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Knots, loops and line stitches · Beginner

Couching

A thread laid on the canvas surface and tied down with small stitches in a finer thread. It draws smooth curves and holds threads too thick to stitch with.

Couching: the finished stitch on canvas, a brown thread that bends down to the right, held by six short green ties that cross it at a right angle
The finished line on canvas: a laid thread in brown, tied down with small stitches in green. In the steps, new stitches are red, and the numbers give the order: up at an odd number, down at the next even one.

How to work it

  1. Lay the thread

    Couching, step 1: no stitch is finished yet; a dot marks the hole where the needle has come up. Numeral 1 marks that hole. The laid thread, in red, lies with its far end loose; the dot is just below it, near its start.

    Thread one needle with the thread to be laid and another with a finer thread. Bring the laid thread up where the line begins and lay it along the line, its far end loose. Bring the fine thread up at 1, just below it, one hole to the right of its start.

  2. Make the first tie

    Couching, step 2: the first stitch on the canvas. Numerals 1 and 2 mark its ends, in working order. The tie crosses the laid thread at a right angle.

    Take the fine thread over the laid thread and down at 2, straight above 1. Pull only until the tie rests on the laid thread.

  3. Tie along the straight run

    Couching, step 3: two stitches on the canvas, the one this step adds in red. Numerals 3 and 4 mark its ends, in working order. The second tie is two holes to the right.

    Make the next tie two holes to the right: up at 3, down at 4. Keep that spacing on the straight run, and bring every tie up on the same side.

  4. Follow the bend

    Couching, step 4: five stitches on the canvas, the three this step adds in red. Numerals 5 to 10 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order. The ties turn with the laid thread.

    Around the bend, start each tie one hole down and one to the right of the last, turned to cross the line at a right angle. Come up at 5 and go down at 6, diagonally up to the right; repeat at 7 and 8. On the vertical stretch, come up at 9 and go down at 10, the next hole to the right.

  5. Finish the line

    Couching, step 5: six stitches on the canvas, the one this step adds in red. Numerals 11 and 12 mark its ends, in working order. The end of the laid thread goes down below the last tie, also in red.

    Work the last tie two holes below: up at 11, down at 12. Take the end of the laid thread down in the hole below 11.

At a glance

Also called
couching stitch, plain couching, simple couching
Used for
curved lines and outlines; heavy braid, ribbon and cord; stems and leaf veins; filling an area in rows
Coverage
A smooth line on the surface of the canvas
Direction
Ties at a right angle to the laid thread
Stitch length
Ties over 1 canvas thread or 1 intersection

The laid thread goes through the canvas only at its ends, so it follows an outline or a stem where counted stitches would step from hole to hole, and it can be braid, ribbon or cord, however heavy or fragile. It can lie over finished stitches too, as a vein down a stitched leaf.

The spacing in the steps is not a rule: set the ties closely enough that the laid thread cannot shift. A tie taken up and down through one hole is hidden, but it can pull the laid thread to the back, so bring each tie up in one hole and take it down in the next.

Tie with something fine and strong: one strand of embroidery floss or stranded silk. A matching color hides the ties; a contrasting one makes them a pattern.

Start both threads with an away knot or under the back of nearby stitches. A braid or cord too heavy to bring up is laid on top instead, with a tail of an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) at each end. After the last tie, sink each tail: push a large needle partway into the canvas at that end, thread the tail into the eye and pull both through. Either way, finish by stitching over the ends of the laid thread on the back with the fine thread, catching only the backs of stitches.

Tips

  • Hold the laid thread in place with small magnets while you tie.

When it goes wrong

A curve has flat stretches or corners.
Set the ties closer around a curve than on a straight run, with one at the tightest point of a sharp bend.

Variations

  • Bokhara couching. A filling in which one thread does both jobs. Lay it across the shape and take it down, then come back along it with small ties, each up just below it and down just above.

Questions

Can couching fill an area?
Yes. Lay rows side by side, each row's ties midway between those of the row before, like bricks.

Where to go next

Stitches

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