Soutache Tips From a Novice

This piece was the first piece I attempted using Soutache, and let me tell you, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be!  I almost threw in the towel and chalked it up to one of those things I'm just not cut out to do (like washing windows).  I did try again, though and with the lessons I learned (the hard way) the first time, my second piece was better.  And just in case you're thinking of trying your hand at it, I will share.

The first thing that struck me was just how tiny this stuff is (and that's from a gal who does micro macrame, people!).  It's about 1/8" wide, give or take, and if that's not bad enough, you actually turn it on its side when you use it, so you're standing it up on the skinny edge.  The skinny edge of 1/8".

From what I've gathered, there are two basic kinds of Soutache - imported and domestic.  Of course, that's all relative to where you're located, so sometimes you'll find imported European domestic Soutache or other confusing bits.  Suffice it to say, some is made in USA, some in Europe.  The American stuff is just a bit smaller than its European cousin.  The European stuff is just a bit beefier (if that even applies to anything in the 1/8" category) and tends to fray a bit more easily.  Quite a bit more easily, in fact.  You might want to get a bit of Fray Check on those ends (or a dab of glue or nail polish - whatever is handy).

I learned to run my cord through my hair straightener (or iron it on a low setting, maybe?  If you own an iron...) before I start so there are no little bitty kinks in it.  Those don't go away and are magnified in your work.  I found working on a backing instead of "freestyle" is much easier for me (there's a tutorial on that here) and I also decided it's much easier to stitch together the Soutache before adding it to the design.

 On my first piece, I added each piece (color) of Soutache separately (I'd go as far as I could with one color, then add another, etc. until I got to a turn - if that makes any sense?).  Anyway, I tried stitching the colors together before actually adding it to the cab and found that much easier.  Do you see how there's a "ditch" in the cord right down the middle?  Line up the "ditches" (that will even out any little differences in size if you're using a mixture of domestic and imported Soutache) and run a quick stitch  through them.

This makes it much easier to handle because you not only have one piece to maneuver around those curves instead of three, but it is also three times as wide - three pieces on edge side by side instead of one - and much more stable.

Let's see - what else?  Oh, you can see in that first piece that the sides don't quite meet at the bottom?  And so one side is slightly shorter than the other?  Where your cords meet (like at the bottom of that piece) stitch the cords together.  That's right - go through all the cords and make a couple of stitches.  Then when you separate them again to go their own merry way around the curves, they'll STAY where you had them together.  Trust me - you'll be glad you did.

If you'd like to see how my second piece turned out, check out the post about it here.

  Now it's your turn!  If you're interested, check out the Sufferin' Soutache Challenge on Artisan Whimsy.  There's an awesome grand prize from Amee at Amee Runs With Scissors.  And she carries a whole bunch of colors (turns out I'm a compulsive Soutache buyer - who knew!):

I had to add a little postscript - I just finished my third piece - a cuff: