Updated October 11, 2019.
There are some sayings you should take to heart when you begin needlepoint:
- If it isn’t fun it isn’t needlepoint.( said by famous teacher Chottie Alderson)
- there are no needlepoint police.
All of those things you “think” you know about needlepoint just aren’t true.
Needlepoint isn’t “paint by numbers;” it’s an exciting and creative medium.
Needlepoint isn’t just for your Grandmother or Mother, even if they stitch; there’s lot of exciting art to be made with needlepoint, no matter how old you are.
Not every piece needs to be an heirloom. Sometimes a needlepoint is something fun, something to cheer you up, something to bring a smile to a special person’s face.
Needlepoint is not always expensive. Yes, you should buy the best materials you can afford. Yes, some needlepoint can be very expensive. But you can make beautiful pieces with cotton floss or leftover knitting yarn, or threads you got from a thrift shop (I’ve done all of these).
Needlepoint doesn’t have to be done one particular way. Anyone who tells you that you MUST (fill in the blank) is wrong. Maybe you should do that, but most often it’s you can. Probably my least favorite are the people who say you must always do Basketweave, Basketweave is not always appropriate. Sometimes Basketweave won’t work at all. I’m doing a piece right now, a Navajo rug that can only be done in Continental.
You don’t have to go up in a clean hole and down in a dirty hole all the time. In fact ,sometimes this creates thinner coverage on the back and poorly constructed stitches.
Everything on this list is something the self-appointed people who “know better” will tell you, They are not the police. Do it your way. And have fun enjoying this gentle creative art that will feed your soul for life.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Catherine says
Completely agree with what you have said! Would like to add the following: Needlepoint does not have to be done on a painted canvas. Almost any charted pattern can become a needlepoint project. If cross-stitchers can count, so can needlepointers!
Kairen says
good advice there. And I must say loving the new blog look.
Barbara Brengel says
As a needlepointer newbie, I cannot thank you enough for your sage advice. I am already suffering from “basketweave guilt” or should I say “non-basketweave guilt,” for while I am doing Continental and loving it, I am readng and/or hearing, “You really should be doing everything in basketweave stitch, except for the tiny spaces. Meanwhile the roving artist in me wants to leap out of form and learn as many different stitch strokes as possible. So, thank you, again for the encouragement and enthusiasm to “Carry On and Stitch Happy.”
Janet M Perry says
I needlepointed for more than 10 years before I even learned Basketweave and, to be quote honest, I still like Continental better because it’s much easier to control color flow with it.
Keep Stitching,
Janet