DEDAR | Pod004 Soutache

Pod004 is a soutache: a very narrow flat braid, 7 millimetres across, with a channel running down its centre so it can be stitched down invisibly along that line. Acetate gives it a definite sheen, closer to silk than to matt cotton, while the acrylic keeps the braid stable and stops it stretching. Because it is narrow and flexible it will follow a curve without puckering, which is what separates a soutache from a straight braid.

Composition is 66 per cent acetate and 34 per cent acrylic, 0.7 centimetres wide, made in Italy. One colourway, 002 Nero, a true black with a soft shine rather than a hard gloss. On ivory or oatmeal it behaves like an ink line; on charcoal or navy it registers as a change of surface rather than of colour, which is often the more interesting of the two.

We use it to outline: round the border of a cushion a couple of centimetres in from the edge, following the shaped front of a headboard, or tracing the curve of a chair back where a heavier trim would look clumsy. It suits plain velvets and smooth wools, where nothing else is competing with the line. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it against your cloth.

Soutache is couched, stitched down through its central groove, so it is applied by hand and the quantity is set by the drawn line rather than by the seam. Have the design chalked out first, measure that line with a tape laid on its edge, and add 20 per cent, because curves, corners and tucked-under ends take more than you expect. Dedar trims are cut to order and cannot be returned.

• Composition: 66% acetate, 34% acrylic
• Cord diameter: 0.7 cm (7 mm)
• Care: Brush gently; do not wash
• Origin: Made in Italy
• Collection: Dedar
• Colourways: 1 (002 Nero)