'Landscape’ Applique Freehand Machine Embroidery Workshop
1 October | 10:00 – 16:00
After an inspiring demonstration, Lara will guide you through creating your own embroidered appliqué landscape to take home. Using a pre-prepared fabric panel, you can choose from a beautiful selection of seasonal colours and fabrics to design a scene inspired by the landscape around you.
This relaxed and creative workshop is perfect for all abilities, with a focus on enjoying the process rather than perfection. Explore free stitching techniques, textured embroidery and expressive “wobbly” lines that bring character and charm to your work.
Along the way, you’ll learn how to stitch delicate trees, layered foreground grasses and simple stitched lines that create depth and perspective within your landscape.
Please bring with you:
A sewing machine (in good working order)
Spare bobbins
Small sharp scissors
A free motion darning foot
£80 per person | 10% off for members | Garden entry included | Parking included for Leonardslee members | Parking information | Tea and Coffee provided for adults. A break for lunch will be taken with afternoon tea (scones with cream and jam, a sandwich, a slice of cake and a tea or coffee per person). Please email info@leonardsleegardens.co.uk if you have any allergies or dietary requirements.
About Lara
Lara graduated from Loughborough College of Art & Design in 1990 with a degree in fashion and textiles, specializing in free-hand machine embroidery.
Her talent was recognized early, earning her several awards for her embroidery, including pieces used as fashion swatches and on couture wedding dresses. Lara's expertise even led to appearances on television, where she demonstrated her work on Morning TV.
Her commercial work includes a significant commission from DFS Sofas, where she embroidered cushions and created a large map featured in their Christmas advertisements and promotional designs on their lorries.
Throughout her career, Lara has made a living producing embroidery for numerous fashion industries in London and abroad. Her work has ranged from intricate wedding dress embroidery for London couture designers to contributions for high-street chains such as Monsoon.
Later in her career, Lara diversified into interiors, creating her own range of homewares. This shift inspired her to start running workshops, sharing her passion for free-hand machine embroidery with others.
One of Lara's favorite subjects to embroider is nature, including landscapes, wildflowers, grasses, and exploring the creative potential of stitched lines on her sewing machine. She embraces the endless possibilities of this art form, emphasizing its forgiving nature—mistakes are simply opportunities for creativity, whether through stitching over, adding applique, or reimagining the design.
Today, Lara balances her time between teaching workshops and designing and producing her own homewares, which she sells at various shows across the South of England.
She continues to find joy in her studio, working on her sewing machine, and sharing her skills with others, delighting in the pleasure her craft brings to those she teaches and inspires.