Specialization in Embroidery on Natural Materials

Introduction

Embroidery becomes a form of listening—an intimate conversation between hand, thread, and the living textures of the world. Whether piercing wood, tracing veins of a leaf, or settling into grainy metal, each stitch reveals a slow, deliberate way of seeing. You don’t impose form—you learn from it. In choosing to embroider on natural materials, you enter into a tactile dialogue with time itself, where curiosity meets craft and nature pushes back, gently, shaping your hand as much as you shape the work. In this lesson, you will explore the delicate practice of embroidering on unconventional surfaces like wood, metal, and leaves. You'll discover how patience, curiosity, and adaptability are essential tools, as you navigate the puzzle of threading through organic matter and reframe your relationship to control in making.

1m

Influences | Estela Botello

My influences have been very diverse. Here I show you the artists and creatives who have influenced me, from whom I have drawn inspiration and have helped me progress day by day.

6m

Influences | Sara Pastrana

In this lesson, I will tell you about the people who have shaped and molded my career in a positive light.

10m

Influences | Hillary Waters

In this lesson, I will share some art and artists that have influenced my work. I've always been very inspired by textile and art/craftwork throughout history.

6m

Influences | Josefina Allendes

In this lesson you will know my main influences and, I will teach you to look at nature with inspirational eyes and take advantage of everything you have around you to create incredible things!

1m

Influences | Malena Aceto

Now that you know me, I'm going to show you who are the people and the sources of inspiration that help me design my pieces.

10m

Materials

In this lesson we will review the material that we are going to need to start embroidering, both the threads and the wooden base. We will also see the tools; the most basic ones such as scissors, pliers or awl, and the most complex ones like the multifunction rotary tool. These last two will be the ones that will make it possible for us to carry out our embroidery on the wooden base.

4m

Drilling the wood

Now you will learn to make the holes with the punch in a manual way, much more artisan, and with the rotary tool, in a mechanical way, much faster and more effective. Both tools are what will make your wooden base practicable and you can make your embroidery on it. In addition, I will explain some basic and simple guidelines to locate the holes you need to embroider.

3m

Flat stitches

In this lesson you will learn the simplest points, the flat points. They are as follows: back stitch, back stitch with detail, stem stitch, chain stitch and cross stitch.

18m

Raised stitches 1

Once you've learned a few flat stitches, things get a little more complicated with raised stitches. We will see what the margarita point, the French point and the wheel point consist of.

14m

Raised stitches 2

We continue to learn a few more points, which are good for us to give volume and fill objects. I'm going to explain everything about the bullion stitch and the picot stitch.

13m

Drawing for embroidery

In this lesson you will draw a side flower still life with a cross stitch text. Remember that you are free to draw the elements you want and apply the stitches you want. In the additional resources I have left you the drawing that I explain in this lesson so that we can do it at the same time, but if you prefer to do another, go ahead! In addition, I have also left you several alphabet fonts in case you want to make another text.

19m

Points and holes

Once you have made the drawing, and thought about the stitches that you are going to apply in each part, you will segment it by points that you will then drill holes.

14m

Embroidery 1

Now it is time to start embroidering using the flat stitches and raised stitches that we have learned.

12m

Embroidery 2

Once the leaves of the branch are made, we are going to continue embroidering working on the sunflower petals and the rest of the details.

9m

Finishes and finishes

In this lesson I will teach you how to finish the back of your work and the minimum care it needs to last a lifetime.

2m

Other applications and bases

Here you will see the infinity of bases and objects that you have to apply your embroidery. Because, remember, "you can embroider almost anything you can pierce."

2m

Materials and Tools

I will show you all the tools needed, including traditional embroidery supplies such as threads and needles. You will also look at power and hand tools that will help you get started working with wood.

2m

Getting Familiar with Your Rotary Tool

Now, I will teach you how to set up your workspace to drill safely and accurately.

7m

Finding Your Inspiration

What inspires you? Are you inspired by a quote, a painting, a song? Whatever your inspiration might be, explore how you can bring your idea to life using wood and thread. In this lesson, I will share my inspiration for this project and I will give you some tips that could help to get you inspired!

