Creation of Embroidered Portraits

Whenever diverse artistic disciplines come together, beauty and innovation abound. Artist Sol Kesseler, also known as Bugambilo, takes her illustrations to another level by capturing them on canvas with a needle and thread, creating and embroidering truly expressive and unique pieces.

In this online course, join her as she guides you through her creative process to create an image with thread, combining traditional techniques and a contemporary embroidery style.

Bugambilo starts by explaining a little about herself and how a coincidence led her to start embroidering. She shares her influences and some resources that may inspire you in your creation process.

Get to grips with the materials required and equip your sewing box with everything you need. Then, choose a portrait photograph to embroider. Come up with some words to describe your project and try to convey them within the project itself.

Sol creates an embroidered color wheel with primary and secondary colors, explaining the advantages of having one made of thread, but you can use whatever version you have at hand.

She then teaches you to draw your design and create a guide to embroider from. Now it’s time to transfer the image to fabric, all while creating a feeling of volume and texture with the lines you draw. Next, learn how to create linear embroidery stitches and back stitches to start working on the portrait.

Start by embroidering the eyes, the focus of the image. Continue with the nose and mouth, learning to differentiate lines that build volume or delimit shapes. Then, embroider the hair by keeping your hand relaxed to achieve a looser stitch.

Discover the importance of being familiar with the fabric weave to get the most out of it. Bugambilo also explains how to combine the lacing and darning techniques to add to what you already know and create the character's clothing with patchwork appliqués.

To finish, you will embroider the background pattern of the image and learn some tips to add the final touches to your creation.

Make an embroidered portrait using the photograph of your choice. Craft a portrait drawn with a needle and thread.

Craft enthusiasts and anyone who wants to learn to draw with embroidery by working with a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques to create a unique portrait.

No previous experience in embroidery or drawing is needed. Bugambilo shows you a step-by-step approach to creating an expressive portrait.

As for materials, you'll need a photograph, fabric, some thread (e.g. Mouliné and Perlé sewing thread), scissors, an embroidery hoop, carbon paper, pencil, and paper.