About RSN Stitch Bank
Italian couching
- Italian method of couching gold
This stitch fills an area with a pattern of couched metal threads. Most of the threads are couched at regular intervals but a repeating pattern is worked by omitting couching stitches in small areas so that they catch the light differently. The uncouched areas sit fractionally higher than the couched areas so they look slightly padded although the lack of padding makes this a relatively quick stitch to work. The couching thread can be a self-coloured thread or a contrasting one.
N.B. the term ‘Italian couching’ is different from Italian shading which is sometimes used as an alternative name for or nué .
This stitch first appears in print in Mrs Christie’s 1921 publication Samplers and stitches although historically it is used on ecclesiastical pieces like the 15th century roundel at the end of this entry. Mrs Christie’s example suggests that she identified the stitch on a 15th century Florentine panel currently held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: the background to the scene shows a similar floral motif.
Italian couching is generously sponsored by Accoutrement Designs.
Method
Draw motifs onto the base fabric where the fabric is to be left uncouched. It may also help to draw a horizontal or vertical line to follow.
Starting in an area outside of any of the motifs, couch down a pair of metal threads in a brick pattern. When you reach a motif stop couching and resume the far side of the motif.
Align the couching stitches with those two rows above. Smooth the gold threads using a mellor or laying tool.
Angle the needle out from under the gold threads
and angle the needle under the previous row to ensure that each row lies closely.
Continue to work across the area omitting stitches in the motifs.
You will see the pattern emerge as you work. The uncouched areas of gold threads will naturally raise off the fabric and reflect the light differently from the couched areas.
Italian couching
Common uses
Embroidery Techniques
Related Stitches
Identifying Italian couching
This stitch can be identified by expanses of couched metal thread with small areas left uncouched within it so that the metal thread lifts slightly from the fabric and appears to be padded. The uncouched areas are normally in a repeating pattern, either a series of spot motifs or a geometric design. This stitch is normally worked in metal passing.
References
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'15th century Florentine panel', Victoria and Albert Museum. Available at: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107131/panel-unknown/ (Accessed: 18 February 2025)
Examples of Italian couching
15th century ecclesiastical roundel
Italian couching is used to work the floor and the background of this ecclesiastical Flemish roundel. In the floor, the red couching stitches hold the gold in place, leaving diamond shapes uncouched. Note the use of a brighter red at the front and a darker red to give a sense of depth to the image.
See below for the detail of the background.
15th century ecclesiastical roundel
The background uses self-coloured threads to work diamond shapes leaving their outlines uncouched and therefore slightly raised.
The roundel is one of a series, all of which have backgrounds in a variety of designs worked in Italian couching.
Images courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession # 1975.1.1909
Mrs Christie’s Samplers and stitches
This extract shows Mrs Christie's diagram of how the stitch should be worked.
From Samplers and stitches, p134.