October 1 – 30, 2026 · Waitlist open
The first stitching challenge built on Haute Couture embroidery techniques.
Thirty techniques in one month, with a regular needle. Decorative threads, beads, sequins and three-dimensional work, the same methods used inside couture fashion houses, taught slowly enough for someone who has never held a needle.
- 22 techniques in the challenge, plus 8 yours for life
- Rewatch everything for 6 months, no pressure to keep up
- A materials list segmented by your region
- Collect points completing the lessons and take your Mystery BoxThree Mystery Boxes, 450 € / $520 total value
- A Virtual Tote Bag of gifts worth 78 € and more
Waitlist open · free
Reserve your spot before the doors open.
You hear the early bird price before anyone else, and your first gift course arrives the moment you confirm your email.
1,900+ students · 40 countries · starts october 1
Free to join. Confirm your email to unlock your first gift course, Textured Flowers, worth 49 EUR.
Before you decide
If any of this sounds familiar,
this challenge was built for you.
These are the seven sentences I hear most often from people who want to embroider and have not started yet. Here is what happens to each one in October.
01
“It is beautiful, but I could never do that.”
Every technique in this challenge is worked with a regular needle. No hook, no atelier, no talent required. Day one starts at absolute zero and moves at the speed of a first-time hand.
02
“It snags, the thread splits, the fabric bubbles.”
Every lesson is filmed in HD close-up. You see the angle of the needle, the tension of the thread and the finish of the knot, slowly enough to copy it while you watch.
03
“I am drowning in free videos and there is no roadmap.”
Twenty-two lesson days, one technique a day, in a deliberate order, Monday to Friday. The weekends stay free so you can finish anything you did not get to. Nothing to search for, nothing to choose. You open today and stitch today.
04
“I start beautiful projects and never finish them.”
One month, one piece, and a room full of people stitching beside you. And if life happens, everything stays open for six months afterwards. Falling behind is allowed here.
05
“Where do I even buy this?”
A full materials list segmented by region, so you buy from a supplier near you and receive everything in time. Plus a 28-page sourcing guide with 32 suppliers worldwide.
06
“I paid once already and got something shallow.”
Thirteen years of couture practice, 1,900 students in 40 countries, a five-star rating, and a real school behind it. Every lesson is filmed close enough to see the twist of the thread.
07
“I want this to be more than a hobby one day.”
Thirty techniques is not a sampler. It is a working vocabulary: the same one used to embellish couture garments, and the foundation everything else is built on.
What one month gives you
30 Haute Couture techniques.
One regular needle.
This is the first stitching challenge built entirely on Haute Couture embroidery techniques: decorative threads, beads, sequins and three-dimensional work, the same methods used inside couture fashion houses, taught for someone who has never held a needle.
22
Techniques in the challenge
One technique a day, Monday to Friday, through October. Each one is a complete lesson you can finish in an evening, and the weekends are yours to catch up on anything unfinished.
+8
Techniques with lifetime access
Eight more techniques that never expire. They stay in your library for as long as you want them.
30
Techniques in total
A real working vocabulary of couture embroidery, built one calm evening at a time.
Six months to rewatch. No pressure to keep up.
Every challenge lesson stays open for six months after the challenge ends. If you fall behind in October, nothing is lost: you finish in November, or in March. The stitching is meant to be the calm part of your week, not another deadline.
Included for every participant
The Virtual Tote Bag
Everyone who takes part receives the full tote bag: two complete courses, the sourcing guides, and five e-books from my own library. It arrives digitally, and it is yours whether or not you finish a single day.
Gift 01 · Full course
Textured Flowers
A full course on building dimensional embroidered flowers: petals with body, layered texture, and the finishing that makes them look couture rather than craft. Yours to keep.
Gift 02 · Masterclass
Socks Embroidery Masterclass
Three HD close-up lessons turning ordinary socks into wearable couture with beads, sequins and crystals. Lifetime access.
Gift 03 · 28-page guide
Global Materials Source Guide
32 trusted suppliers around the world, segmented by region, so you can order from a shop close to home instead of guessing.
