SOLD OUT Goldwork and Tambour Beehive Course - 6 Weeks

Location: This course is delivered via Zoom & WhatsApp. Please click here for guides to using Zoom & WhatsApp

Duration: 6 Week Embroidery Course (1 x 2.5 hour session per week for 6 consecutive weeks) 

Date: 19th May - 23rd June (6pm-8:30pm BST - Tuesdays)

This course explores haute couture embroidery through a honeycomb and bee design, combining goldwork and tambour beading to create a layered, textured piece. You’ll learn how couture techniques work in practice and gain hands-on experience with the kind of detailed embellishment used in high-end fashion embroidery.

We start with tambour, mastering the chain stitch to build the honeycomb base. Once the foundation is in place, you’ll layer sequins, crystals, beads and metallic threads to create depth, texture and subtle sparkle. The honeycomb provides structure while leaving space for creativity, allowing you to experiment with pattern and embellishment placement.

The final stage of the design introduces hand-embroidered bees, adding delicate, three-dimensional details that bring the piece to life. You’ll learn how to combine structural techniques with decorative finishing touches to achieve a cohesive, polished result.

This course is perfect for anyone looking to develop a strong understanding of couture embroidery. By the end, you’ll have created a richly textured, layered design and gained the confidence to adapt these techniques to your own projects. You’ll also develop a deeper awareness of how threads, textures and embellishments interact, giving you a solid foundation for experimenting with intricate, high-fashion embroidery in your future work.

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• Please read all of the course description information above and the technical and shipping information below before booking your course.
• 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.

• If you have any questions please check our FAQ's page here.

• You will begin by learning how to transfer your design onto fabric using a special transfer method, including techniques for working on dark fabric grounds in couture embroidery.

• Next, you’ll focus on mastering the fundamentals of tambour embroidery. You’ll start by learning the mechanics of using a tambour hook safely, familiarising yourself with all its parts and practising how to bring the hook in and out of the fabric without snagging the fibres.

• From there, you’ll move on to creating the chain stitch (also called the Beauvais stitch), a decorative stitch used throughout couture fashion embroidery and the foundation for all tambour beading. You’ll first work from the top of the fabric to understand the stitch, then flip the fabric over to work from the back.

• Most tambour (Lunéville) embroidery is worked from the back using the French method, and this is the approach we’ll focus on in this stage of the course. You’ll start by attaching seed beads from the back and then progress to working with bugle beads and sequins.

• You will also explore Aari embroidery, a technique originating in India that focuses on bead and sequin appliqué from the top of the fabric.

• The course also covers a range of Goldwork and metal thread techniques. You’ll begin by learning how to accurately appliqué cloth of gold — a fabric with metals woven into the warp and weft — and then explore applying gold threads, including passing thread, pearl purl and bullions. You’ll discover the characteristics of each material and learn how to use them effectively to create sparkle and dimension.

• Finally, you will complete your piece by adding your bees to the honeycomb using crystal appliqué, felt padding and cutwork, giving you a holistic understanding of both metal thread embroidery and tambour embroidery.

- All materials will be sent to you - Course kit materials may vary slightly from those shown in sample imagery, however all alternatives are chosen to closely reflect the intended techniques and final results. 

- Tools needed: 10 inch seat frame (or an equivalent embroidery or slate frame), embroidery scissors