A complete mixed-media machine embroidery course built around one joyful project.
Learn design, machine stitching, free motion embroidery, appliqué, embellishment and finishing as you create a richly textured swirling work of art.
EU residents please click here
and step into a world of colour, texture, and glorious creativity!
Imagine...
Your favourite colours of fabric and thread - the more the merrier!
Intriguing glimpses of pattern and text from the papers you choose for your collages
The tiniest snippets and scraps of fabrics stitched into swirling lines of colour
Sari silks, fancy yarns, soft and frayed cottons...
Sparkling sequins and beads, bright buttons...
It’s a layered, tactile, joyful tangle of all your favourite things, swirled together in a unique expression of your personality and creativity.
Create paper collage, perhaps adding a little painted colour, to make unique, detailed and personal backgrounds for textile art.
Use papers purely for the visual pattern of the lettering - or perhaps add favourite sentiments or poetry, even secret messages!
As the layers of fabric and stitch are added, the papers become partly obscured, creating even more intrigue and interest within your work.
Use your choice of fabrics and yarns and threads to build glorious textural layers of colour and line and detail.
Everything (within reason!) is fair game - from sari silks to colourful cottons, sparkly fabrics to well-worn favourite remnants. Tapestry yarns, metallic threads, scraps of lace and floaty scarves...we can use it all.
A little hand embroidery can be wonderful for those little extra pops of texture and detail, beyond what's possible with the sewing machine.
I'll share my secrets for adding simple but effective hand embroidery, and show you how to make it easier on your hands - even with these deeply layered and embellished pieces.
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to create richly layered stitched artwork built from fabric, paper, thread and stitch - confidently, intuitively, and in your own style.
Along the way, you’ll be building a body of techniques, samples and stitched explorations that become a valuable personal resource for future work.
You’ll learn how to:
How to design (or discover) a swirl structure that holds together visually, so your work feels balanced, flowing and intentional.
How to combine paper collage, painted marks and printed texture to build depth, contrast and detail that sits beneath your stitching.
How to use fabric scraps, yarns, threads and embellishments to create stitched lines, texture and movement across your work.
How to use your sewing machine for both structured stitching and free-motion work, so you can build and develop your piece without fear of “getting it wrong”.
How to decide what to add (and when to stop), so your work stays balanced, lively and visually coherent.
How to resolve your work, refine it, and finish it in a way that feels complete, resolved and ready to display.
There’s no fixed outcome or template - your work grows from your own materials, instincts and decisions, so no two pieces ever look the same.
The layering and stitching process is absorbing in a way that quietens everything else - you stop analysing and start responding to colour, texture and movement.
You can experiment without needing to get it right. Unexpected combinations often become the most interesting parts of the work, and sometimes taking drastic action ✂️ is the key to transformation...
Stitching swirling lines, building layers gradually and intuitively, creates a steady, almost meditative way of working.
Scraps, threads and forgotten materials finally get used in a way that feels intentional and satisfying.
Increased confidence helps you trust your intuition, and allows the process of building and layering to take the work somewhere richer than you expected.
You could add little messages, too...
A complete mixed-media machine embroidery course built around one joyful project.
Learn design, machine stitching, free motion embroidery, appliqué, embellishment and finishing as you create a richly textured swirling work of art.
EU residents please click here
The course is divided into 10 sections.
The first section is available immediately on purchase, so you can gather your materials and get ready to start.
The next two sections are unlocked during the first few days, so you can get cracking and start making and exploring swirls.
The remaining sections are released a week at a time.
After six weeks, you'll have access to everything - forever!*
*as long as I continue teaching online, and I have no plans to stop
Each lesson has a video with subtitles. The camera is up close to the action, and shows very clearly what and how I'm stitching. You get a better view than me!
Some videos are only a few minutes, some are a little longer. You can alter the speed and volume to suit, and stop/start whenever you like.
Skip easily to the next lesson, or back to the previous, with a click of a button.
Every lesson has full written notes. Key lessons in machine embroidery techniques have PDF checklists to download and print for future reference.
