Education

EAC Correspondence Courses offer study to enrolled students in their chosen needlework techniques. You are assigned a counsellor to whom completed lesson assignments are submitted by mail. Your counsellor works with you by means of individual attention and written critiques.

The EAC Education Committee continues to develop new correspondence courses to meet the needs of the members. The Education Committee is requesting proposals for new Group Correspondence Courses. Have you designed a course with clear instructions and stitch diagrams that is not available commercially? We would like to establish a limited time partnership with you. Please contact the Education Director for more information. We hope to hear from you soon. Submission deadline is ongoing.

In the past, once you registered, the registrar would prepare the package and send it to you via regular mail, and after the package arrived, more time was still needed to order supplies. Now, once your registration is confirmed, you will be provided with a username and password allowing you access to our correspondence course website. You will be able to print off the materials list and contact information for suppliers. This will make life simpler by allowing you to have your supplies on hand when your course arrives.

Individual Courses

Basic level courses offer the fundamentals of the subject in six lessons to be completed over 12 months for a fee of $125. Intermediate and advanced levels provide greater in-depth study of the subject matter to be completed over 18 months for a fee of $160.

There are no refunds once the course begins. Courses not completed in the allotted time do not receive a refund for uncompleted work. If you withdraw from a course before completion, you will not receive any incomplete lessons as the critique is considered part of the lesson and the counsellor can only give the critique once the lesson is finished.

Note that in addition to the above fees there is an optional Binder Review fee of $45.

Individual course students produce a notebook presenting the assignments, which, when completed, is reviewed by the Notebook Review Panel of the Education Committee after which a certificate is issued from EAC. You will complete research, diagrams, samples, a small project with each lesson and a major, student-designed final project in the studied technique.

Emphasis is placed on skill development and research into historical facts. Ample room is provided for personal expression in the beginner levels while more emphasis is placed on colour and design at the intermediate and advanced levels.

In addition to these additional reviews, you will receive a Certificate of Achievement, recognition in Embroidery Canada (providing you have returned the permission form to the Education Director), and EAC Correspondence Course Pin.

Individual course descriptions and registration form.

Group Courses

The newest selection of group courses are author-owned group courses. EAC does not have the copyright to these courses; we “rent” the exclusive right to offer the courses from the author for a period of three years (with a possible extension of two more years if the course has been popular). Each of these author-owned group courses has a different fee as you are paying the cost of the booklet/instructions from the author as well as the $35 EAC group fee. The cost quoted in the Education Catalogue is the complete price.

Author-owned course descriptions and registration form.

The Group Courses offer shorter, project-oriented courses in a wide variety of embroidery styles. You may register for these courses as a group, usually 2-12 members, although groups of one are possible. Each participant is responsible to purchase their own course instructions as well as the supplies necessary to complete the project. Group participants may work together or individually to learn new techniques. One person in each group is designated as Group Coordinator to set meeting times, to act as a liaison with the assigned counsellor, to arrange to send the completed projects to the counsellor for evaluation, and to return the evaluated projects to the group participants. The group leader is not to be considered a teacher, but a fellow participant within the group. The group leader may contact the counsellor on behalf of the group to request assistance or clarification, and an email address is often included in the initial package of materials that the group receives.

The EAC Library is available to assist with your research; emphasis on research is a component of the group courses, especially at the intermediate levels, though useful at the beginner levels as well. Group Correspondence Courses have a time frame of three, four or six months to complete the group correspondence class, with time allowed to purchase supplies. The completion time is dependent on the course chosen. You are expected to complete the course within the suggested time frame, and extensions are only possible in limited circumstances as approved by the Education Director. Make course selections carefully, choosing a timeline that is appropriate for your group as no refunds will be given after the course materials have been received. Students who successfully complete an EAC Group Correspondence Course will receive an individual critique of their project, a Certificate of Completion, and recognition in Embroidery Canada (Education Director must have your permission form). Completed courses with a binder review receive a Certificate of Achievement.

No kits are provided by EAC for Individual or Group Correspondence Courses. Supply lists are included, and time allowed for students to arrange getting the necessary supplies. Students are encouraged to support their local embroidery shops and to express individual colour preferences.

Group course descriptions and registration form.

Teacher Certification Programme

The Teacher Certification Programme is offered to assist you to become teachers of embroidery in your chosen field of interest. The fee for this course is $500.

More information may be found here, or contact the Education Director for information on the Teacher Certificate Programme.

Other Important Information

Registration

Pictures and descriptions of the Correspondence Courses can be seen in the Education Course Calendar each member receives, on this website, and in the Presidents’ Binder which each guild is issued. Registration forms are printed in every issue of Embroidery Canada. Registration forms, individual and group courses, are also available on this website. Online registration is not possible at this time. The fee for a Group Course is $35 per person, in Canadian funds. Recent courses, added to the EAC course list, have a different cost assigned to each. Read the course description to find the cost involved. The Registration form is to be completed and mailed to the Correspondence Registrar.

If you are registering for an Individual Course, you will start with the Basic course, before taking the Intermediate course, followed by the Advanced course. The Registrar will then assign a counsellor, a suggested completion date, and send the first two lessons to you. You are reminded that your membership with EAC must be current throughout the course. Supplies are your responsibility.

Students enrolling in a Group Course are required to mail their registration forms with fees in one envelope to the Correspondence Registrar. The Correspondence Registrar will assign a counsellor to the group, mail the packet to the group leader for distribution, and assign a completion date for the group projects to be submitted to the counsellor. Supplies are the student(s) responsibility.

Postage

Individual Courses: Postage for the initial mailing from the Registrar to you or a group is included in the registration fee. All subsequent postal fees are your responsibility. EAC advises that you insure work sent in the mail, for a nominal amount so that the you have a tracking number in the event of misplaced mail. Failure to provide adequate funds for postage will result in work being returned to you COD.

Group Courses: All supplies and postal charges to and from the counsellor are your responsibility. Failure to provide adequate funds for postage will result in work being returned to you COD. Counsellors are not responsible for postage costs.

Guideline for Student Levels

Beginners are those who need guidance in reading stitch patterns or who are new to the technique.

Intermediate students understand stitch patterns but may need guidance; have taken this technique or similar one at the beginner or basic level; have a beginning understanding of colour and design.

Advanced students read charts and stitch diagrams with ease, have a good understanding of stitch technique; have good understanding of colour and design. Must have taken an intermediate level course in the technique. Must be able to work independently.

Some courses in the group section are noted as basic or beginner courses for a particular technique, but are not designed for the beginner stitcher. There is one beginner course that is 16 weeks in length, Beginner Brazilian, while the other 14 beginner's courses are 12 week courses, and you will need to understand stitch patterns and be familiar with either surface or counted thread techniques in a similar or related application.

Our current Teacher Roster.