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How to work couching stitch

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Step by step.

How-toBeginner15 minutes
ResearchedSewSift editorialChecked 1 Nov 2026

Step by step

  1. Bring the laid thread up at the start of the line.
  2. Lay it along the line and hold it with your other hand.
  3. Bring the tying thread up right beside the laid thread.
  4. Take it down straight across on the other side.
  5. Repeat at even spaces, adding extra ties on curves and corners.
  6. Take the laid thread to the back and fasten both threads.

Watch

Master the Art of Couching Stitch: Hand Embroidery Video Tutorial (3:01)
By Practical Embroidery · Open on YouTube

Chosen from its title and channel: a 3-minute video from Practical Embroidery on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.

Sources

All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.

  1. Floss Field: Couching stitch, how to couch thread by hand
  2. Needle 'n Thread (Mary Corbet): Couching video tutorial
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Researched, sources cited

Specs, manuals, maker pages and owner reports, each with a checked date.

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