I’ve spent the last two Sundays at the West Dean College London campus learning the endangered art of passementerie. The tutor, Elizabeth Ashdown, is one of only a few remaining passementerie experts left in the UK. This two-day course was a great introduction to the technique.

I’ve heard lots of good things about West Dean College but haven’t managed to make it down there for a course, so when I heard that they had opened a new campus in London I was keen to attend and see what it was like. The facility in Dilke House near Euston has been done up really nicely. The studio we were in was spacious and modern and downstairs there was a place to eat your lunch with access to tea and coffee.

The course itself was so enjoyable. Across the two days we learned four different patterns using the same techniques but progressing from basic to more complex interlocking designs. Elizabeth was very patient and knowledgeable. She showed us how to warp up our frame looms, how to get started, and how to take the piece off the loom at the end.

There was a generous amount of materials for us to use in a huge range of colours, and as a bonus we were allowed to wind our own cord using up to four yarns or threads to create our own colour combinations and effects. There were even sequin and glitter yarns!

I probably would have preferred to do this two-day course on back-to-back days, rather than a week apart, but there was something rather nice about looking forward throughout the week to getting back to the college to play around with more yarns! Elizabeth has said that she will be running another course to cover tassels and rosettes so I will definitely be keeping my eye out for that when it becomes available!