If you’re looking to explore new adventures in hand embroidery, you’ll be happy to know that all of Craftsy’s online classes are on sale for less than $20 this weekend, and that includes a nice line-up of hand-embroidery related classes!
I’ve gotten my claws into two new-to-me Craftsy classes, too. As the end of the year approaches, I’m a little antsy to follow through on one of my new year’s resolutions for 2016, which was to learn a new handwork technique. I’ll tell you about it below!
In the meantime, here’s a list of super-good hand embroidery classes available on Craftsy (along with links to my reviews) that are on sale this weekend for less than $20. If you’re keen to learn a new technique or brush up on your stitching skills before the end of the year, this is a great way to do it!
Why Take an Online Class?
Online classes are affordable. You’re not paying for travel, for lodging, for food, or for daily tuition.
They’re a great way to brush up on, or expand, your skills.
They’re easily accessible anywhere, as long as you have a decent internet connection. (Craftsy’s mobile app works really well, too!)
They don’t expire, so you can work at your own pace.
They include quality video instruction.
They include instructor interaction and feedback.
And they are taught by quality instructors who really know what they’re doing!
Craftsy’s Hand Embroidery Classes
Craftsy offers well over 1,100 online classes in all kinds of arts and crafts. Out of all eleven-hundred-and-something classes that they offer, a whopping nine are hand-embroidery related.
Even though the number of offerings is low, those classes pack a good punch! You can learn a lot in each of them!
The Short List!
Here’s the list hand-embroidery related classes on sale through this weekend, with links to my reviews of some of them, if you want to read about them in more detail.
1. Goldwork Embroidery: Essential Techniques – this is a fantastic goldwork class taught by Lucy Barter, RSN graduate. If you’re wanting to learn about goldwork embroidery, this is a really affordable way to learn the essentials! You can read my in-depth review of the class here.
2. Stumpwork: Raised Embroidery Essentials – Another super-dee-duper class! These first two classes especially are the types of classes you’d pay Big Bucks for at a needlework convention. They are both taught by world-renowned instructors, and they are both thorough introductions to the techniques. Celeste Chalasani’s stumpwork class is quite amazing! You can read my in-depth review of it here.
3. Stitch It with Wool – Lots of colorful and exciting stitching techniques for wool embroidery! If you haven’t ventured into embroidery with wool, but you’re thinking about it, this is a great taster course that will get you going.
4. Embroidering with Ribbon – There are few types of embroidery that make a huge impact with relatively few stitches, and ribbon embroidery is one of them. Whether you want decorate crazy quilts with ribbon embroidery or make full ribbon embroidered masterpieces, this class is a great place to start. I’ve always through that ribbon work is one of those techniques that’s definitely easier to learn when you can watch someone proficient at it. This class is an excellent place to do that!
5. Design It, Stitch It – a nice introduce to hand embroidery in general and all the basic stitches! If you’re a flat-out beginner, or if you have a couple stitches under your belt and don’t know what to do next, this is a good place to start.
6. Embroidering Texture & Dimension by Hand – This class is a fun one if you like the idea of embroidering and appliqué with wool felt, especially. You’ll learn all kinds of dimensional and textural stitches, too, and how to build up layers to create dimensional pieces. It’s a fun and colorful class!
7. Crazy Quilting with Allie – Are you enchanted by the freedom and exuberance of crazy quilting, but don’t quite know how to start? This is the place! Allie Aller – author of several excellent books on crazy quilting – will take you step-by-step through creating your own blocks and embellishing them!
8. Bead Embroidery – An excellent introduction to incorporating beads into embroidery! You can read my in-depth review here.
9. Bead Embroidery: Beyond the Basics – and another excellent class for adding beadwork to embroidery, this one goes into Heavy Duty beading techniques. It’s great! Everything you wanted to know about beadwork…and then some!
My New Adventure!
I’m taking two classes through Craftsy right now – Shuttle Tatting and Next Steps in Shuttle Tatting.
I’ve always wanted to learn shuttle tatting. When I was in college, there was a gal who used to walk through my dorm, trailing behind her a never-ending line of shuttle tatted lace, and her fingers flew while she made the stuff. It mesmerized me.
I tried to teach myself from a book once upon a time, but I never got anywhere. I think it’s one of those things that’s best learned by watching someone!
What I like about the classes so far: it’s not just tatted doilies! The classes focus more on little motifs. Think: decorating greeting cards or crazy quilts, and for making jewelry – all kinds of stuff beyond the tatted doily! She covers adding beads to tatting, reading patterns…it’s just good coverage. The classes are quite slow, which, for me, is a good thing. But if I want to, I can always fast forward!
And so I’m fulfilling one of my new year’s resolutions (better late than never!) by learning to shuttle tat. It’s fun!
Well, as far as I’ve gotten with it, anyway. I’m very, very, very slooooooooow.
But it’s fun!
Learn Something New!
It’s a good time to take advantage of the sale prices on Craftsy and learn something new! Through the weekend, all online classes are less than $20 – they range anywhere from $14.99 to $19.99.
Hope to see you over there in some of the classrooms!
PS. I use affiliate links for Craftsy, so I do get a wee kickback for class sales when you go through my links. I’d recommend them, regardless – but every penny counts to help keep Needle ‘n Thread going!
