Threads and Techniques: Unlocking Your Machine’s Potential with Anita O'Neill

Time: 10am – 4pm
Location: Eau Brink Studio, West Norfolk
Cost: £50 per person (some materials included)

This one-day workshop is designed to help you feel confident and unafraid of your sewing machine, unlocking stitches and techniques that often go unused.

During the morning session, you’ll work step by step to create a machine stitch sampler, exploring the decorative stitches built into your machine and learning how to select, change, and adapt them. You’ll experiment with variegated and metallic threads, understanding how to use them successfully and how different threads affect stitch quality and surface texture.

You’ll then move on to more advanced techniques, learning how to thread multiple threads through the machine using a single needle to create rich stitched lines and textured cords, expanding what your machine can do without additional equipment.

After lunch, the focus shifts to free motion embroidery. You’ll learn how to relax into free motion stitching and bring together everything explored in the morning — stitch choice, thread, texture, and movement — to create expressive stitched samples you can build on in future work.

You’re welcome to bring your own sewing machine, or spend the day using one of the Eau Brink Studio machines. This makes the workshop ideal if you don’t yet own a machine and would like to explore its creative potential before deciding whether to invest in one.

By the end of the day, you’ll leave with a collection of stitched samples, a practical understanding of your machine’s capabilities, and the confidence to experiment independently.

Designed to be accessible and unrushed, this workshop is ideal for beginners while still offering plenty of scope for experienced stitchers.