Gift 04 · Any language
Materials Keywords Guide
The exact words to type into any shop, in any country. The reason most beginners cannot find materials is that they are searching the wrong name.
Gift 05 · From my library
5 PDF e-books
The Golden Thread: A Free Guide to Goldwork Embroidery · Gardens: The Art of Silk Flowers in Haute Couture · Sculpting With Leather · Plumasserie: The Living Craft of Featherwork · 7 Mistakes That Make Tambour Feel Impossible
The two courses on their own
78 € / $89
Both are included for every challenge participant, along with everything else here.
The part nobody solves
Materials, sourced for the country you actually live in.
Most people who want to embroider stop at this exact step. Not because the stitching is hard, but because they cannot work out what to buy or where. That is solved before the challenge begins.
- A full materials list, segmented by region. You find a supplier close to you and receive everything in time for October 1.
- Nothing rare, nothing difficult to find. No specialist materials are included in this challenge. Everything on the list is ordinary enough to be in stock.
- Variations for anything you cannot get. If a material is unavailable where you live, I tell you exactly what to use instead, and what changes.
- Every material is beginner-suitable. Nothing on the list punishes a new hand.
- Plus the 28-page Global Materials Source Guide with 32 suppliers worldwide, in the tote bag.
How the lessons are made
Filmed close enough to see the thread twist.
Everything is pre-recorded, so nothing depends on your timezone. Open the day, watch, pause, stitch, repeat.
HD close-up video
Every stitch filmed from above, at the distance your own eyes would be. Full explanation of each step as it is made, not narrated afterwards.
You do not need to speak English
Every video carries captions, and every spoken word is transcribed as text underneath. Rewatch as many times as you like, and translate the text into your own language in a second.
Printable files
Patterns and reference sheets you can print at home, so you are not stitching from a screen.
Six months of rewatching
Challenge lessons stay open for six months after October ends. The eight bonus techniques stay with you for life.
One technique a day
Weekdays only, Monday to Friday. Weekends are yours to catch up, or to rest.
Questions answered
Ask under any lesson or in the community. I read and answer every message myself.
The Challengers community
You will not be stitching alone.
A private community for challenge participants only. Post what you made today, mark the lesson complete, and find people in a dozen timezones doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time.
- Post your progress every day. Photograph what you stitched, however imperfect. This is the part that makes people finish.
- Every post and every comment earns points. Encouraging someone else counts as much as posting your own work.
- A live leaderboard runs all month. You can see where you stand at any moment.
- Friends around the world. Students from 40 countries have come through this school. October is when they all stitch at once.
Prizes
Three Mystery Boxes, shipped anywhere in the world.
When the challenge ends, the three participants with the most points receive a Mystery Box by post. It does not matter where you live: they ship worldwide, at my cost.
First place
250 €
approx. $289 USD in value
Second place
120 €
approx. $139 USD in value
Third place
80 €
approx. $92 USD in value
Box contents are a surprise. Dollar figures are approximate and depend on the exchange rate on the day.
The last challenge · XX century archives
They chose a XX century piece.
Then they embroidered it.
In the previous challenge, each student chose a historical twentieth-century piece from the Haute Couture archives and recreated its embroidery by hand: Marlene Dietrich 1936, Balenciaga 1955, Louis Feraud, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Schiaparelli, House of Worth, Valentino, Dior, Lanvin, Balmain, Chanel. Their work on the left, the original garment on the right. Almost all of them were beginners.
In their own words
1,900 students. 40 countries.
A five-star rating.
These are students of School of Couture, writing about the courses this challenge is built on.
★★★★★
“I was amazed that starting from absolute zero, you can actually learn in just a few days. I got exactly what I hoped for, and more. A wonderful community throughout the course, a friendly and warm atmosphere.”
EvelineLithuania · Beginners · Level II
★★★★★
“It is truly an honor to be a student of such a qualified teacher. Valerija is so patient and thorough that she will teach even the most inexperienced person, and she will enjoy doing it.”
DaliaLithuania · Beginners · Goldwork
★★★★★
“I found the course very comprehensive, and knowing I could watch the video multiple times was very helpful. The links for buying materials around the world were also very helpful.”
