Luneville embroidery is based on the tambour stitch, also known as chain stitch. It was originally done by hand with a needle. In 1850, embroiderers made a groundbreaking breakthrough by arming themselves with a tambour stitch hook. Historians believe that this idea was inspired by the Chinese embroidery technique, which appeared in France in 1760. However, it is fair to say that the tambour stitch hook was also used in traditional embroidery in many countries.

Lunéville embroidery owes its distinctive characteristic to Louis Ferry-Bonnechaud, who in 1865 began adding beads and glass beads to embroidery. It is done on thin transparent fabrics such as silk, organza or tulle using a special Lunéville hook, beads, sequins and metallised threads. The technique is unique in that the embroidery is done from the underside of the stretched fabric, and the embroiderer sees only the underside of the fabric. The embroiderer has one hand on the side facing the wrong side of the fabric and the other hand under the fabric, holding the thread and picking up the beads. The hook pierces the fabric, pulling the thread through to the other side, and then passes underneath through the loop of the previous stitch.

Lunéville embroidery is a variation of zardozi, an Indian form of embroidery with gemstones and pure gold threads. However, this embroidery technique defies the traditional limitations of zardozi and is widely used in high fashion in the western world. After embroidery became a professional craft, the luneville hook became highly valued for its speed: it allows embroidery four times faster than traditional needle embroidery.