Hand and Lock...Epic adventure

I am recovering from a whirlwind trip to London to attend a tambour beading workshop at the very prestigious Hand and Lock! It was a really awesome experience just visiting the company let alone attending the workshop. The whole atmosphere of the place is steeped in craftsmanship, tradition and the highest level of quality. I was struck by how incredibly talented the people working there are and how they have invested their lives in honing their skills to the highest level. I was really blown away, but it got me thinking about my own work. I have always loved embroidery, but have tended to invest my time most recently in machine embroidery to the exclusion almost of enhancing my hand embroidery skills. iIstarted to think that it may be valuable to start to try to blend the two skills a little more to enhance the effects of my machine embroidery. I definitely intend to do some sampling using the Tambour beading technique and am considering incorporating this on some small coin purses as part of my final collection.

http://lindalightleyunit3.blogspot.co.uk/

Tambour beading

I love this example of tambour beading on tulle by Linda Lightley. I love the mix of different colours of beads and sequins. I found the technique very tricky as it seems like a sort of cross between sewing and crochet. It was so easy to get the hook caught on the delicate fabric and to lose all your stitches. I will definitely pursue it as a technique as the finished result is so worth it. Practice makes perfect I guess, so I have already bought myself a hoop with a stand to get started.

Prick and pounce...

I have long been a bit bemused by how to transfer embroidery designs properly and so have usually drawn them onto dissolvable stabiliser which can be washed away. I have finally found that the correct way for image transfer is the "prick and pounce" method which involves overlaying the design onto the chosen fabric usually on tracing paper and then pricking the paper over the design. A chalky powder called pounce is then rubbed gently over the design leaving the outline of the design on the fabric which can be joined up by a suitable pen or pencil. Just wish I had learned this sooner!!