Sunday, October 29, 2006

Couching Video Tutorial

Couching is another easy embroidery stitch in hand embroidery, and a great way to create decorative line stitches that scroll and twirl about. It's also widely used for filling areas, and historically was used to great effect during the Middle Ages and Renaissance in a technique called Or Nue. Here's a video that demonstrates couching a single thread for an outline.

There are two threads used in couching - the laid thread (that's the one you're sewing down) and the couching thread (the one you're using to attach the laid thread to the fabric).

As mentioned in the video, the key to good couching technique for outlining (couching single threads) is to make sure your stitches are evenly spaced and always perpendicular to the laid thread.

Here's the video:



Labels: , ,


16 Comments:

Anonymous Sheila said...

THANKS! I am really glad you did this video. It is better to SEE how to do stitches than read how-to in a book. This type of stitching is new to me and will of great help to others I'm sure.

11/04/2006 01:25:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That was fabulous...I can see how this would answer all those questions about a stich, you just don't get by looking at a picture..thanks for doing this.
Eve

11/08/2006 01:56:00 PM  
Blogger Mary Corbet said...

Eve and Sheila - glad the stitch videos are helpful!

11/29/2006 07:43:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for these videos. Do you have any helps for people who are left handed. Most everything is for right handed.

3/29/2007 04:04:00 PM  
Blogger Mary Corbet said...

For left handers, you would have to do everything in the stitch "backwards" - although, with this stitch, you can work it the same exact way, but you'd be holding your working thread with your left hand. For stitches like the stem stitch, instead of working left to right, work right to left, and keep your working thread above your needle instead of below it. Hope that helps!

3/29/2007 05:26:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for the videos. They are very helpful.Since I 'm a slow learner, how to do in books was not that helpful. This videos helped me with the stitches i wanted to do. Thank you again.

4/04/2007 05:12:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

thank you for the videos.
the only problem i have is that this, and the last, video do not have audio.
=[[

8/02/2007 07:39:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow this is a great work and I am really interested in it. In the same way I tried it myself and I found this video my first teacher and now I am doing it on my own clothings. thank you . Also i want tell that this video and the instructions on this site make me go into the work.so no wonder i will visit this site each time I access to internet. Keep up the wonderful work and please keep on adding new things. thanks a lot. bye.

9/04/2007 02:29:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is clear and I have recently couched a goldmetallic thread on a sampler, but how on earth can I tie down the ends of the thick couched thread? (They are currently sticking out riskily at all angles!)

5/24/2008 04:58:00 PM  
Blogger Mary Corbet said...

Take a large eyed needle (that the couched thread will fit into) and plunge the threads to the back of the fabric. Then stitch them securely to the undersides of the couching stitches.

Hope that helps!

5/24/2008 09:31:00 PM  
Anonymous SIMY PAVOO,INDIA said...

these video tutorials are really great help for me.thank you very much.

9/03/2008 03:31:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

God bless you!!

Thank you SOOOO much for the wonderful,wonderful videos! I feel like I can do any stitch!! I was wondering if you put cross stitching on video.Thanks again!!

:)

10/07/2008 01:40:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Are you going back into the same hole?
Thanks.

2/04/2009 03:10:00 PM  
Blogger Mary Corbet said...

It depends on how thick the laid thread is... for thicker threads, you don't have to, just go down on the other side of the laid thread. For fine threads, if you go through the same hole, make sure you don't pull the laid thread to the back of the fabric - then you'd be doing a whole different technique, called undersided couching....

2/04/2009 05:39:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank You so much for all them Video Tutorials
it really helped me to finish off my artwork
I still need to get the hang of Chinese Stitch
ican't find it anywhere =[
Marilyn
thnx again ! : )

4/15/2009 11:47:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey,thnx.
this helped a lot for our assignment.
but how about "filling" to do that,?or, does "filling" exist?

2/24/2010 05:31:00 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home