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First project: a small couched motif

Pinny, a SewSift mascot

Try padding and couching together.

First projectBeginnerA weekend
ResearchedSewSift editorialChecked 1 Nov 2026

Step by step

  1. Back your linen with calico and frame it up tightly.
  2. Transfer a simple shape using tissue paper basted on and torn away later.
  3. Pad the shape with layers of felt, each slightly smaller, building up the centre.
  4. Couch Japanese thread in pairs round and over the padding with waxed thread.
  5. Outline with pearl purl, couching between its coils.
  6. Plunge the ends and secure them on the back.

Watch

Goldwork Fundamentals: Bricked Couching (2:30)
By Hand & Lock London · Open on YouTube

Chosen from its title and channel: a 2-minute video from Hand & Lock London on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.

All guides ›Goldwork

Sources

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

  1. School of Stitched Textiles: Goldwork embroidery, a beginner's guide
  2. RSN Stitchbank: Turning metal thread couching
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