Painting with Thread: Textile Illustration Techniques
A course by Gimena Romero, Artist and Researcher
Learn to use texture and color to bring your embroidery to life
Gimena Romero—a textile artist with more than a decade of experience creating and researching embroidery as an artistic technique—has learned to portray reality using just a needle and thread. With unique stitches, Gimena makes realistic embroidered pieces that are extraordinarily beautiful.
While in the course Experimental Embroidery Techniques on Paper she invited you to explore new mediums, this course teaches you pictorial embroidery techniques using needle and thread to create a realistic image. By playing with color and volume, and using the tools that embroidery can offer, learn how to paint with thread from scratch.
Plus, with Gimena, you can also learn traditional English embroidery in her course Introduction to Blackwork Embroidery and create unique pieces from historical patterns. Or learn to create unique images with a single embroidery stitch in her new course Embroidery Technique with the Stem Stitch.
What will you learn in this online course?
21 lessons & 18 downloads
What's included in this course?
Get to know Gimena's work and learn about the materials you need to get started in the world of embroidery. Plus, take a look at some of her favorite projects made using the thread painting technique.
Then Gimena explains how to transfer the pattern onto fabric and shows you the technique for preparing your frame to start embroidering.
Gimena gives you some useful tips on creating a color palette, paying special attention to how it works for embroidery. Using the satin stitch, which she teaches step by step, understand the basic concepts of color theory using a color wheel and discover how it relates to embroidery.
Learn to determine the direction of different stitches and define their color to help give your pieces volume. Create gradients with threads of different tones and fill your embroidered illustrations with realism down to the tiniest detail.
- 99% positive reviews (2.3K)
- 58,248 students
- 21 lessons (3h 10m)
- 18 additional resources (7 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · Italian · French · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create an embroidered piece from a series of patterns inspired by a real image.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Illustrators, designers, artists, or anyone interested in learning a new thread painting technique.
Requirements and materials
No previous knowledge is necessary to take this course since Gimena will guide you through the process of this technique from start to finish.
Regarding the materials, you will need embroidery thread, needles, scissors, a cotton cloth, hoops, tracing paper and fixative spray.
Reviews
Gimena Romero
A course by Gimena Romero
Gimena Romero is an artist and writer based between Mexico City and Barcelona. She trained in various schools in Mexico, Spain, and France and has received multiple awards and mentions internationally.
Her work has been displayed in various exhibitions in countries like Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, France, Portugal, Ukraine, and Spain. She has several publications under her belt in the areas of narrative, poetry, and textile research with Thule Ediciones and Editorial Gustavo Gili. Her book Hebra de Agua was awarded Book of the Year at the 2016 Teixim la Ciutat festival in Catalonia.
She has also conducted research into embroidery and the body with Lausín embroidery at the UNAM Faculty of Arts and Design in Mexico. She loves life, dogs, and biscuits.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Introduction
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Influences
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U2
Sample of pieces and materials
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Going over materials
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Sample of pieces with gradients
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U3
Pattern transfer and assembly
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How do you transfer a pattern to fabric?
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How do you prepare a hoop for embroidery?
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U4
Color ranges
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How does the color work in the embroidery?
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Embroider your own chromatic material
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Chromatic circle
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Now you do!
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U5
Textures and point sense
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Contrast (textures)
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Volume (point sense)
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U6
Work on final piece
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Application of accents
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Radial embroidery
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Color levels and stitch sense I - Part 1
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Color levels and stitch sense I - Part 2
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Color levels and stitch sense II
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Gradient in grays
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Rescue, patch and get over it!
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Independent elements (legs)
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Finishes and presentation
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FP
Final project
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Painting with yarn: textile illustration techniques
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
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Watch professionally produced courses
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FAQs
You’ll learn how to transfer patterns, prepare the hoop, select color palettes, apply pictorial embroidery techniques, create volume and texture, and blend cultural influences in your textile art.
This is an intermediate-level course, so basic embroidery skills are recommended to fully benefit from the advanced techniques and content presented.
You’ll need mouliné threads, embroidery needles, thread scissors, cotton fabric, a wooden hoop, a small needle threader, tracing paper, fixative spray, and a pencil for transferring patterns.
You’ll learn to transfer patterns using tracing paper, pencil, fixative spray, and tracing techniques to ensure accuracy and ease when starting your embroidery.
Techniques like satin stitch, color blending, gradients, stitch direction, and layering are taught to help you achieve volume, texture, and realistic effects in your embroidery.
The course covers color theory application, choosing the right threads, creating color harmony, and selecting combinations that enhance your piece’s personality and visual coherence.
You’ll learn how to undo stitches, reinforce weak areas, and correct color or texture mistakes without damaging the fabric, preserving your work’s integrity.
Excelente curso
Hi
I'm so impressed with the enthusiasm and expertise Gimena presents in this course. I'm very excited to start. I love the way she is so precise in her explanation as well as her sewing.
Adorei, agora começo a bordar
Ame el curso, todo el proceso esta muy bien explicado. Gimena es una exelente profesora con quien aprendi mucho, recomiendo este curso y los otros que tiene en Domestika
Un curso super completo. Cada etapa es detallada. Realmente GR es tan natural y los videos son realmente muy buenos.