On today's episode, we dive deep into the specific surface design technique.

Couching.

Educator Nina McVeigh joins us to show that you can absolutely use a quilting machine for couching techniques and bobbin play.

Sarah Ann Mattson Spencer creates intense pictorial quilts using a couching technique to outline the elements in the subject matter.

This is a technique driven episode you won't want to miss.

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[Upbeat music] Nina McVeigh is here with us today.

She is a quilter and an educator, and you've got some fabulous ways you're going to teach us about couching and bobbin work.

I'm so excited.

So am I. I'm excited to to do this and share this.

It's surface embellishment and we have so many different beautiful threads or cords or yarns that you can't put through the needle of a machine.

Right.

- So we have to find another way to use them.

So whether you can put it on a bobbin or couch it down.

And that's what we're going to look at today.

- Okay.

So I have a little piece here where I have done some bobbin work just to show those trundles.

And of course bobbin work is where that decorative thread is put in the bobbin of your machine, and you need to work on the backside of your fabric for it to come out on the front.

So you're actually sitting.

On this side?

- Yes, yes.

But you get that effect that I couldn't get with just thread.

Right.

- So that's this one.

And then because I wanted to add a little bit more dimension or heaviness, I did the same bobbin play here, but I used.

So this is bobbin play or bobbin work.

depending on how you look at it.

And this is couching.

That's couching.

And then of course those were just like straight line you no free motion quilting.

This is actually a fill in with bobbin play.

On the body?

Yeah.

With like a metallic purple.

- Right.

It's a shiny heavier thread that I of course did from the the back side, but it fills in this area and creates a texture.

Yeah.

- So that's a great way.

And then of course the antennas are couched down.

And we won't even talk about the gorgeous beading and everything, embroidery and everything else.

But I would encourage this is the kind.

These are the kinds of techniques that you really need to play with.

You know, you're not going to go to your piece and just do it.

Probably you need to experiment.

And so one of the ways to experiment or play is I simply did something very easily pieced.

And then I did the different quilting motifs that I might want to do with couching.

And so elegant on that dupioni.

It's so Well, and then you have something - Yeah.

you know, to bind or, or use.

Lovely.

Okay.

So let me show you how we're going to do that.

Sounds good.

- We're going to start with a piece that I again, this is a technique.

And I want everybody to feel like they can do this technique.

So I simply did a couple shapes to create a flower.

So they're fused down.

- They're fused down.

And we are going to do some couching around those petals.

So whether you use that couching as we did in, in the pieces that I was showing you as a design, or whether you use it on the edges of something that works for however you want to use it.

Okay.

So in order to do that couching, there are a number of feet, of course, different kinds of couching feet.

Some are very specific to one size.

- Yeah.

They're always a straight stitch foot to one side.

I am going to be using actually a ruler work foot, because this ruler foot has three little inserts that are different sizes.

So you can see the holes in their different size holes for different size yarns or cords.

And that's why I say it's a play thing.

You really need to feel that you can experiment and play and you will be successful.

You will have failures and you will have successes, but then you go with your successes and that's what you end up using.

- Okay.

So I'm just going to snap this into the bottom of the foot.

I'm using the medium one and put the foot back on the machine.

Now when you first have.

This, you kind of guess which one you think is going to work and you play with it and see maybe I need the bigger one so that it moves more smoothly through.

- Right.

The trick is you want that hole to be filled with whatever it is you're using, but you want it to flow through smoothly.

- Okay.

Not too tight.

- Not too tight.

- Okay.

So we're going to use this one.

And because and I will take this piece I'm going to put it under here.

This is an adjustable foot so I can adjust the height of this base.

And because this insert adds about an eighth of an inch more depth, I might need to raise that up a little bit so I can.

- Otherwise it will Easily.

- Forcing it under the needle.

Right, right.

So again that's another place where you have to experiment and play a little bit with that.

So I've got the foot ready to go.

But I need my couching thread or a yarn.

