How to Do Couched Embroidery
Couching is a type of embroidery in which one yarn or thread is laid upon a piece of fabric and secured in place by another thread. This makes it possible to use very thick yarns for decoration of finer fabrics or expensive trims or threads in a cost-effective way. The yarn, cording or trim that will be the most visual part of your design can be virtually anything you find in your sewing stash--you can use ribbons, bundles of thread or even thin, twisted strips of fabric for a homespun "rag" look. Here are the steps.
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Things You'll Need
- Fabric
- Embroidery hoop (optional)
- Design
- Disappearing ink markers
- Yarn, cording or trim to be laid on top of the fabric
- Straight pins (optional)
- Needle and thread
- Scissors
- Seam sealer
Instructions
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1
Stretch your fabric taut within an embroidery hoop if possible. If you're couching a design onto a finished object such as a throw pillow or wool jacket, this may not be an option, but for unfinished fabric it will help avoid puckering.
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2
Transfer your design onto your fabric of choice with chalk or disappearing ink pens suitable for your surface. The smaller your designs, the thinner the threads or trim to be couched should be. By that same guideline, if you are adding thick or bulky items to your fabric, choose a design that is more open or spread out to follow.
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3
Place your first length of thread to be couched along your design lines and pin in place along curves and edges. It shouldn't take too many pins, just enough to allow you to move the object without totally throwing off your design. This is more important when working free-form or filling large areas without firm guidelines. Tyeing a small double knot into the beginning and end of the decorative material will give you something to stitch into at the beginning and end of the lines to anchor them into place.
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Thread your needle with a length of fine thread. This can be a complementary color compared to the decorative material or contrast for added impact on your design. Make sure it's strong enough to hold the trim in place, but not so thick that it will create visible holes or puckering in your base fabric.
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Make one or two small stitches at the beginning of your design to anchor your crossing thread to your foundation fabric, and then stitch into the small knots at the beginning of your decorative thread to anchor it.
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Stitch across the decorative thread at intervals along its length. How often you make these couching stitches will depend on the complexity of the thread's placement, as well as the amount of texture you want in the finished product. The more crossing stitches you make, the more dimples and dips will show in the embroidery.
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Use a drop of liquid seam sealer on the ends of the decorative threads to prevent fraying.
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Tips & Warnings
Self-couching, also known as Bokhara, Roumanian or Klosterstitch couching, use the same thread for both the decorative and couching threads, generally laid side by side as in satin stitch, secured in intervals to create different textures in the embroidery.
