Fashion Embroidery: Embellishing with Beads

Through embroidery, you can combine gorgeous colors with complex patterns and completely change the garment you’re working on. Embroidery and embellishment designer Jodie Ruffle specializes in creating detail-oriented embroideries that transform forgotten pieces of clothing and has had her collection exhibited at London Fashion Week.

In this course, she teaches you how to decorate garments using a combination of flat and 3D techniques, as well as different kinds of beads. Give your old clothes a new lease of life through the beauty of embellishment.

Begin by getting to know embroidery and embellishment designer Jodie. She talks through the creative journey that led to her career as a designer, along with the influences which have inspired her along the way.

Get an introduction to the different materials needed for this course. Learn how to extract color and shape from reference images, and develop design ideas that work for embroidery. Jodie discusses placement before introducing you to basic stitches using embroidery seed beads, bugle beads, and sequins. Discover how to use combinations of these stitches to create small, three-dimensional embroideries.

Discover Jodie’s process for designing embellishments. Explore which techniques work best for different areas of a garment, and how to create detailed drawings and diagrams to help you plan. Look at the different types of embroidery hoops and frames there are and how to set one up depending on the garment you’re working on.

Time to make your final embellishment! Begin by exploring how to combine different materials and techniques to create an area of solid embellishment on your garment. Then create an open 3D embellishment using your plans from earlier in the course as a guide before making an edging embellishment with beads, sequins, and fringing techniques.