So a lot of times when I have a yarn that I'm going to use, I will take some of it off the skein and wrap it on an empty spool.

- Oh okay.

It just makes it a little easier for it to feed into the machine.

- Yeah.

- And I'm going to thread this foot.

I need to thread that yarn through the foot.

So I have a wire threader that I am going to bring up from the bottom of the foot.

Makes it much easier.

It makes it much easier.

It's so hard to thread that without some kind of threader, the wire threads work great.

And then you can just pull it down.

Pull it through, and you want to leave a little bit of a tail, right?

Correct.

Yeah.

So you make sure that you've got it.

And depending on how you're going to finish those ends, you want that tail so that you can thread it through a needle, a large And pull it back.

needle and pull it underneath.

Okay.

Good tip.

- So I will.

Because if you're stingy and you're thinking I don't want to waste that, - Especially If you have a hand dyed yarn or something.

- Right.

Yes, yes.

Gotta leave enough to pull it through to the back.

And you want to know where it is when you get started.

Just like your thread.

You want to know where it is when you get started.

So I have this spool and it's important that this feeds smoothly.

Yeah.

Through and never gets tight.

Because if it gets tight it's going to be pulled to one side of that hole.

And then your needle is not going to be hitting it.

Okay.

- So I have a spool holder on the other side of my machine that I'm going to put my spool on.

And then we can start stitching.

And then this is going to feed down through the center of the foot.

And I do want to always keep my eye on it so that it.

Doesn't get tight.

Doesn't get tight.

Okay.

And if I'm looking to to be very specific about where I'm starting this, I'm going to put this right over that spot and I'm going to lower my needle.

Okay.

So there I am ready to go.

And now it's just free motion stitching.

Oh so fun.

And what you want to make sure is that you keep moving.

Because if you don't, the yarn is going to end up in a in a ball and then you're going to have a thread jam.

Okay.

So I'm going to come down.

Oh it looks so neat.

It's so easy.

- Yeah.

And on something like this.

That's just fused down.

Now this also holds down that fusing.

- Right.

You know if you didn't want to do an appliqué stitch of some sort over that.

Okay.

Sounds good.

- Okay.

So now you're going to talk a little bit about bobbin work?

- Yes.

So on this piece as you can see I did do some couching here and then and I did couching to create another pedal so to speak.

And I did bobbin play in that.

But here I'm, I'm just going to do some bobbin play so you can see how that works.

- Okay.

Sounds great.

So I'm going to raise the needle and pull this out.

And if I were doing this.

Leave another tail.

On a project, I would leave a tail and then use a large yarn needle and pull that to the back.

Okay.

So I want to cut this thread now bobbin play.

What I've also done with when I did the couching is I have a thread path laid on the back side.

- You can see.

So I know now know where I'm going to do that bobbin play.

Okay, perfect.

- Okay.

So I'm going to pull my yarn out and I'm going to take this foot off because bobbin play in this sense is just going to be a I'm going to do like a stipple stitch.

If you were doing any kind of free motion, you might just want a regular free motion foot.

So this is an adjustable stippling foot.

And again, I probably am going to dial this down a little bit because I have a thin batting.

And you've got to wind your bobbin with the thread that you want to do the bobbin work.

Yes.

So I have a bobbin wound.

Now I wind my bobbin right on the machine, depending on what thread you're using, because there are a lot of different things you can put on your bobbin, you might, if you have the ability to change the speed of your bobbin winding, that often helps.

Okay.

slower or faster or is it?

- A little slower.

- A little slower I have also had to hand win the bobbin because I've put silk ribbon in the bobbin and that gets hand wound.

- Yeah.

So just depending on what you're doing.

- Okay.

So I've already changed the tension on that bobbin case.

But if you need to change it you can just use the screwdriver and adjust this one.

Right.

There's a little screw right there.

And you're going to turn it lefty Lucy.

Yep.

- You're going to loosen it and you're going to loosen it.

You're going to be a little the first time you do this.

It's like.

Oh my gosh.

