Complete goldwork embroidery, from first stitch to masterpiece.
Goldwork is one of the oldest and most prestigious needlework traditions in the world. Across 64 lessons and 15 hours of close-up instruction, you'll complete two full A4 projects, from your very first goldwork stitch to a professional-level finished piece, with Valeria Fic, founder of the first Haute Couture embroidery school in the Baltic States.
What you'll learn in this course
Whether you're just starting your goldwork journey or already experienced and seeking to master new techniques, this course gives you the complete foundation, the same techniques used in haute couture ateliers.
Build volume in elements using 3 different methods and 5 types of materials
Work with metal plate, smooth purl, hard purl, and 2 textured types of bullion
Master the chessboard technique with Japanese gold imitation
Wrapping elements with lamé for a smooth, luminous metal surface
Flat and raised goldwork embroidery elements
Working with pearls and precious beads
Handling complex shapes in embroidery design
Creating various types of decorative braids
Decorating crystals and beads using purl, for elegant detailing
Transferring patterns with chalk and preparing professional stencils
Embroidering on silk taffeta fabric
Working with a professional embroidery frame
What's included in the course
What you will create
Two complete A4 goldwork pieces, worked stitch by stitch, from the foundation exercises to the finished masterpiece on silk taffeta.
Watch a lesson before you enroll
This is exactly how every lesson is filmed: calm, close-up, and slow enough to follow. Every stitch, every step, explained as it is added.
Goldwork techniques, up close.
Instead of hundreds of hours lost in the YouTube chaos, you get a direct, structured roadmap. Every stitch, every step, explained as it is added.
After this course you'll be able to create
The Main Project on Silk Taffeta
Your most ambitious piece, built across eighteen lessons.
The final project brings everything together: a full A4 composition worked on silk taffeta, with a richly modelled centre, symmetrical ornaments, pearls and precious beads. By the time you reach it, every technique from the foundation exercises comes together in one heirloom piece you'll be proud to frame.
The value of your investment
Time & Focus
Stop wasting hours on YouTube tutorials. Get a clear, structured path from your first stitch to couture-level results.
Material Efficiency
Protect your materials. Learn the correct technique from the start: no wasted thread, no costly mistakes.
Confidence & Clarity
Not sure you can do it? 3,000+ students have. Step-by-step instruction means you always know what comes next.
Lifetime Value
One investment. Lifetime access. Come back whenever you're ready: the course is always there.
Course Outline
Big Goldwork Embroidery: from first stitch to masterpiece
Introduction Lesson: Welcome & How to Find Your Way Around
- How to reach your library of courses & application setup
Introduction to Goldwork Embroidery
- A Journey Through Time: the story of classic goldwork embroidery
- Materials and Tools
- Global Materials Sourcing Guide
- Our Book Recommendations for Your Goldwork Embroidery Journey
- Let's Prepare for Our Journey: transferring the sketch & download the files
Threads Classification and their Application in Embroidery and Sewing
- Getting to know your metal threads: plate, purl, bullion, lamé and more
Part I: Foundation Exercises. Preparation
- Let's Prepare Professional Embroidery Frame
- Prepare Stencils for Embroidery Work
Part I · Exercise 1: Fleur de Lis
- Lesson 1. Introduction: the story behind the Fleur de Lis
- 1.1. Working with Felt Layers
- 1.2. Satin Stitch over Padding: Direction, Spreading and Symmetry
- 1.3. Couching Japanese Gold Cord over Felt
Part I · Exercise 2: Feather
- 2.1. Transferring the Stencil, Felt Padding and Covering with Lamé
- 2.2. String Padding and Filling with Textured and Smooth Purl
- 2.3. Flat Padding and Working with Metal Plate
- 2.4. Chipping with Cut Purl
- 2.5. Satin Stitch in Mouliné with a Hard Purl Outline
- 2.6. Setting Crystals into Metal Settings
- 2.7. Pearl Strands and Soft Purl Spacers
- 2.8. Outlining the Feather and Joining Purl Neatly
