zardozi is a more elaborate form of embroidery that traditionally used gold and silver threads sometimes combined with beads and sequins. As the tambour method travelled to Europe it found particular popularity in France in the late 1700s. In the town of Luneville the technique became especially well established and so the French variant is often known as Luneville embroidery. This version is usually worked from the back of the fabric pulling thread through to the front to catch and secure beads which gives it a slightly different finish to the Indian style. By the Victorian era tambour beading had become fashionable with gowns, accessories and home furnishings lavishly decorated using the technique. Esteemed fashion houses such as Chanel Dior and Givenchy have continued to champion tambour beading in their couture and it remains an essential technique in fashion today.

You will receive a full course kit with all the materials and tools you need to take part, so the only thing you need to bring is yourself. You will be able to choose your own colours for the design and work with whichever materials you prefer during the course. If you wish you are welcome to bring your own mug for refreshments and your own embroidery kit, though this is completely optional and not required.