Samplers of Seduction

Samplers of Seduction is a collection of beautiful embroidery kits accompanied by a series of self-guided online courses. These kits are a labour of love born of my experience as a professional embroiderer and teacher. I have assembled them from the finest makers of embroidery materials in the world. Treat yourself or buy the perfect present for the stitchers you love!

As the Samplers of Seduction collection continues, each new embroidery kit will be inspired by a different vintage pattern hidden in the libraries and museums of Paris. The beautiful custom-made embroidery boxes will come in unique designs, bringing more colour, joy and beauty to your shelves.

A Brief Dictionary of Stitches is the first embroidery kit in the collection. It comes in a gorgeous Rococo pink and raspberry embroidery box hand-made in Paris with the celebrated Arjowiggins paper especially for Samplers of Seduction! Inside the box, the kit contains an embroidery pattern screen-printed by French artisans on the softest Italian linen, woven by the Graziano family for centuries. The sturdy birch wood embroidery hoop is carved, sanded and waxed to a smooth perfection by Elbessee in England. The heirloom 9cm gold-plated embroidery stork scissors is forged by Locau, a family who are passionate about reviving and preserving the craft of scissor-making in France. A little needle book holds the sharpest Bohin embroidery needles, manufactured in Aigle for over 200 years. An envelope contains the finest silk embroidery threads made by Au Ver à Soie in Paris, a family run business who have been spinning their sumptuous Soie d’Alger floss for over 200 years now! There’s even a Stitch Guide with my hand-drawn illustrations and clear, easy instructions to complete your pattern.

 
 

 A Brief Dictionary of Stitches

A Brief Dictionary of Stitches is available for purchase as an embroidery kit or you can also purchase the embroidery kit and the accompanying self-guided online course. Read on to find out more…

 

Embroidery Kit

If you’re new to embroidery or a seasoned embroiderer in need of some reminders, then A Brief Dictionary of Stitches is the embroidery kit for you! It will become a reference to remind you during all your future embroidered adventures.

What’s in your kit? La Crème de la crème of course!

  • A specially designed, Rococo pink and raspberry embroidery box hand-crafted with Arjowiggins paper by luxury box-makers in Paris.

  • An embroidery pattern screen-printed by hand on gorgeous Graziano Italian linen, with rows for each stitch and perfectly spaced dots indicating where to start your thread, place your stitches and finish with a knot. It really couldn’t be any easier!

  • A 15cm sturdy embroidery hoop crafted by Elbessee in England

  • An heirloom 9cm gold-plated embroidery stork scissors manufactured by Locau in Thiers, France.

  • A little needle book with the sharpest Bohin embroidery needles. Big eyes guaranteed!

  • An envelope of six Soie d'Algers silk embroidery threads made by Au Ver à Soie in Paris

  • A Stitch Guide with hand-drawn illustrations and clear, easy instructions so you can learn the basic embroidery stitches, sixteen of them in total (straight, back, stem, blanket, fly, feather, chain, daisy chain, french knots, bullion knots, herringbone, stars, seeding, long and short, satin and diagonal satin stitch)..

 

Self-guided Online Course

If you’re curious about embroidery then this self-guided beginners online course will be ideal for you! It’s my favourite embroidery course to teach and I had the pleasure of filming almost five hours of video tutorials at the charming Au Ver à Soie studio in Paris! It’s a lovely occasion to relax and enjoy moments of creativity, inspiration and craft. What better way to spend your time!

The course begins with a presentation on the fascinating history of embroidery samplers and how they were used in both education and seduction! Then in each session you will learn new stitches, with fantastic close-ups, creating your own sampler, at your own leisurely pace. Throughout the course, I share tips and tricks on how to make embroidery an easy, pleasant, and more artistic craft.

You will learn how to set-up an embroidery frame, thread a needle with ease, tie knots and of course, the basic embroidery stitches, sixteen of them in total (straight, back, stem, couching, blanket, fly, feather, chain, daisy chain, french knots, bullion knots, herringbone, stars, seeding, long and short, satin and diagonal satin stitch). 

At the moment the A Brief Dictionary of Stitches self-guided online course is available to purchase with the embroidery kit for €200. This is quite the offer, a luxury embroidery kit and almost five hours of learning a wonderful craft!