Tambour work is a form of chain stitch, a favoured technique for decorative bead-embroidered tulle laces such as Carrickmacross and Limerick. This book demonstrates basic techniques for thread, bead and net embroidery and includes a design resource of traditional and contemporary ideas.

The fairytale of haute couture embroidery starts with the use of the tambour hook: a simple but most effective tool to add beads and sequins fast and beautifully. Many people have seen the famous documentary of Chanel, where you see the 'petits mains' working on couture gowns, wondering how the technique of the tambour needle on a large embroidery frame really works. In this first book in the Haute Couture Embroidery Series, Saskia ter Welle shows you: - How to mount the embroidery frame- How to choose the right fabric - How to handle the tambour hook- How to apply sequins - Where to find the right materials - How to finish your work As a bonus, you will find links to exclusive instruction videos and several patterns to start with.Built on experience from working for both fashion designers, developing a couture collection herself and teaching students from different ages and backgrounds, she reveals the secret of this wonderful tool: the tambour needle. The moment you master the tambour needle, the world of haute couture becomes your own. After reading this book, watching the instruction videos, and applying the techniques, you will know how to start your own project.

This practical step-by-step guide to haute couture embroidery covers everything from machine and hand stitching, to tambour beading, goldwork and monogramming. Whether you are interested in adding monogrammed initials to your favourite bathrobe, stitching a flower on your favourite jacket, adding sparkling beads to a new dress or creating a goldwork embellishment, Fashion Embroidery teaches you how to add a unique touch to your clothes. In this beautifully illustrated book, Jessica Pile, the Production Director at Hand & Lock embroidery, explores the intricate techniques used in fashion embroidery. With hand-drawn designs, catwalk photographs and step-by-step guides, this book is perfect for beginners looking to personalise their own clothes, as well as more experienced embroiderers who want to apply new techniques to different fabrics. Beginning with an inspirational overview of the fashion industry, Jessica looks at examples of embroideries and embellishments by a variety of couturiers, including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hardy Amies and Burberry. The book then demonstrates the basics of three main techniques – goldwork, tambour beading and embroidery stitches including silk shading, satin and stem stitch. In do-it-yourself projects, Jessica first helpfully explains the basics of materials; she teaches you how to pick the right fabric, what tools to use, where to source materials, what types of wire or beads to use and terminology. Taking influences from existing couture designs, she then shows you how to execute these learned techniques onto your own clothes. This book is perfect for fashion students, textile artists, and those who want a more unique look to their clothes.

This comprehensive guide to bead embroidery features more than 30 stunning and versatile projects. With over 440 step-by-step photographs, it brings bead embroidery within the reach of anyone who can thread a needle. Find out how to work tambour beading, beadpoint, padded beading, how to handle sequins and bugle beads, and so much more. Discover the best tools for the task and learn to identify different beads by their size, shape and finish. Full of hints, tips and historical insights, and all patterns are provided.

In a medieval cookbook in a special-collections library, near-future London, jaded food and drink authority Nick Kippax finds an alluring stain next to a recipe for the mythical crandolin. He tastes it, ravishing the page. Then he disappears...So begins an 'adwentour' that quantum-leapfrogs from Central Asia in the Middle Ages to Russia under Gorbachev, from the secrets of confectionery to the agonies of making a truly great moustache, from maidens in towers to tiffs between cosmic forces. Food, music, science, fruitloopery, superstition, railways, bladder-pipes and birth-marked Soviet statesmen; all are present in an extraordinary novel that is truly 'for the adwentoursomme'.