FedericaItaly · Advanced Level II
★★★★★
“I got even more than I came for, not just a wonderful teacher, but a genuinely warm person. There is no stress, no pressure. She could explain things to someone who has never held a needle in their life.”
GretaLithuania · Beginners · Goldwork
★★★★★
“Love it. This course is well explained and easy to follow. Also super creative and inspiring. I am learning so much from Valerija, such a creative designer.”
TaniaCanada · Beginners · Level II
★★★★★
“I was 100% surprised by how easily and clearly completely new, never-before-heard information is delivered. Every little piece comes together into one clear, coherent picture.”
LinaLithuania · Beginners
★★★★★
“So many positive emotions, such a wonderful atmosphere, real professionalism, clarity, and attention to the smallest details. Even the quality of the materials made me feel like I truly mattered.”
ViolettBeginners
★★★★★
“Wonderful course, I am still enjoying it. Valerie answered my questions instantly. Highly recommended.”
KarinArgentina · Advanced Level II
★★★★★
“The courses exceeded all my expectations. Valerija is a true professional in her field, and I know that when I recommend her, I will never have to feel embarrassed about it.”
ChristineBeginners · Advanced Level II
Who is teaching
Valeria Fic
Founder of School of Couture, the first Haute Couture embroidery school in the Baltic States. Thirteen 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 second in the Fashion Open category. I am a Paris-certified couture technologist, 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 did not think I could do this, and then does it anyway. That is the entire reason this challenge exists.
Paris
Certified couture technologist
London
Hand & Lock Prize, 2nd place
Cannes
Dresses worn on the red carpet
Baltic States
Founder of the first Haute Couture embroidery school
Published author
The Business of Creative Arts
13+ years
At the frame, teaching and competing
Why the waitlist matters
Two things only waitlist members get.
The early bird price
The lowest price this challenge will ever have goes to the waitlist first, before anyone else is told the doors are open.
Enough time to order your materials
Because you hear first, you can join first. Your full materials list, segmented by your region, is waiting inside your course library the moment you are in, together with the 28-page sourcing guide and its 32 suppliers. Join early and everything has time to reach you before October 1.
Starts October 1
The best cozy stitching month of the year. Thirty days, one technique at a time, with the evenings drawing in and something beautiful growing in your hands. If you have never stitched before, this is your opening.
Frequently asked questions
Stitches of clarity
I have never embroidered in my life. Is this really for me?
Yes, and that is who it was designed for. Everything is worked with a regular needle, every technique is filmed close-up and explained from the first movement, and the materials list deliberately contains nothing difficult. If you have never stitched before, October is the best possible month to start.
What if I fall behind during the month?
Nothing is lost. Lessons open Monday to Friday, so the weekends are already there for catching up. And every challenge lesson stays open for six months after the challenge ends, while the eight bonus techniques stay with you for life. Plenty of people finish in November.
I do not speak English well.
Every video has captions, and every spoken word appears as text under the video. You can rewatch as often as you like and translate that text into your own language in a second. Students from 40 countries take these courses.
Where do I get the materials?
Your full materials list, segmented by your region, waits for you inside your course library, together with the 28-page Global Materials Source Guide and its 32 suppliers. Waitlist members are invited first, so there is time to order from a shop close to you before October 1. Nothing on the list is rare, and I give you a variation for anything you cannot find.
How much time will I need each day?
One technique a day, and each lesson is short enough to finish in an evening. This is meant to be the calm part of your week, not another deadline.
What is in the Mystery Boxes?
That is the surprise. Three boxes go to the three participants with the most points at the end of the challenge, worth 250 €, 120 € and 80 €, and they ship anywhere in the world at my cost.
What does joining the waitlist commit me to?
Nothing. It is free, and it reserves your place at the early bird price when the doors open. You can leave the list at any time.
October 1 – 30, 2026
Reserve your spot in the challenge.
Free to join. You will hear the early bird price before anyone else, and your first gift course arrives the moment you confirm your email.
Join the waitlist
Enter your email and you are on the list. Nothing to pay today.
Free to join. Confirm your email to unlock your first gift course, Textured Flowers, worth 49 EUR.
