Needlepoint has been around a long time, but it’s totally going through a bit of a resurgence right now. After seeing one too many super cute designs on Instagram and watching my friend create a one of a kind belt for her husband, I decided to give it a try. Or, you know, jump on the bandwagon
(PS If you haven’t read the House Beautiful article about “grandmillennials,” you should!)
My mom has always been super handy with a needle and thread and she inspired a lot of my creative pursuits growing up. While I’ve taken sewing classes (and even went to a weird sewing camp one year, ha), embroidered, and cross-stitched, I had never tried my hand at needlepoint.
Let me just say, now that I’ve been at it for about a month, I’m so glad I picked up this hobby. I LOVE IT.
It’s surprisingly easy. It definitely looks a lot more complicated than it is. There are plenty of ways to make it more complicated (trying new stitches, painting your own canvas, finishing your own pieces), but just doing a straightforward pre-painted canvas with the basic stitch is essentially paint-by-numbers.
I’m writing this post as a significant beginner. So keep that in mind. I’m sharing what I’ve learned so far and compiled it one space. I was fortunate enough to get a ton of great advice from fellow stitchers on Instagram (thank you!), so I thought I’d pass along what I learned!!
The Basics
As with anything I do, I always start with Youtube. I thought this video by Needlepoint.com was the best one to start with. The directions are clear and the visuals are easy to follow. If you go down the rabbit hole of Youtube though, you’ll find that there are not that many videos and the ones that exist are filmed fairly poorly (at best).
After you get the idea of it, I actually found that Pinterest was a great place to find “stitch guides.” At first, they look super complicated but don’t be deterred. They are a little bit old school, but absolutely the best way to pick up new stitches. A stitch guide will show you the direction in which the thread goes and also the order of it with numbers and colored lines. For example, this website demonstrates three basic stitches. (Which, by the way, is more than enough to get your first canvas done!)
I keep the stitch guides up on my computer or phone while I’m getting the hang of something new, but after a few minutes, the stitch becomes second nature.
The Supplies
CANVAS:
Honestly, this is the most fun part and totally why I got into the whole thing to begin with. Canvases can be hand-painted or printed. Hand-painted canvases are quite expensive since (obviously they’re hand-painted), but every “cross” section will have one color where a printed one might end up with two colors and you’ll have to choose design-wise which to go with.
I’m going to round up the places I’ve found great canvases later in the post!
THREAD:
For my first couple of canvases, I paid to have threads included. It takes the guesswork out of it, although it also removes some of the creativity. Now that I am off the ground a little more, I’m going to be venturing to needlepoint stores to pick out my own thread so I have a little bit more control over color choices.
I don’t have enough experience to comment one way or another on thread brands/types, so I’d recommend finding a needlepoint store near you to a) touch and feel for yourself and b) pick their brain for advice!
NEEDLE:
STORAGE BAG:
SCISSORS:
STRETCHER BARS:
