A Book of Days (2027)

Natalie Dupuis
Intermediate

Back by popular demand, this remarkable course with Natalie Dupuis guides students step by step through the recreation of an exquisite embroidered book dating from 1895.


Taught across eight monthly four-hour classes, together with a specialist guest lecture, the course offers an immersive exploration of silk and metal thread embroidery and the opportunity to develop confidence in a wide range of historic techniques. Working with beautiful DeVere silks in a luminous palette of summer shades, students will gradually bring this intricate late-Victorian design to life.


The course is best suited to embroiderers with some previous experience of working with silk threads and setting up a slate frame for silk embroidery.

Begins 19 February

Optional finishing & book binding

Silk & Metal Thread Embroidery

€2.687,95
A Book of Days (2027)
About the Design

The Perfect Way to Record Special Days

This exquisite embroidered volume is a wonderful example of hand-embroidery that gloriously shows off the Victorian rage for posies, filigree, and floriography, whilst combining the newer aesthetic qualities of the English Arts and Crafts movement. Softly shining silk shaded flowers and leaves abound, each surrounded by various types of warm gold threads and covered by hundreds of antique metal sequins. Traditional flowers from the English countryside mirror each other throughout the design.

Titled Whisperings from the Great, this embroidered book binding from 1895, was printed in Guildford, England by Billing and Sons. Inside the book are wise quotations beside each day of the year where its owner would note the birthdays of family, friends, and important acquaintances.

About this course

During a series of classes spanning a 10 month period, Natalie will guide you through the process of closely recreating an exquisite 1895 book from the comfort of your own home.

  • Master silk and metal thread embroidery — Refine your techniques to achieve beautifully smooth shading, precise stitches and an exquisite finish.

  • Join a community of fellow stitchers — Share your progress, make friendships and enjoy ongoing support from your tutor and fellow students around the world.

  • Create your own embroidered heirloom — Recreate a remarkable historic design, producing a treasured piece to enjoy for generations.

  • You will gain a profound sense of freedom with your needle and the confidence to take on more advanced silk and goldwork designs.

  • You will be supported with expert guidance throughout the course, and be inspired to develop your own creativity.

  • Develop your skills and confidence— Benefit from expert tuition and discover the history and craftsmanship behind historic embroidered books.

Intermediate

Suitable for students with intermediate experience of silk embroidery

This course is designed for intermediates to silk and metal thread embroidery. Experience of framing up with a slate frame is also required.

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Intermediate

Deep Learning with Natalie

24 Hours of Embroidery Tuition with Natalie

Natalie Dupuis holds a Masters Degree in Education and taught as a classroom teacher and a teacher trainer in Toronto, Paris, and London. After having children Natalie combined her professional teaching experience with her love of hand embroidery and became a full-time embroidery tutor gaining international experience as her career evolved.

We invited Natalie to teach this book due to her attention to detail, both in her research and execution of hand embroidery, and her exceptional teaching skills. Natalie puts everything in to her courses and students leave with a wealth of knowledge at the end.

Over 8 sessions, Natalie will guide you to create your own embroidered book, as close as possible to the original 1895 artifact. You will learn how to handle silk threads and achieve a smooth, consistent finish with your materials. Between classes you will have access to Natalie through out community platform, and have the time to complete large sections of work before moving on to the next lesson.

The Kit

In your kit you will receive all the materials you need to complete your embroidery. Each material is sourced in Britain and the supplier has been selected with historic integrity, quality and longevity in mind. In your kit, you will receive:

  • A set of silk threads & metal threads from our long-term UK based suppliers. If you run out you will be able to request more during the course at no additional cost
  • Printed silk fabric (a practice piece and a final piece)
  • Needles for silk and metal thread embroidery
  • Paillettes Langlois-Martin sequins
  • A mellor
  • Stitch charts
  • Full colour poster, postcards & bookmark

A Shared Experience

A wonderful outcome of our long courses is the connection that evolves between students. During this course, you will have access to our new private community space (Circle), which is accessible directly from your dashboard.

Inside our community space, you will be able to:

  • Ask questions and troubleshoot with your tutor
  • Chat with fellow students and share progress
  • Access the live sessions and subsequent recordings
  • Check for updates from the tutor and the CWC team
Finishing & Book Binding

Complete Your Book

Once your embroidery is complete, you can take your project a step further and transform it into a beautifully finished book, with optional specialist tuition in embroidery finishing and traditional bookbinding.

1. Choose Your Finishing Method

Learn to mount and finish your embroidery using one of two traditional approaches:

Removable Chemise Cover — Create an embroidered cover that slips over a bound book and can be removed if required.
Fixed Cover — Permanently incorporate your embroidery into the binding, more closely following the construction of the historic original.

Both options include specialist finishing tuition and a materials pack with a hand-bound book ready for your embroidery.

2. Optional Bookbinding with Dominic Riley

For those wishing to explore the craft of bookbinding, award-winning bookbinder and restorer Dominic Riley will guide you through creating your own traditionally bound book.

You'll complete the stages possible at home, with specialist preparation undertaken where professional equipment is required

You can take the bookbinding module alongside your finishing tuition, using the book you create for your embroidered cover, or enjoy it as a separate project.