9m

Planning Your Stitches

When embroidering on the wood, you don’t have much flexibility to stitch as you go. Every detail needs to be determined before beginning to stitch. In this lesson, you will learn how to plan your embroidery stitches.

18m

Practice Sampler 1

Before jumping into your final design, you will take some time to practice your drilling and stitches.

19m

Practice Sampler 2

You will continue practicing your drilling and stitches.

20m

Embroidery Pattern 1

To begin, you will work on designing a symmetrical floral moth motif using Procreate.

19m

Embroidery Pattern 2

Here, I will teach you how to draw your pattern with paper and pencil.

4m

Selecting Colors

Natural wood tones can be muted or have a lot of variations. In this lesson, you will select a color palette that will stand out and compliment the wood.

6m

Transferring Your Pattern to Wood

At this stage, you have spent a lot of time planning and refining your final design to stitch. In this lesson, you will learn how to transfer your design to the wood without losing details or having to redraw.

6m

Drilling and Preserving Your Template

Which is the best technique? You will learn how to review all the techniques used to successfully drill your final design on the wood.

11m

Embroidery Stitching Order 1

In this lesson, you will begin the embroidery phase by first embroidering any techniques that involve weaving.

20m

Embroidery Stitching Order 2

Here, you will continue to embroider the rest of the design elements using different stitches.

17m

Outline Stitching Techniques

Next, you will continue threading the outline of your creation. You will also look at different ways to tie off and secure your threads.

17m

Stitching with Metallic Threads

Now, you will work with metallic threads and I will give you tips on how to avoid the thread becoming tangled.

6m

Back Covering and Care Tips

Covering the back of your project not only adds a level of professionalism to your work but also helps to protect it.

10m

Attaching Hardware and Final Details

In this lesson, you will be attaching hardware and cord, as well as viewing alternative ways to display your project. There are many options to enhance and add your own creative touch to future wood embroidery projects. I will also share a few things you can explore on your own.

7m

Photographing for Social Media

Finally, I will share tips to help you capture all the details of your wood embroideries.

6m

History of Embroidery and Needlework

This lesson will be a very brief background and history of embroidery, which will give you context as you consider your materials, and later the design inspiration for your stitchwork.

5m

Choosing Materials

I believe it's essential to give deep consideration and thought to your material choices—there is so much meaning in material, and what you choose to work with can add volumes to the story you're telling with the stitchwork. This workshop is a space to explore working with a material you'd never considered stitching on or didn't think it's possible to stitch on. First, I'll tell you why I choose to work with botanical materials, and then I'll lead you through an exercise to help you decide what you'll work on within this course.

7m

Technique Foundations

In addition to drawing and designing what you'll stitch onto the object you're working with, you'll need to know a few basic embroidery stitches to complete a stitchwork project. I'll go over a few fundamentals here before I move on.

19m

Workspace Preparation

In this lesson, I'll show you a brief overview of the ideal workspace for this project and I'll give you some tips before you start working.

4m

Inspiration

Now that your space is prepped, it's time to think about the design you might want to stitch!

14m

Material Preparation

In this lesson, I'll teach you to determine if the material you've chosen might need reinforcement before stitching, and I'll show you how I add strength to extra delicate materials before I begin to stitch on them.

4m

Transferring Your Design

Next, I'll show you two different ways to transfer the design you've drawn out for yourself onto the material you've chosen.

8m

Color and Line

During this lesson, you'll learn how to choose the right colors and stitches for the project.

4m

Stitch

Here I'll start stitching the project. Besides, you'll learn different stitching techniques.

16m

Finishing

Now you'll learn how to take care of the final details. I'll also talk about the different ways in which you can display your projects.

5m

Take advantage of what I have

Use everything you have around you for this lesson, what you once kept because you thought it could serve you again, this is the opportunity to reuse and take advantage of it!

