3
easy steps to perfect couching
Jennifer Houlden
In August on QUILTsocial, I talked about color
and the color wheel. I made a monochromatic
pillow using different elements of design. I’m
going to continue on with the color series
as we only touched on a couple of different
color schemes that the color wheel has to
offer. I have some more projects to make to
tie in a few more color schemes and elements
of contrast. More great techniques and tools
to use as well. Today I’m going to introduce
you all to 3 easy steps to perfect couching
using the complementary color scheme I left
off with last month.
Did you pick which was your favorite combo?
I’m still sticking with the blue/orange combo
and adding white to help the complementary
color scheme to add pop to the pillow.
I gathered up a few supplies that I’m going to
need over the next couple of days to create
my project. Some fabrics to create the pillow
cover – white, blue and orange. A ball of yarn
and some cording in orange and blue to go
with the fabrics. Quilting thread, a pillow form
and of course the other usual quilting tools –
a rotary cutter, ruler and mat.
Variety of yarns, floss and cording which can be used for couching
What is COUCHING?
Couching is a form of embellishment
done on the top of a fabric with yarn,
cording or ribbon. This material is laid
out on top of the fabric it needs to be
attached to and then sewn down with
either a straight stitch or a zigzag stitch.
It’s most often used in art quilts. It’s
also very common in embroidery. The
couching adds texture and dimension to
the fabric as well as the quilt.
Cording couched in place with rayon thread which gives it a shine
Photos by Jennifer Houlden.
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