Pouncing is a technique whereby the outline of a pattern is pricked on paper or card. This is done with a pin. Afterwards the pricked page is attached to a ground material and then rubbing soot or ground charcoal (on a light ground cloth) or chalk (on a dark ground cloth) is spread over the pinned paper and forced through the pin holes so that when the page is removed, a series of dots are left in place, facilitating the embroidering.