In a Masterclass with Hand & Lock, Craft&Making Saturday Club members at City & Guilds of London Art School, explored celestial goldwork embroidery.
Hand & Lock is a premier embroidery house providing embellishment services to the top European design houses, the Royal Armed Forces, the Royal Family, Savile Row and the public.
Freya Stanford, a Royal School of Needlework graduate and Hand & Lock embroidery tutor, began the Masterclass by sharing the history of Hand & Lock and showcased a number of their diverse projects, such as designing Queen Camilla’s shoes for the coronation and Beyoncé’s hat for her ‘Renaissance’ tour.
Club members were then divided into two groups and tasked with creating their own ‘celestial moons’. Through this project, they were introduced to the art of metal thread embroidery and pearl bead application. They were shown how threads that imitate gold, silver and copper allow embroiderers to create metallic surface designs that reflect light and create dazzling effects. Club members had the opportunity to incorporate pearl purls, bullions and pearls into their designs.
They ended the day by presenting their creations to the group, beautiful pieces of embroidery that they framed and took home.