Part I · Exercise 3: Stem Stitch
- 3.1. Stem Stitch with Purl: The Braided Line
- 3.2. Combining Two Types of Purl
- 3.3. Stem Stitch with Purl and Beads
- 3.4. Stem Stitch with Purl and Sequins
- 3.5. The Two-Row Braided Stitch
Part I · Exercise 4: Daisy
- 4.1. Framing a Crystal with Textured Purl
- 4.2. Rays and Purl Loop Petals
Part I · Exercise 5: Basket Stitch and Weaved Effect
- 5.1. Laying the Thread Foundation
- 5.2. Basket Stitch with Two Weights of Purl
- 5.3. Basket Weave with Japanese Gold Thread
- 5.4. Soft Purl Outline and the Trellis Net
Part II: The Main Project on Silk Taffeta · Centre
- 6.1. Starting the Main Project: The Central Axis and Outlines
- 6.2. Setting the Crystals and Chipping Around Them
- 6.3. Shaping a Curved Pearl Strand
- 6.4. Thread Padding and Smooth Purl Filling
- 6.5. Finishing the Lower Section with Pearls
- 6.6. Marking and Building the Raised Padding
- 6.7. Purl Bridges over the Padding
- 6.8. The Flame Ornament: Felt Padding and Lamé
Part II: The Main Project on Silk Taffeta · Ornaments
- 7.1. Satin Stitch on the Ornaments: Finding the Direction
- 7.2. Corners, Slopes and Closing Gaps
- 7.3. Working Down the Ornament and Keeping Symmetry
- 7.4. Curves and Spacing Between Neighbouring Ornaments
- 7.5. Complex Shapes: Finding the First Stitch
- 7.6. Drawing the Pattern and Couching Double Cord
- 7.7. Finishing the Cord Figure and Its Outline
- 7.8. The Spiral Ornament in Gold Cord
- 7.9. Inner Corners and Plunging Cords Separately
- 7.10. Sequencing the Final Elements to Hide the Ends
- 7.11. Framing the Ornament with a Soft Purl Braid
- 7.12. Building the Raised Padding for the Next Ornament
- 7.13. Shaping a Curve with Purl
- 7.14. The Bird and the Two-Colour Purl Gradient
Part II: The Main Project on Silk Taffeta · Decorative Parts
- 8.1. The Leaf: Satin Stitch in Mouliné and Smooth Purl Detail
- 8.2. The Grapes: Contour, Padding and a Couched Diamant Outline
- 8.3. The Flowers: Crystals, Purl Edgings and the Pearl Arch
- 8.4. Scattering Gold Beads Around the Grapes
Part II: The Main Project on Silk Taffeta · The Birds
- 9.1. The Birds: French Knot Heads, Satin Stitch Necks and Purl Grid
- 9.2. The Wings: Gold Thread Contours, Gradient Couching and Satin Stitch Filling
- 9.3. Finishing the Wings: Purl Braid and Raised Smooth Purl Rows
- 9.4. The Tails: Chess Technique and Metal Plate
- 9.5. The Body and Legs: Couched Gold, Hard Purl Contours and Purl Details
- 9.6. Finishing the Birds: Purl Braid on the Legs and the Crystals
Finishing · Tidying the Back of the Work
- Finishing the work: embroidery hygiene, securing the back and the final clean
You do not have to hunt for gold thread.
Metal thread is the part that stops most people before they start. There are two ways through it, and both are already solved for you.
Let the kit come to you
Our official partner shop assembles the complete kit for this course and ships it anywhere in the world. One order, everything in it, nothing missing on the evening you finally sit down to work.
Or order it yourself
Every lesson lists exactly what it needs, with example links. The 28-page Global Sourcing Guide sorts 32 verified suppliers by region, by material and by price range, and the Etsy keyword guide finds the right thing first time instead of the fourth.
Both the materials list and the Sourcing Guide open inside the six free lessons, so you can price the whole course before you pay for it.
Try It Free
Watch six lessons free.
Not sure yet? Preview the course from the inside. Create a free account, no card, and watch six full lessons before you decide. This is exactly what opens:
- How to find your way around your library, so nothing gets lost
- A Journey Through Time, the story of classic goldwork embroidery
- Materials and tools, every thread, purl and frame explained before you buy anything
- The complete Global Embroidery Supply Guide, 32 verified shops across Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, yours to keep
- My book recommendations for your goldwork journey
- Every downloadable file and the full materials list, so you can order and start whenever you are ready
Create a free account
Sign up with just your email, it takes less than a minute.
