Decorate your dwelling with needlepoint projects and pick up a new favourite hobby .

Marty Baldwin

To take the time to craft something for your home , whether it bewall decor , a throw pillow , oran ornamentfor your Christmas tree , have patience and pride . con how to needlepoint and you’re able to do just that . All you need is a canvas , ribbon , and a acerate leaf to get lead off .

needlepoint pillows with an elephant, beetles, and a cow

Credit:Marty Baldwin

Head to your local craft store or , well yet , a fund dedicated to all thing needlepoint to accumulate your supplying . you may either make a tailor-make canvass or buy a kit with one quick - to - go . situation and stores often have patterns that can be used for everything fromdecorative pillowsto baggage tags to monocle cases .

Once you have your supplies , it ’s time to settle in and get to piece of work ! Do n’t stress if it takes a while to get the hang of sewing — this craft is meant to be contemplative and will get easier with more experience .

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

Choose and Prepare the Canvas

Needlepoint canvases are stiff and consist of small straight grid . They are unremarkably assess by their interlocking enumeration ( the number of mess per inch ) . The most common mesh counts are 13 and 18 . Smaller mesh counts can be easier for initiate .

There are two way to get a needlepoint canvas with your desired radiation diagram — paint your own design on a blank canvas or purchase a ready - to - go one from a craft or needlepoint store . Printed canvases are often more low-priced than painted one .

If you are take a shit your own , sketch your design on the canvas in pencil and paint over it with acrylic pigment . Whether you make or buy your canvas , you ’ll get a secure result if you use stretcher bars or an embellishment hoop to keep your project taut and forbid any warping while stitching .

Thread the Needle

Cut a strand of thread no longer than 24 inch long using embroidery scissors . Pinch the end of the thread and slide it through the end of the needle ( use a sizing 22 needle on a 13 - connection canvas and a size 24 on an 18 - mesh canvas ) . If you are having a intemperate time threading your phonograph needle , try using a needle threader to make it easier .

Make a Waste Knot

A barren knot refer to a knot used to anchor the thread in your canvas while stitching . To make a waste burl , all you have to do is tie a knot ( or multiple naut mi to make it boneheaded enough to not slide through the pickle in the sail ) at the close of the thread opposite of the acerate leaf . You now have one end of screw thread through the needle and the other in a gnarl .

Begin Stitching

begin at the upper - right side of the canvas . Run your phonograph needle through the front of the canvass , about one column inch from where you will commence stitching your intent . Your waste mile should secure the thread in place .

draw your needle up through a cakehole from the back of the canvas and back down through the diametric trap diagonally . When you are work left to right hand , you will go from the bottom odd - hand corner to the upper right - handwriting corner of each overlap in the canvas .

When you work from right to left , you will go from the upper correct - bridge player corner to the bottom left - script street corner . This stitch is yell the collapsible shelter stitch , which is most common for tiro . If you have a pattern , it may give you different directions for a more specific type of stitch ( continental , basketweave , half - transverse , etc ) .

Continue this aslope pattern in a line or block with the color of thread that corresponds with the colouring material on your canvass .

Switch Colors (Optional)

When you require to trade colour , secure your current thread by weave it through the back of existing stitch . Begin your Modern colour in a nearby hole with a new waste product international nautical mile . End waste knots by cut off the knot and securing it the same way as if you switch thread colour .

Turn Your Canvas Into a Product

To turn your beautiful , newly - end up canvas into wall art , throw pillow , keychains , decoration , stockings , or other decor , you ’ll need to finish your product . You have two options for this — post it off to a professional or do it yourself .

If you choose to do it yourself , you may need some more supplies depending on the goal of your finished canvas . If you ’re run short to draw up it , weigh using foam board , matting , and tholepin to guarantee it before put . If you ’re going for something more complex , like an ornament or pillow , there are countless blogs and video to give more elaborate instructions on how to finish your labor .