Most souvenirs are something you buy. This one is something you make.
When we travel, it is easy to bring home a magnet, a postcard or something from a souvenir shop. But sometimes the things we remember most are not the things we bought — they are the things we experienced and made with our own hands.
In Van Lam Village, about 400 metres from the Tam Coc boat station, you can sit down in our family home, learn traditional hand embroidery and create a small piece of your own to take home.
It may not be perfect. That is exactly what makes it yours.
A souvenir with your own story
At our embroidery workshop, you do not simply choose a finished souvenir from a shelf. You choose what you would like to embroider, select a design and pick the thread colours you like.
Then we show you the process step by step: how to transfer the design onto the fabric, place the fabric in the hoop, thread the needle and make some basic embroidery stitches.
No previous embroidery experience is needed. Take your time. Our family will be there whenever you need a little help.
By the end, the piece in your hands is something nobody else could have bought in exactly the same way. You made it yourself in Tam Coc.
Choose what you want to make
Depending on the experience you choose, you can embroider a small design on items such as a tote bag, T-shirt, hat or handkerchief.
Choose a simple pattern you like. Pick your own colours. Then watch the design slowly appear, stitch by stitch.
Some guests follow one of our patterns closely. Others change the colours or add their own little details. There is no need for everyone's piece to look the same. That is part of the experience.
Learn embroidery in a family home
What makes this experience special to us is not only the embroidery.
Our family is from Van Lam Village, a village with a long tradition of hand embroidery. Embroidery has been part of our family for four generations.
Today, our mother, Dinh Thi Nguyen, still embroiders here. She has been doing this work for more than 50 years and was officially recognized as a traditional hand-embroidery artisan in Ninh Binh in 2015.
When you visit, you may see her working on her own embroidery before she helps you with yours.
So the workshop is not held in a classroom created only for tourists. You are spending time in our family home, where embroidery is still part of everyday life.
From watching to making
Before you begin, take a little time to look closely at the hand-embroidered artworks around the house.
From a distance, an embroidery piece may look almost like a painting. Come closer and you begin to see the individual threads and thousands of small stitches behind it.
Then it is your turn. Your first stitches may be uneven. You might put the needle through the wrong place. Sometimes you may need to undo a stitch and try again. That's okay.
Learning how something is made gives you a different appreciation for the finished work — and makes completing your own small piece much more satisfying.
More than something to put in your suitcase
A handmade souvenir does not have to be expensive or perfect to be meaningful.
Months or years later, your embroidered tote bag, T-shirt, hat or handkerchief can remind you of an afternoon in Tam Coc: sitting around a table, choosing colourful threads, learning your first stitches and perhaps laughing when one of them went completely wrong.
You will not only be able to say: “I bought this in Vietnam.”
You will be able to say: “I made this in Vietnam.”
And we think that makes a beautiful souvenir.
A quiet cultural experience in Tam Coc
Tam Coc is famous for its limestone mountains, rice fields and boat trips. But there is another side of the village that is easy to miss.
Van Lam has its own embroidery tradition, passed from one generation to another. Spending an hour or two learning the craft gives you a chance to slow down after sightseeing, meet a local family and experience a small part of Vietnamese culture with your own hands.
It is also an easy activity for a rainy afternoon, a quiet evening, or after returning from the Tam Coc boat ride.
Practical information
Different workshop options are available depending on how much time you would like to spend and how deeply you would like to explore the embroidery tradition. See the current workshop options and prices.
FAQ
Can I join if I have never embroidered before?
Yes. The experience is beginner-friendly. We demonstrate the basic steps and help you whenever you need it.
What can I embroider?
Depending on the workshop option, you can choose from small items such as a tote bag, T-shirt, hat or handkerchief, then choose a pattern and thread colours.
Can I take my embroidery home?
Yes. The piece you work on is yours to take home as a personal handmade souvenir from Tam Coc.
Take a little piece of Vietnam home with you
Choose your piece. Choose your colours. Make your first stitch — and take home something that began with your own hands in Tam Coc.
Ask about a workshopSee workshop optionsDon't just buy a souvenir from Vietnam. Make one.