Episode description

Embellishment expert and teacher Ellen W. Miller talks about writing Creating Couture Embellishment, a reference for garment embellishing techniques, in Episode 22 of Sewing With Threads.

Her 400-page book is based on a couture details class she taught at Boston School of Fashion. She shares her painstaking process of photographing and writing step-by-step instructions for a whopping 174 embellishment techniques. It took her well beyond her initial time frame of two years.

"I wanted to show them in all of their glory, she says of the embellishments. "That guided my exploration into it."

Ellen explains three ways to complete each technique in the book, and she talks about the one she found mentally challenging. She also notes which embellishments she left out and discusses another book idea she is considering. Among the techniques featured in the book are grommets and lacing, and manipulated tucks.