I'll always encourage you to take your own notes as that's the best way to learn - but you have forever access to the lessons, so you don't have to if you don't want to.
While the lessons are always available 24/7, sometimes it's nice to have a chat in person! I'll occasionally schedule a live Q&A call just for Swirls, and you're welcome to join at any stage of your journey.
I also host 'office hours' calls every now and then, open to anyone who's taken any of my courses - so there's always another chance to meet for a chat.
There's a private chat space just for course members, hosted right here. Upload photos of your progress, share with others, ask questions, and get to know your fellow course participants - all without leaving this platform or joining Facebook!
A complete mixed-media machine embroidery course built around one joyful project.
Learn design, machine stitching, free motion embroidery, appliqué, embellishment and finishing as you create a richly textured swirling work of art.
EU residents please click here
Your favourite fabrics, colours, beads and buttons all melded together into a glorious whole!
There's something universally appealing about swirls, spirals and circles...
Spirals and circles are everywhere in nature – shells, galaxies, flowers, weather patterns, tree rings. Our brains are wired to recognise and be drawn to these shapes. They suggest movement, growth, and continuity – all things we experience in the natural world.
Unlike straight lines or sharp angles, spirals and circles feel fluid. They guide the eye inwards or outwards, and that movement feels meditative.
Circles often represent wholeness, unity, protection, and spirals can represent personal growth, cycles, or journeys.
They can carry meaning, but they’re abstract enough that we can bring our own ideas to them – the perfect half-way house for personal expression.
Swirls and circles are naturally enjoyable to make. There’s freedom in the shapes that emerge, and no “wrong” way to do it. Ideal for intuitive, layered work with paper, fabric and stitch!
I liked that I could access it anytime I wanted and re-watch videos as many times as I wanted.
I liked learning new techniques. The videos were really detailed and it was great to be able to re-watch each stage. The whole course was broken down into really manageable chunks so I could do a little at a time.
I enjoyed the whole process, and loved the fact you could add as much or as little as you like once the swirls are started.
Inspiration! I've learnt new techniques and used my sewing machine to the max. Excellent course, thank you Isobel.
I really loved that I could do a bit, like several hours, and then think about it for several days before I went back to do some more work on it. I was very pleased with the end result. I know I would not have produced that if it had been a day or even weekend workshop.
The videos were so clear - clearer than in real life, jostling for space with other people. I liked all the handy tips and hints.
A complete mixed-media machine embroidery course built around one joyful project.
Learn design, machine stitching, free motion embroidery, appliqué, embellishment and finishing as you create a richly textured swirling work of art.
EU residents please click here
Swirls is open to join at various times in the year. To be notified, join the wait list or sign up to my newsletter.
The course content is released over six weeks starting when you sign up. Thereafter, it's yours to access for as long as you like. There is no cut-off date: once you're in, it's all yours.
I have no plans to leave this platform. If I ever decide to quit, I'll make sure you have at least a year's access to all the material before anything disappears.
When the course is open it'll stay open to join for at least a week, sometimes more - check the top of this page for exact dates.
A sewing machine in excellent working order
Your usual sewing equipment
Firm calico or canvas and a paper-like stabiliser (e.g. Stitch'n'tear)
Bondaweb
A handful of machine threads
Some brightly coloured scraps of fabric (nothing too heavy)
A handful of papers for collage
All other bits and pieces are easy to source, and I strongly encourage you to use what you already have.
You can download a full requirements list here:
No!
A normal domestic sewing machine is perfect for this workshop.
A few extra decorative or utility stitches are always useful, but you don't need hundreds.
A free-motion foot suitable for your machine is essential if you want to add free-motion details. Even this could be avoided if you're really anxious about trying it, but let me teach you! It's not that hard, once you know how.
You'll need to be able to drop or cover the feed dog (teeth) - there'll be a button or switch somewhere around the base of your machine. Check the manual!
