Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework Editor, Virginia Colton Pleasantville, NY Reader's Digest Association Copyright 1979 504 pages, indexed ISBN 0-89577-059-8

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Couching

This group of stitches, known as couching stitches, are particularly useful in outlining an area or in giving more weight to a single line. Usually, there are two working yarns, the laid yarn (which can be one or more strands) and the couching yarn. The couching yarn is stitched over the laid yarn to attach it to the fabric. Often the laid yarn and the couching yarn are of contrasting colors The actual effect of couching varies with the specific stitch and number of laid yarns that are used.

The more strands you lay down, the heavier the outline. Experiment to determine how many strands should be laid. You will need more strands to outline a heavily embroidered shape than to define a fragile pattern. Or you could use a single, heavyweight laid yarn.

In addition to outlining, whole areas can be filled in with couching. To create textural variety, lay the yarns so they run in different directions.

Two unique types of couching are Bokhara and Roumanian. Both employ only one length of yarn for both the laying and the couching instead of separate lengths of yarn for each.

To create more unusual effects, couch over finished needlepoint and applique. Or try couching with metallic yarns.

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From Cameo :

This is one technique I've actually done! I used it on a piece of crewel embroidery. The idea is that one piece of yarn/fiber is laid flat along the "outline" ... where you want the stitching to go. The second yarn/fiber is then poked up next to this laid fiber, goes over the top of it, then pokes down through the fabric again. Then you move your needle on the backside up a ways, poke up through the ground fabric again, over the laid fiber, and back down ... little horizontal stitches going over the laid vertical one.

Let me try ascii art (always a challenge)

==|===|===|===|===|===|===|===========    <-- the laid fiber
      ^                       ^
the couching fiber       the next stitch begins here

If you have a copy of The Proper Stitch by Darlene O'Steen, her instructions on pages 114-115.

The Proper Stitch by Darlene O'Steen ISBN: 0932437036 Symbol of Excellence Publishers, Inc. 405 Riverhills Business Park Birmingham, AL 35242 1-800-768-5878. They take MasterCard & Visa.

In a Minute Ago
An excellent resource for seeing this (and other) stitches online is at this URL:

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From: Marti Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998

Couched Cross-stitch

Couching is a method whereby you raise your stitches up from the fabric, by means of an underlying thread. Consider the dashes below a single thread:

Bring your needle up at the starting point and pull your thread all the way to the ending point of your line of stitches:

o----------------------------o

Then make your cross stitches over that thread, raising it slightly from the rest of the stitching because of the thread padding it underneath!

o--xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx--o (Of course, don't let your couching thread go uncovered.)

You can control the level of your stitches by using more than one thread.

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From: Amy Verseman
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998

The latest issue of Just Cross Stitch, has the first part of a two part silk sampler. It is gorgeous, and full of challenges. But, the instructions for couching are very clear, and towards the back of the mag are some very clear stitch charts.

Note from Cameo: This might be the April 1998 edition of the magazine

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