- Yeah.

- It's really.

It's really.

- Ye loose.

But it is very loose.

- Yeah.

I don't want people to fear about doing that, because you can always get your attention back by turning that screw if.

You have about a minute.

So let's get started with this.

- Okay.

I don't mean rush you there, but.

Let's do that.

But yeah, that bobbin tension is important that it's loose enough.

And I am going to pull my thread up because I want to know where that is.

So there it is.

Pulls out very quickly, very easily.

And now I'm just going to go in here and.

And you know where to work.

- And you know where to work.

You also want to pull that up through your fabric so you know where that is.

And now we'll.

I've always been too scared to try this.

- Pretty stitching.

So you're just doing whatever stitching you want to do.

If you're a free motion quilter that does beautiful feathers and do your feather with bobbin play.

But let's take a look.

Yeah.

There you have it.

- Oh, it's so fun.

And it's amazing.

It's like glittery.

It seems like it would be incredibly difficult to work with.

And it was smooth.

It's very easy.

Yeah.

So great.

And then you can create all this beautiful detail in here.

Correct.

And work with threads that I would never think of putting into my machine.

- Right.

- So yeah.

Thank you so much for teaching me about this.

You're welcome.

- I need to give it a try.

- Okay.

And we'll be back in just a minute.

Artist Sarah Spencer is here to show us how she uses couching in her work.

Welcome.

Thank you so much for having me.

So couching is a really fun and easy technique that I use and so many of my quilting projects.

- Yeah.

And I'm really excited to share with you how I do this today.

Now, couching is simply stitching yarn on top of a quilt, so you're adding this 3D element.

It's a little bit of mixed media and it really makes things pop.

And so that outline makes things stand out.

And look, it's a different style.

It's a different style.

- And more graphic.

Absolutely.

And I will say, I've always been somebody that really loves street art.

I love things that have a graphic quality, illustrative quality.

And so this this really adds that to my art projects.

- Yeah.

So here's a piece that I've I've pieced it together and now it's kind of you can sort of tell what it is on its own, but really without some lines in there to give it some definition at those sort of abstract.

So I'm going to go in and use a drawing that I've made and basically trace it onto this fabric so that we can use the couching.

So here's my here's my drawing.

- Okay.

I'm simply laying my fabric on top.

Gotta go real bright.. Real bright.

- And that's a fun neon green there too.

You use very.

- Thank you.

Very high impact colors.

- I do.

And this this green I'm very precious with it because I it's one of the ones I hand-dyed.

So it gets yeah, it gets a lot of love for me.

And that's a heat erasable pen?

- Yes.

So I'm going here with a heat erasable pen.

Now most of this is going to be covered up at the end with the yarn.

However, just in case anything pops out, it's really nice to be able to come in afterwards and erase anything just by pressing down with a hot iron.

So already you can tell this is a hand.

You're just adding in all the creases.

And now I can see the thumb and the fingernail.

Exactly.

So there's some more creases.

And is this like a reverse applique.

So the black is on top and the hand is set in.

That's right.

- Okay.

- Exactly.

So this is essentially ready to go.

Now there are a few different ways that you can approach couching.

When I'm doing very large pieces like a big quilt it I will often take just my finished quilt top to the machine and go in and stitch my yarn down.

Because of course, once you add batting and backing fabric, if you're working on a little domestic machine, that's a lot of fabric that you're trying to maneuver through this tiny little machine.

So I will, I can you can definitely just start it from here.

When I am working on these smaller pieces, I will often instead do my layer it with the batting and the backing fabric and then do my quilting.

And then it's nice and stable for that couching.

It's stable and also for the way that I like to quilt.

I sort of scribble all over the place.

So one thing to know is that if you're going to be doing some quilting afterwards, you want to try not to stitch over your couching lines because that sort of ruins the effect.

- Yeah.

So there are pros and cons to doing it either before or after it's quilted, I see, but I do have some pieces that I've pre quilted here, so I can show you what this looks like at the sewing machine.

