Rowena Luke-King

During this course you will create a source book of ideas for hand-embroidered fabric. You will practise basic stitches such as chain, cross and blanket stitch before progressing to more complicated stitches such as Jacobean couching and laced herringbone. You will be introduced to different hand embroidery styles including ribbon work, cut work, shadow work, stump work, drawn thread work, Indian mirror work and smocking. You will be shown how to use applique and transfer paints to plan your designs on a variety of cloths and complete the course by producing a unique piece of hand embroidered fabric that could be used in accessory design or shown as part of a textile design portfolio. Students should bring with them any interesting fabrics, yarns, beads and sequins that they may wish to work with. No previous experience is needed for this course.

Rowena Luke-King has had an extremely diverse career in design. She has worked as a designer and colour consultant for textile design studios and leading retailers such as Marks & Spencer and NEXT. She has produced collections of clothes, accessories, hand printed fabrics, greetings cards and wrapping papers for a number of stores including Fiorucci and has worked as a stylist in the music industry (stage clothes that she created for 'Adam and the Ants' have been exhibited in the Victoria & Albert Museum). Rowena studied fashion and textiles at Central Saint Martins and is currently involved in sourcing vintage fabrics for the fashion industry.