If you have a separate bobbin case for 'bobbin work' or cable stitch (stitching with thicker threads in the bobbin) that can be useful - but isn't essential. I'll talk you through. I haven't met a machine yet that wasn't able to do it!
No!
The stitching can be as simple as you like. We will be covering lots of different techniques, including free-motion - but there's lots you can do with the ordinary presser foot.
The course is suitable for ALL abilities, experienced in textile art or not.
A comprehensive guide to free-motion embroidery is included, and has been described by a previous participant as the best free motion tutorial they've ever had.
And I'm always on hand for help and support should you get stuck!
Mostly.
I love using my sewing machine, but I also like the texture and contrast that a little hand embroidery can add to a piece.
It can be a little tricky to stitch into these sturdy fabric collages, so I'll share my secrets for doing so that will make it easier - even if you find hand embroidery difficult.
There's a whole block of lessons on easy and accessible ways to generate and play with ideas for swirls - and even more lessons to help you with sticky design decisions scattered throughout the course.
Personally, I like to stitch my swirls in an intuitive, unplanned way - but I'll share the tips and tricks that can help pull it all together. These are always useful to know, but especially if you're not confident with designing on the hoof!
I really can't say, as it depends how much time you have available, but perhaps take a couple of hours or so at a time. That's enough to achieve a lot, then you can come back refreshed another time.
I've designed the course so that we'll start with smaller pieces for practise and experimentation, then work towards creating larger, more finished pieces. So how long it will all take depends how many pieces you make! And that's completely up to you.
After six weeks all lessons will be unlocked. It'll be there for you whenever it suits you and your schedule, so you can fit it around all your other commitments. And because you have indefinite access, what's the rush?!
First, there's no such thing as a silly question! I'm always on hand to help.
There's a chat box on every page in the course - ping me a message, and I'll reply as soon as I'm next online. You can also leave a comment (and even upload a photo) or email me.
You also have the opportunity to chat to me in person in one of the occasional live Q&A zoom calls. Details of how to sign up for calls are inside the course.
You're welcome to ask questions in the private community chat - and others may be able to help you out or give you suggestions to try. This is a closed group just for this course, and a really supportive and encouraging place to share and support each other.
There's lots of ways! If you want a private response, the best way is to email me. There’s an email link at the top of every page in the course, and a little envelope icon at the verrrrrry bottom of every page, too.
Or send me a private message using the chat function on every page. This will ping me a notification, and I'll respond as soon as I can. If I'm online and already in the course, I'll see it immediately.
If you're happy for others to see, you can leave a comment (with or without a photo) in any lesson. This can be really helpful for others, because if you have a question, chances are someone else is wondering the same thing!
You can also start a new discussion in the group and upload pictures of your work. I check for posts every day, but if I'm not around (depending on time zones!) someone else is sure to be, to offer support or advice.
Once you've signed up, I'm not able to give refunds.
Please get in touch with me before you go ahead and purchase, if you want to ask me anything before you commit! I'm happy to answer any questions that I haven't already answered here.
If you do go ahead and sign up and you're really unhappy with the course, please email me - but I strongly encourage you to get in touch beforehand if you're not sure.
Send me an email - I'm always happy to answer your questions.
Swirls started life as a workshop I taught in person for years. Like so many others, the 2020 lockdown forced a change in how I worked. Swirls was my most requested workshop, a natural candidate for my first foray online.
It was always a push to include everything within a day or even a weekend workshop. Working online has allowed me to include everything I always wished I could teach, but could never fit in (we'd still be there now...)
The original Swirls course was filmed as an experiment, but was hugely popular when it was first released. You can see the hundreds of swirls created in that time here and here and here.
Since then, I've upgraded my tech, and honed my video editing skills. Because it was my first online course, Swirls was desperately in need of a facelift and upgrade - and this is the result!
Bring it all together into a completely unique and personal piece of textile art
A complete mixed-media machine embroidery course built around one joyful project.
Learn design, machine stitching, free motion embroidery, appliqué, embellishment and finishing as you create a richly textured swirling work of art.
EU residents please click here