Start learning today
Watch all six lessons in HD, on desktop, tablet or in the free mobile app.
Unlock when you're ready
Love it? One click inside the course opens every remaining module.
No credit card required · Instant access
Learn Anywhere
Your atelier, in your pocket.
Every course includes free access in the Kajabi mobile app. Watch each lesson in HD close-up on your phone or tablet, ask questions in the private community, and continue exactly where you left off: your progress syncs across all your devices.
Your course library
All your courses in one place, on desktop, tablet and phone.
Lessons in HD close-up
Every stitch filmed up close, with materials listed under each lesson.
Private student community
Show your work, ask anything, and get direct support from Valeria.
Meet Valeria Fic
Founder of School of Couture, the first Haute Couture embroidery school in the Baltic States. Over 13 years with a needle in hand: learning from the masters, competing on international stages, and teaching thousands of students.
My dresses have been worn at the Cannes Film Festival. At the Hand & Lock Prize in London I placed 2nd in the Fashion Open category. And somewhere between teaching and competing, I wrote a book: The Business of Creative Arts.
What keeps me at the frame every morning is the moment a student says "I didn't think I could do this", and then does it anyway.
More voices across the courses
"I learned useful embroidery techniques, and I was surprised by the creativity and details of the embroidery. Wonderful teacher."
"I would describe them as well-rounded and an informative platform to begin learning different techniques."
"It is truly an honor to be a student of such a qualified teacher. Valeria is so patient and thorough that she will teach even the most inexperienced person, and enjoy doing it."
"Love it!! Well explained and easy to follow, super creative and inspiring. I'm learning so much from Valeria, such a creative designer. Thank you."
"Wonderful course, I'm still enjoying it. Valerie answered my questions instantly. Highly recommended."
"Aesthetics, structure, and quality. The course fully met expectations."
"I was amazed that starting from absolute zero, you can actually learn in just a few days. You leave not with a small sample, but with a beautifully finished work you're proud of."
"I got even more than I came for: not just a wonderful teacher, but a genuinely warm person. No stress, no pressure. Everything is built around one goal: that you truly learn."
"100% surprised by how easily completely new information is delivered. A charming, wise teacher who brings you knowledge, inspiration, and something deeper, not just about embroidery, but about life."
The longest course in the school, and still the one people finish.
Goldwork looks like the hardest thing on this page. Metal thread is unforgiving, which is exactly why it is taught slowly here.
This is the largest course in the school and it takes longer than the others by design. You are not waiting until the end to have something in your hands: Part One is twenty-five foundation exercises, so you are making real goldwork long before the main project on silk taffeta begins. Six lessons open free tonight, with no card.
Begin your goldwork journey
Haute couture quality at a fraction of the price. Comparable schools charge 270 to 8,500 €.
Prices are available in EUR and USD — choose the checkout that suits you. If you pay in another currency, your bank will convert it automatically at the current exchange rate. Payments are processed through Kajabi's secure checkout: your information is never stored or shared.
Build your couture skill set.
Goldwork rewards the patient hand, and it pairs beautifully with the rest of the craft. Warm up with the golden bugs, add tambour beading with the Beginners course, or take the whole path in one with the Complete Couture Journey, every course, every bonus, and the book, for less than two courses separately.
Goldwork : Golden Bugs
New to goldwork? Six golden insects, each a self-contained project, are the gentlest way into metal-thread embroidery. No prior experience needed, just curiosity and a needle.
Haute Couture Embroidery For Beginners
Learn tambour beading and couture embroidery from zero. The most popular starting point for new students, and a different technique that expands your range.
The Business of Creative Arts
Once you can create, learn to sell it: pricing, finding clients, and building a brand people remember.
Get everything in one path.
The Complete Couture Journey: 44 lessons, 10+ hours of video content, beginner to advanced, every bonus, plus the business book. One purchase, one price, the whole craft.
