Struggling to finish a course on your own? You are not alone! Join me on the 4th of October 2026 for the first of 8 live embroidery lessons on Zoom. We will tackle setting up, stitching and assembling the Gothic Pansy orphrey panel together. This is a smaller project that teaches you the main techniques used in late medieval embroidery. You will learn diaper pattern couching, or nué, string padding, making and applying slips and working gold threads on top of previously stitched embroidery. Keep up with the lessons and you will have a beautiful finished goldwork project in early 2027!
This design was inspired by the beautiful goldwork orphreys found on vestments in the Low Countries dating to the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The central figure in an orphrey panel is always a religious human figure. A characteristic of the orphrey panels from the Low Countries is that these figures are largely worked in or nué in the early 16th century. For our secular version, I’ve chosen a pansy from a contemporary illuminated manuscript: the Bourdichon Hours. This richly illustrated prayer book was made in Bruges (Southern Netherlands) in the early 16th century. We know that the same artists made drawings which different artisans, such as sculptors and embroiderers used. It is thus entirely possible that a secular early 16th-century orphrey panel would have looked something like this.
The live Zoom lessons take place on Sundays from 18:00-20:30h Munich Time, 17:00-19:30h London Time, 9:00-11:30h Los Angeles Time and 12:00-14:30h New York Time. The dates are: 4th of October, 18th of November, 22nd of November, 6th of December, 20th of December, 3rd of January and 17th of January. These sessions will be recorded, and a link will be posted in the Forum. The written lessons will drop here on my learning platform a week before the live session. You can already check the materials you will need and start collecting them.
The finished embroidery measures c. 20 x 10 cm. This course is part of a monthly or yearly membership. Become a member!