All finishing and bookbinding options are entirely optional and available to book from March 2027.

Key Information

Group 1 Schedule (Fridays)

Group 1 classes take place on Fridays at 4–6pm and 7–9pm (UK time)
(NB: The clocks go forward in the UK on 28 March 2027 and back on 31 October 2027)

19 Feb 2027 - Preparation & Framing Up
Optional Session for both classes combined

19 March 2027 - Introduction
Introduction to the historical setting (the late Victorians & floriography, W. Morris & the English Arts and Crafts period), significance of birthday books, analysis of the design, preparing the silks, exploring the kit, metal thread discussion, colour exploration, begin work on couching the spine

16 April 2027 – Gold Outlines
Couching single strands of gold on the spine's filigree design, sequin/spangle/folien discussion & application, sinking & tying off

14 May 2027 - Posy
Front & back comparison, long and short stitch introduction, split stitch, stitching of posy including small leaves, french knots, fine gold enhancements

25 June 2027 - Border Flowers
Stitching the border flowers, stem stitch and outline, couching single strands of gold around posy and small leaves
Summer Break

7 August 2027 - Special Lecture with Jacqui Hyman

17 September 2027 – Inner gold borders & Remaining Silk Shading
Honeysuckle colour options, remaining border flowers. Couching double strands of gold

15 October 2027 – Acanthus Leaves and Outer Border
Acanthus leaf in design, Acanthus leaf silk shading, powdering, soft vs hard finish. Measuring and couching Grecian Twist.

Break to Complete Stitching

6 January 2028 - Follow up (4-6pm UK Time)
Combined class for both groups. Catch up with Natalie for one final time to resolve any final doubts and spend a final session with your fellow students to complete any remaining areas

February onwards - Optional Finishing & Book Binding Tuition begins
Add on these optional extras to complete your masterpiece and learn adjacent crafts associated with embroidered book bindings

Group 2 Schedule (Saturdays)

Group 2 classes take place on Saturdays at 1–3pm and 4–6pm (UK time)
(NB: The clocks go forward in the UK on 28 March 2027 and back on 31 October 2027)

19 Feb 2027 - Preparation & Framing Up
Optional Session for both classes combined (special timing for this class: 4–6pm and 7–9pm (UK time)

20 March 2027 - Introduction
Introduction to the historical setting (the late Victorians & floriography, W. Morris & the English Arts and Crafts period), significance of birthday books, analysis of the design, preparing the silks, exploring the kit, metal thread discussion, colour exploration, begin work on couching the spine

17 April 2027 – Gold Outlines
Couching single strands of gold on the spine's filigree design, sequin/spangle/folien discussion & application, sinking & tying off

15 May 2027 - Posy
Front & back comparison, long and short stitch introduction, split stitch, stitching of posy including small leaves, french knots, fine gold enhancements

26 June 2027 - Border Flowers
Stitching the border flowers, stem stitch and outline, couching single strands of gold around posy and small leaves
Summer Break

7 August 2027 - Special Lecture with Jacqui Hyman

18 September 2027 – Inner gold borders & Remaining Silk Shading
Honeysuckle colour options, remaining border flowers. Couching double strands of gold

16 October 2027 – Acanthus Leaves and Outer Border
Acanthus leaf in design, Acanthus leaf silk shading, powdering, soft vs hard finish. Measuring and couching Grecian Twist.

Break to Complete Stitching

6 January 2028 - Follow up (4-6pm UK Time)
Combined class for both groups. Catch up with Natalie for one final time to resolve any final doubts and spend a final session with your fellow students to complete any remaining areas

February onwards - Optional Finishing & Book Binding Tuition begins
Add on these optional extras to complete your masterpiece and learn adjacent crafts associated with embroidered book bindings

Stitches & Design Dimensions

Stitches:

🔹 Directional/natural silk shading
🔹 French knots
🔹 Couching
🔹 Outline stitch
🔹 Spangle/sequin attachment

The dimensions of the book (laid flat) are:
24.2 cm x 17 cm (9½ × 6¾ in.)

Delivery & Returns

Packages will be sent in January 2027 by tracked and signed delivery for a small fee of £12.95 (approx. USD$19).

Cancellations up to 3 months before the start of the course will receive a full refund. Cancellations after that point and before the kit is shipped will be charged a £500 deposit. Unfortunately we cannot give a refund once a kit has been dispatched.

What else will I need?

We recommend using an 18 or 24 inch slate frame for this project.

If you use an 18 inch frame, you MUST ensure that your arms are a minimum of 24 inches.

You will also need a ruler with centimetre (cm) and millimetre (mm) markings.

Download Frame Set Up Diagram

How do I join the classes?

All classes take place on Zoom. You will receive an email each month with your class Zoom link. The link can also be accessed on our community platform, which you will have access to.

Recordings will also be hosted on Circle and sent by email along with a reminder of any homework.

“The quality of the materials and the live classes is astounding. Worth every penny. It feels like you are creating an heirloom.”

Create an Heirloom

Starts: Feb 19, 2027