You've done some embroidery kits and have bought or followed designs from artists you admire.
You want to treat yourself and learn new skills to enjoy your hobby.
You are ready for your next step in your creative journey!

You'd LOVE to be able to 'do your own thing' and design your own embroidery & textile art projects. But you lack confidence and aren't sure where to start.



Welcome To "Inspired To Create"

A Series Of Unique Online Courses



Easy to use & follow, you work at your own pace and comfort, step-by-step, to develop your confidence & design skills.


From beginner through to more experienced, these courses are the start of an exciting route of design discovery.


The emphasis is on exploration through sampling & testing, and 'playing' with materials & techniques, rather than just the creation of a finished piece.


The focus is on developing designs and making samples. You will practice textile techniques to better understand their use, benefits and limitations.


You can follow either:

a HAND EMBROIDERY path

or a MACHINE EMBROIDERY path

through these Inspired To Create courses.

Perhaps Start With A 'Taster' Course

OK, this is exciting and exactly what you've been looking for!

BUT, where to start? Can you cope with a full-length course?

Don't worry! You can jump into our TASTER courses.
There is one which features Hand Embroidery,
and one that features Machine Embroidery.

These are designed & delivered in the same format as the full-length courses, so you can get a feel for what's to come.



The Taster courses are a self-contained, 'scaled-down' version of the Foundations course. They give you a valuable learning experience, with One Section. You spend at least 15 hours on your practical work.

You can experience the style, structure, and content of those more detailed courses.

'Dip your toe in the water', grow your confidence and have fun starting your creative design development journey.



Then Each Path Has 3 Levels

This FOUNDATIONS course is typically for the novice stitcher, or complete beginner.


You are interested in learning the basics of embroidery AND you are also keen to develop your design skills.


In this course you will:

  1. Explore 3 basic design elements - Line, Colour and Texture.
  2. Learn appropriate embroidery stitches and textile art techniques.
  3. Develop designs, and practice your new practical skills.
  4. Create a range of samples and finished pieces.

You will spend at least 40 hours on your practical work.

The EXPLORING course is more suited to a keen stitcher. This is a stand-alone course BUT it is also a natural progression from 'Foundations'.


You are fairly competent with basic stitch techniques but you are keen to widen your technique 'repertoire' and design skills.


In this course you will:

  1. Explore and combine design elements - Line, Colour, Texture, Shape and Form.
  2. Learn appropriate embroidery stitches and further textile art techniques.
  3. Develop designs and practice your new practical skills.
  4. Create a range of samples and finished pieces.

You will spend at least 50 to 60 hours on your practical work.

The 'EXTENDING' course is aimed at the confident stitcher. This is a stand-alone course BUT it is also a natural progression from 'Exploring'.


You are competent and confident with stitch and textile art techniques but you are keen to further grow your technique 'repertoire' and design skills.


In this course you will

  1. Explore design elements in more depth.
  2. Learn a more complex range of embroidery techniques.
  3. Develop designs and practice your new practical skills.
  4. Create a range of samples and finished pieces.

You will spend over 100 hours on your practical work.

Why We Created These Courses


Of course there are many online courses 'out there' which can teach you a specific stitch or technique. Most of them feature a specific design for you to follow. These can be a great way to learn... follow the teacher, follow the design, create a copy of the teacher's embroidery. It can also be rather limiting on your creativity...

Doing courses like this can turn into an expensive way to learn a variety of techniques, buying multiple courses to learn multiple techniques, AND yet still be reliant on others' designs.

BUT what about those of you who want to develop design skills AND a wide range of embroidery & textile art techniques?
We could see that there are limited opportunities to learn such skills and so our "INSPIRED TO CREATE" range of design-led courses were born!



Designed to guide you through a step-by-step adventure, exploring design elements and ideas, and associated embroidery techniques. You alternate between designing and then stitching, following a path with hand embroidery or machine embroidery.
These are easy to use courses, with no time pressure, and no online hassle. Treat yourself, do your own thing and grow your confidence.
Come and play and try many textile art techniques and stitches too.


We are The Embroiderers’ Guild.

We are a national charity dedicated to educating people of all ages about the world of embroidery – from the sheer pleasure of stitching to the design, creativity and production of unique inspirational works.


And we aim to achieve our educational and enjoyment goals by providing these online courses as well as a growing range of short online workshops, and interesting online talks and events.
We look forward to welcoming you very soon!