- Okay.

That's great.

So you're working with some black yarn.

What kind of yarn is that?

So this and now there's lots of yarn available.

This one is just something you can find at any craft store.

It's crochet yarn.

- Okay.

So I like this particular kind because it tends to be a little more stable than your wool yarn.

It's less fluffy or it doesn't have that bloom.

So all I'm going to do now, using all these lines that I've drawn, I'm going to stitch with a small zigzag stitch on top.

Okay.

I want to point out you can use just a basic presser foot.

There are.

- Want this?

Yeah.

So in here clear presser feet are really nice.

The main thing is you want to be able to see where you're stitching Okay.

-Right up to the needle.

And there are special couching feet that you can buy.

And honestly, I've tried it.

I like I like just using sort of regular presser feet instead.

So just you can work with what you have is my big.

Right different people like different things.

Absolutely.

So all I'm going to do is come in here like this.

I always leave a little bit extra at the back so I can hold it down with my fingers.

Because you've got to hold it in place.

Exactly.

Lower my presser foot.

I always drop my needle because I do a lot of pivoting.

Okay.

- So you'll see here.

And are your your feed dogs down.

My feed dogs are up here.

- Up.

So I'm just zigzag.

You have to have that.

Yes.

So I'm going to come in here and I'm just slowly pivoting.

So you're moving the fabric, not the thread that's in your hand?

- That's right.

Although sometimes you can sort of yank it if it's a really sharp turn.

Okay.

So I'm going to come down like this and I want to draw around this thumbnail.

So you slow down or stop if you get to a corner or a point.

Exactly.

- And other than that, you're just kind of going at a steady pace.

- Exactly.

And you can see I'm basically covering up the lines that I drew entirely.

When I get to the end here, I'm going to do a little backstitch and that's that.

So now.

I do a lot of jumping around when I sew.

And by that you mean you don't cut.

You're not cutting your thread.

You're not cutting the yarn.

I like to do things as efficiently as possible.

So you'll see me.

I'm going to skip around here and pick up this thumb, back over on this.

And do clean up later.

- Absolutely.

So my needle is going to drop it down and I'll start going again.

I like the the little bit sometimes of the stitch that you see off the edge too, because that adds a nice texture.

And I love that as well.

But I guess you could play around with that and you could make it almost invisible, or you could make it show up.

- Absolutely.

So here I've done the thumb now, and I can go back over here and catch some of these little creases.

So do little backstitch.

So if you're doing this without the batting and backing on a larger piece.

- Yep.

Do you have to worry about it bunching up more?

You've got to be really careful just to hold it flat.

- Okay.

So I will show you here.

Now I've done a few little stitches, lift my presser foot and cut.

The nice thing you can do here is if with a pair of snips or a pair of curved scissors, you can take it right down and clip.

Being careful not to cut into your quilt.

Absolutely.

And that's where the little curve comes in handy, because basically you can sit it right next to the yarn, right on top of the quilt and cut all the way to the edge.

Nice.

- And that way you can start to see how this is really popping and how it's really coming together.

Yeah.

Okay.

Terrific.

Looks great.

Let's head back.

To the table.

Okay.

All right.

Looks great.

- Thank you so much.

So yeah, it adds a lot of character to the work.

Now you can see over here this is a similar piece but the couching in and the whole the whole piece has been finished.

So it.

Yeah I really like kind of looks a bit like street art but it's in textile.

- Yeah.

Almost like the graffiti artist drew the black first and then filled it in.

Right?

- Exactly.

Yeah, just a real graphic punch.

Exactly.

- So now tell me about these yarns over here.

They look really fun.

- They are fun.

- Yeah.

And as somebody, I've been a long time knitter, so I have a lot of yarn, and there's a lot of fun ways that you can play with this technique.

Now, of course, black is great for outlining and for adding that graphic element, but there are so many other types of yarn available that give a totally different look.

-Yeah.

So for example, you can get the the metallic yarns.