5m

Plant fiber

In this lesson you will learn that everything can be embroidered and, nothing more beautiful and entertaining than embroidery in vegetable fiber, a material that besides being natural, has been woven with the hands.

2m

materials

In this lesson I invite you to put at your disposal the materials I ask to carry out the project.

2m

What are we going to embroider?

In this lesson I will give you embroidery options. You will learn to let go! I will teach you how to create your own design so that you can create a defined and abstract form that is to your liking and not get lost along the way. You don't necessarily have to embroider on a pattern, the idea is that you feel free to design what you want. In addition, I will draw some guide lines, circles, etc. on paper. so you can see how the stitches would be but on paper and you can replicate it in your final embroidery.

4m

French knot

In this lesson I will show you a basic embroidery stitch: "the French knuckle". You will learn tips on stitch movements. This is a very nice and entertaining point because you can play with volumes, as well as with textures and different materials such as wool, threads, ribbons, etc.

10m

Long and short stitches

It's your turn to learn to work "long and short stitches". With this technique, you will get different textures and volumes. You will see how using different materials but with the same technique, it will be a different shape, with a lot of texture and movement, which will give your piece a unique style.

9m

Bangs-Pompom

In this lesson I will teach you how to make a "bangs" or "pompom" on the piece, how to choose the textures and the different threads to keep it entertaining and different.

7m

Mostacillas

In this lesson I will teach you how to put mostacillas so that they are very firm one by one. You will learn the different techniques so that they can be integrated and not only in flat places, but taking advantage of the embroidery volume (for example, on our French knot). I will also teach you how to make contours and shapes with the mostacillas.

8m

Working the material (part 1)

With everything we have learned and with a lot of inspiration, we will work on the objects that we are going to intervene, we will start with the portfolio. We will apply technique by technique everything learned.

13m

Working the material (part 2)

In this part, we will apply mostacillas to our portfolio to give it brightness and greater luminosity.

14m

Working the material (part 3)

Here we will work the same points but this time on some earrings of the same material as the portfolio, we will integrate everything in such a way that the portfolio and the earrings keep the same harmony and "match" together.

12m

Tools and Materials

I will start by showing you the tools and materials that you will need to put this technique into practice.

7m

The Workspace

Here I am going to show you how to put your work table in shape to facilitate tasks, take care of posture, eyesight and avoid damage to your project. I will also teach you to leave the tools ready to use them correctly.

4m

The Basics of Metalworking

Now that you have the space and the tools ready, it's time to start working with metals! Next, I am going to explain how to make different types of sheet metal cuts so that you can work with ease.

16m

The Basic Stitches for Embroidering

In this lesson, I am going to explain some basic embroidery stitches so that you can apply, combine and give them your own imprint on your project.

13m

Generating Ideas

When it comes to looking for triggers for new designs, we all have different places we go. In this lesson, I am going to show you the main sources of inspirational images that I consult for this process.

3m

Creating the Design

It's time to put together the design! Next, I'm going to show you how you can turn the trigger images you found into your own design.

5m

The Color Palette

We already have the design, now we have to color it! So in this lesson, I'm going to show you some tools that make it easy for you to choose a color palette.

6m

The Outer Fretwork

First of all, I am going to make the external cutout of both the frame and the structure piece. Then I'm going to show you how to match them up and make the holes for the rivets.

6m

The Inner Fretwork

Done, I already have two equal pieces of metal. Now it's time to make the necessary interior cutouts to assemble the frame.

9m

Sanding and Finishing

Now that I have both pieces cut out, I'm going to show you how to give them a nice finish by flattening the pieces and sanding them. I'll finish by gluing the fabric.

8m

The Embroidery

With the metal pieces finished, sanded and super neat, it's time to start working with thread and color on the project.

17m

The Riveting and the Final Details

Now that the metalwork and embroidery are done, it's time to put them together. To do this, I'm going to teach you how to make the rivets and place them, giving you some tips so that the result is neat and professional.

8m

Care Tips and Other Applications

To finish, I wanted to share with you some care that you can have with your project so that it lasts much longer. I will also give you some examples of other ways to apply this technique.

6m