What’s the Difference Between Tambour and Luneville Embroidery?

Most people I meet haven’t heard of Luneville embroidery. At public demos I often start with: “Do you know this technique?” The answers are usually no, or “I’ve seen it on YouTube, but I’m not sure.” Occasionally someone says, “Oh, tambour!” That’s when I clarify: “I’m doing Luneville.”

The difference isn’t academic — it changes how you position the work, how you see (or don’t see) your stitches, and how much you rely on your hands for feedback.

The Common Root: Chain Stitch

Both tambour and Luneville embroidery are built on chain stitch. You can make chain stitch with a needle or a hook. A hook is simply faster once your hands learn the motion.

• Tambour means creating chain stitch with a hook, often used for decorative linework and fills.

• Luneville uses the same stitch but adds beads or sequins from the underside, working with the fabric face-down.

For a full beginner-friendly overview, see What Is Luneville Embroidery and Why I Love It

This change in orientation is the real difference — you stop relying on eyesight and start relying on touch. Thread tension in your fingers tells you everything.

The Tools: Luneville Hook vs Aari Hook

Luneville Hook

Has a short “needle” section. You pre-string beads or sequins onto the thread, place them from the underside, and work with the fabric face-down. This method is extremely efficient for covering large areas with embellishment, and it trains you to trust your hands more than your eyes.

Aari Hook

Has a long and fine needle. The handle is thinner as well. You can pick up several beads in the hook and work from the face side. Yes, you are still separating beads with your fingers, but this method gives you visual control over bead placement and works well for detailed motifs and decorative lines.

Can You Swap Methods Between Hooks?

Can you use a Luneville hook to apply beads one by one from the face side, similar to aari work?
Yes — you can. I occasionally do this, but only when it’s really needed, because it’s slower and not my preferred approach.

Can you do tambour with an aari hook?
Absolutely — that’s exactly what it’s made for. Tambour chain stitch has been practised in South Asia for centuries.

Orientation Changes Everything

• Luneville (upside down): You don’t see the front as you work. Your hands learn the spacing between stitches, how beads sit, and how sequins stack — by feel. Once mastered, this is one of the fastest ways to apply dense embellishment by hand, and it helps heavier decoration lie flatter and more stable.

• Tambour/aari (face up): You guide the work visually. This is ideal for controlled linework, motifs, and situations where you want to see bead placement as you go.

What the Internet Gets Wrong

• “Luneville is just tambour with beads.”
  Not quite. The upside-down stitching method and the way beads are added require a different hand position, movement, and sequence of actions. It’s a different way of working.

• “They’re completely different.”
  No — they share the same chain stitch base. The difference lies in the tools, orientation, and bead application methods.

• “Only for couture.”
  The method was developed in France about a century ago and is still used in couture houses. But it’s not exclusive to couture or to France — specialist ateliers and independent embroiderers worldwide use it.

When I Choose Each Method

In my own practice, I use a Luneville hook for everything. When I need to fill a surface with just thread and chain stitch — known as filling stitch, not to be confused with flat stitch, which produces a completely different effect — I work from the face side. I rarely add beads from the face side because it slows the process and isn’t how I normally work.

If you’d like to see couture examples of this technique, read my Valentino Fall 2025: Embellishment as Language

Next Reads:

• What is Luneville Embroidery and Why I Love It

• Fashion Houses Embracing Luneville Embroidery in Their Collections

If You’re New — How to Start

If you’ve already done face-up tambour, you have transferable skills for Luneville.

For complete beginners, the best place to start is to learn basic chain stitch with the hook on a stable fabric, then move on to adding pre-strung beads from the underside.

I teach this in my Introduction to Luneville Embroidery course, which takes you from your first chain to a complete beaded composition — making the upside-down method feel natural from the start.

Tambour and Luneville embroidery share a stitch, but they don’t feel the same in the hands. The choice of hook, the way the fabric faces, and how you handle beads all affect speed, precision, and the surfaces you can create. Understanding the difference gives you more flexibility — whether you’re embellishing garments, making art pieces, or exploring new creative directions.