Czech and Slovak Eyelet Embroidery with Sarah Pedlow

This class is part of the six-part virtual World Embroidery Series II. Classes may be purchased à la carte at $75 or as a six-part package for a discounted price of $400.

In this class, we’ll look at the use of eyelets in Czech and Slovak traditional clothing from the 1800s– think puffed sleeves, caps, and aprons! Some historians date the first eyelets in Eastern Europe back as early as the 1600s. 

Learn to make a decorative border, add eyelets to your clothing, and gain an appreciation for the traditions in former Czechoslovakia. The pattern is based on a design from Piestany, Slovakia. 

Open to beginners, we’ll go over a couple of stitches and how to make several different shapes of eyelets using basic embroidery tools. Sarah will talk about using an awl and a laying tool– neither of which is required. You are welcome to use a tapestry needle and embroidery scissors in their place.

Date & Time

Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, 12-2:30 pm ET

Location

Zoom, a link will be emailed to participants the day before class. 

Cost

$75 for the individual class
$400 for the series

Materials 

• 6-stranded embroidery floss in yellow or practice with whatever color you like. My sample piece uses DMC 3820 and DMC 742 is a brighter egg-yolk shade.
• Embroidery needle
• White lightweight cotton fabric (100% cotton)
• Frixion heat-erasable pen or a water-soluble embroidery pen
• Embroidery scissors
• Hoop
• Optional: silk thread, awl (if you already have one- you do not need to buy one!), large tapestry needle (easy to grab with a blunt tip)

Scholarships 

There are scholarship spots available for this workshop. Please email info@tatter.org to learn more.

Our Teacher

Sarah Pedlow, the founder of ThreadWritten, is an artist working with embroidery and cultural preservation through workshops, textile travel tours, and fine art. ThreadWritten supports women artisans, traditional and contemporary textile practices, and the preservation of heritage through research, education, and the cultivation of a global community of makers. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Sarah moved to Amsterdam, NL, in 2019 where she now lives and works. She has taught and lectured at the Fashion Institute of Technology, The Textile Arts Council at the de Young Museum, San Francisco School of Needlework and Design, WildCraft Studio School, The Embroiderers’ Guild of America, Crafts Council Nederland, and Selvedge. She holds an MFA in Visual Arts from Rutgers University (US) and her work has been featured in Uppercase, Veranda, House & Garden UK, Piecework, and Selvedge magazines. Find her artwork at sarahpedlow.com.

*All classes in this series will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to all registrants following the live session. You may purchase the series as a whole even after the classes have begun. You will be emailed the recordings upon sign-up.