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| The
Basics
This section briefly
describes the materials and techniques used in
needlepoint. These topics are better covered in more
detail in many of the excellent needlepoint books
available.
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| Index
What
is Needlepoint?
Getting Started
Stitches
Canvas
Needles
Yarns
Patterns
Kits
Painted Canvases
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| What
is Needlepoint? |
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What is
needlepoint? Simply, needlepoint is the art of covering an
open mesh canvas with stitches using wool or other fibers.
Most commonly, the cross hairs of the mesh are covered using a
diagonal stitch that slants up to the right (or down to the
left).
Why
needlepoint as opposed to cross-stitch? First, the finished
product is very different. Needlepoint is thicker, sturdier
and more textural than cross- stitch. The finished canvas can
be framed or made into a pillow or wall hanging, but also can
be used in a manner similar to upholstery fabric to cover a
chair or stool. Using the proper materials, needlepoint can be
used to make rugs. The second major difference is the coverage
of the background fabric. In needlepoint, the entire canvas is
usually covered in stitches while cross-stitch often
incorporates the color of the background fabric as part of the
design. But, while less of the canvas is covered in a
cross-stitch project, by crossing each stitch you are working
twice as hard and are usually required to do some outlining of
the design.
It has been
my experience that cross-stitchers usually work from patterns
while many needlepointers prefer to work on printed canvases.
Most craft stores carrying needlepoint supplies have a
selection of both painted canvases and kits (containing both
the painted canvas and yarn for the project). |
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| Getting
Started |
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So how do you
get started? The easiest way is to purchase a SMALL kit from
your local craft store. I emphasize SMALL for several reasons:
- See if you like
needlepoint (and find it as relaxing as I do)
- Minimize your costs while
avoiding the effort of getting all the supplies together
- Get the sense of
accomplishment on viewing your finished piece in a
reasonable amount of time.
If can’t
find a kit that you’d care to try, you’ll need a few
supplies to get started:
- A small piece of canvas
(available from a craft store or a friend)
- A tapestry needle
- A small pair of scissors
- Some tapestry yarns in
colors of your choice
- A pattern (optional)
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| Stitches |
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The stitches
described below are tent (or half cross) stitches and are the
most commonly used. Each has been illustrated below – both
front and back. If you’d like to view or try some of the
many others, go to your local bookstore and look for one of
the many excellent books on the subject. Our Books section
offers some suggestions.
Continental
Stitch (orange)
The
Continental Stitch is probably the most widely used and
recommended. It should be used for working in small or
detailed areas of a canvas but can be used for entire
canvases. It does, however, bias the canvas i.e. since each
stitch is slanted in the same direction, the finished canvas
is no longer square but slanted at right angles to the
stitches. It does give good coverage of the canvas and is
usually used by manufacturers to determine the amounts of yarn
included in kits. Working on a frame drastically reduces this
bias.
Basket
Weave Stitch (green)
The name of
this stitch comes from the back of the canvas. It is excellent
for large areas of a single color and should be used whenever
possible because it doesn’t bias the canvas. It is, however,
tricky to use when stitching a complicated design from a
charted pattern.
Quick
Point Stitch (gray)
This stitch
(also called the Half Cross-Stitch) is a simple stitch but
less commonly seen than the others. It doesn’t cover a
canvas well and biases the piece badly. The finished piece
will be very loose, with spaces between stitches and badly out
of shape. It is a good place to start if teaching a child to
stitch and uses only minimal amounts of yarn but should be
avoided in favor of the Continental and Basket Weave.
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| Canvas |
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Types of canvas available are Mono (single
thread), Interlock and Double Thread (Penelope). All are
available in different sizes or counts (holes per inch),
usually in white and often in ecru or yellow. Deluxe Mono is
usually stiffer and certainly easier to use for beginners. It
does, however, require more wool for good coverage than Double
canvas. Interlock is a canvas where some of the threads go
through the cross threads as opposed to over and under them.
Double Thread can be used to add fine detail in a small area
of the design. Example: Graham Rust’s Blue Frog. In general,
use what’s available as you develop your own preferences.
The Count of the canvas is the number of
stitches or threads per inch and determines the size of the
finished piece. A design of 150 stitches by 150 stitches will
be 15" x 15" on 10 count, 12.5" x 12.5" on
12 count, 10.7" x 10.7" on 14 count, 6.8" x
6.8" on 22 count, and so on. If you’re working from a
pattern (not a painted canvas), you can easily change the size
of the piece by changing the count of the canvas.
Always cut your canvas at least 4"
larger than the finished piece. This allows a 2" salvage
around the design. It’s preferable to leave a 3"
salvage and some companies require this for blocking. Before
you start to stitch, use masking tape to bind the edges of the
canvas. This prevents fraying of the canvas as you work. |
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| Needles |
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Tapestry
needles are round ended so as not to split either the yarn or
the canvas. They are available in various sizes at your local
craft store. As a guideline to get you started: use a size 18
for 10 count, size 20 for 14 count and size 22 for 18 count.
You’ll no doubt use your own judgment (and supplies) as you
continue to stitch. |
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| Yarns |
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The yarn or thread you use will be largely
dependent on what’s available in your area. Wool yarns are
easy to work with, durable and available in a wide variety of
colours. There are several common weights of wool yarns used
in needlepoint. Tapestry yarn comes in a fairly uniform
thickness that is perfect for use with 12 or 14 count canvas.
The common brands are Anchor, Appleton and DMC. Persian yarn,
like Paternayan (Paterna in the U.K.), is a 3-stranded yarn,
giving it versatility. I use 1-strand on 18 count, 2-strands
on 14 or 12 count and 3-strands on 10 count. Crewel yarn is a
strong, fine yarn making it an especially good choice for
petit point or for blending colours. Appleton makes a crewel yarn. DMC makes a similar
product called Medici.
Most manufacturers also sell color charts
that are very useful in designing or substituting colors.
If you’re having trouble finding a
particular line of yarn, please contact us here or check our
Suppliers section. |
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| Patterns |
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There are literally thousands of different
patterns available - some available as single patterns, many
available in collections (see our Books section). If you’re
looking for a pattern on a specific subject, please use our
database or post a message on our Message Board. We will, of
course, monitor the Message Board and answer any
questions/requests that we can.
Perhaps, you’re looking for something in
a specific style. We will be reviewing both books and
designers and hopefully you’ll find something that interests
you.
You can always try designing your own. This
is much easier than it sounds. We will, in the near future, be
discussing how to create a simple design of your
own, taking
you step-by step through the designing process – both
freestyle and computer assisted. I myself was rather
intimidated by the idea until I stumbled on a charting program
for counted cross-stitch. There are several of these programs
currently available. We will be reviewing programs as they
become available (and as we have the time). We’ll also try
and provide helpful hints for using these programs and
deciding which program to purchase. |
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| Kits |
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For these of
you who enjoy stitching kits, you can find a brief description
of various kit suppliers and manufacturers with links to
Websites if available. Go to our Charts/Kits section to look
at various kits available and where to buy them. |
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| Painted
Canvases |
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In addition
to those available at your local supplier, we have included a
listing with description of various Websites selling painted
canvases. The variety seems to be endless, so we have included
only a sample of our favorites. Please feel free to post your
own favorite on the Message Board. |
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