This one here, this is more of that fluffy wool yarn.

And these ones are really fun that not a lot of people know about.

They're considered novelty yarns, but they're called eyelash yarns.

So you can see if you were to stitch these downs, they're going to add like a fringe.

They're going to look very 3D on a quilt top.

And you might want to use monofilament if you did, if you couch those down.

Right?

- Absolutely.

And same thing with like your metallics.

A lot of machines really struggle with the metallic threads.

So if you use a clear monofilament thread, you can essentially use any yarn color you want.

And that's going to be a great thread choice for it.

- Great.

Well, I wanted to have time to talk about this magnificent piece.

- Thank you.

Behind you here.

- Yes.

- Tell me about it.

So this is the American abolitionist John Brown.

I created this piece.

There's a famous daguerreotype of him, and I based the image off of that.

But what's interesting here is you can see I've actually added a lot of couching to his face, always to the hands to capture the creases and even to the garments without the without that couching line in there.

You especially around his his necktie, it would be hard to really understand what's going on.

So I think, yeah, it just it adds a lot to the pieces.

When I first started using this technique, I was trying to actually piece everything with fabric, and I found that with the detail that I wanted to capture and have to blow the quilt up to an enormous size to be able to do it.

So this is sort of where I landed, and how I could capture that same effect without actually having to piece all the black fabric in there.

Yeah, and it almost is like you drew it and then filled it.

Filled it in.

- Yes.

But it gives you this is kind of a trademark of your work.

- Yes.

and it gives it that very graphic look, which is wonderful.

- Absolutely.

I also love your choice of fabrics and the energy it brings to it.

Yeah.

And and I love that you didn't use traditional flesh colored fabrics for his face and hands.

You know what?

I find that you can tell so much more about a person if you if you don't use realistic colors, like, John Brown was a really intense guy.

And so when I was going to do his portrait, when I was planning this piece, it was obvious to me that I wanted to choose Red because it's such a fiery color.

And he was a fiery guy.

So yeah.

Thank you.

I, I'm very happy with using the Reds in this piece.

Yeah, I love the Halo too or the halo effect around him.

Why did you choose to do the the circular image behind?

I've been incorporating those circles behind my, my subjects of my quilts for a while.

It almost I think about it in a more of an abstract way, but to me it feels like an aura or like the energy of this person coming forward.

And it's it frames them and it pulls your attention into his face and really nice way.

- Absolutely.

Yes.

- Well, thank you so much.

This is a really interesting technique and I can see where people would love using it.

Thank you so much, Susan.. And we'll be back in just a minute.

From applied design theory to innovative technique, learn what fellow artists are up to within the art quilting community.

Join us for finishing touches.

Hey Marcia, you brought some beautiful quilts with you today.

I sure did!

They are very different in palettes, but they both have a grid of 25 in common, and I thought we'd start by looking at this one, which is made of 25 circles of upcycled wool, and this artist is living in Switzerland.

And she noted that the ladybug is a symbol of good fortune and good luck.

And then here we've got are those all ladybugs around here?

Ladybugs.

- And bees?

- And bees.

That's so great.

Lovely.

And then moving right along.

We've got this one here, another grid of 25.

And this one, each square demonstrates a completely different technique.

- That is amazing.

And they're all just so lovely and beautifully executed.

Look at the color wash going from here to here.

Really nice.

And hand embroidery.

I love it.

Remember, make time for contemporary quilting every day.

Visit our website QuiltingArts-TV.com for access to selected project instructions, ideas, tips and techniques from this season of Quilting Arts TV.

If you enjoyed today's episode and want to see more contemporary quilting techniques and inspiring guests, a digital download of the entire Quilting Arts TV series is available for $29.99 or receive both the digital download and a subscription to the magazine for $59.95, available at QuiltingArts-TV.com Quilting Arts TV is brought to you by.

The Bernina 990.

If it can be imagined, it can be created.

Gentle fuse fusible web made for quilters from Maywood Studio.

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