Needlepoint belt by Patti Mann

Their solution is to buy an already-made belt. In the article they show off some charming belts and point you to several companies that make them. But I’d like to suggest something else. Why not stitch a belt for yourself or finish that breakup belt into something else — after all it’s your relationship too.

Navajo belt from Julia's Needleworks

You can also design your own belt, get a tartan charted for a belt, or use letters to make a monogram.

I also found a great site, Needlepoint Belts, that directs you to many sources for belts. Tomorrow look for an article about finishing a belt and other ways to use a belt canvas.

Related posts:

1. What Can I Do with a Belt Canvas?
2. TNNA Round-Up, Part 4
3. What Can I Do with a Plaid?
4. Book Review — The Needlepoint Belt Series
5. New in Needlepoint – June 2010

The coral above, Caribbean Spice, is just one of nine designs in the line.

I’m excited to let you know that there is a site devoted to the line. At Pischke Pockets you can learn more about the idea, find news and information and order the kits. There is even a page with instructions and a video on how to finish the bag once you’ve stitched the needlepoint.

This has just whetted my appetite to know more about them.

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1. Jane Zimmerman — Great Teacher, Great Site
2. Medieval Silkwork – Great Site, Lovely Pattern
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4. Needlepoint Stitch Guides Site Now Open!
5. Featured Designer on Caron Collection Site

It’s almost mid-December and, no matter what I do, panic sets in about Christmas gifts.

You’re probably like me and so I want to share with you some of my ideas for making quick needlepoint for gifts.

A small needlepoint box or picture frame is fun to do. One of my favorite sources for these are Raymond Crawford’ magnets. They are small (2″ square) and come in dozens of designs, so they work for anyone. I’ve made them as box tops for Romancing the Past’s boxes. You can also buy small frames for pictures and use them. Often you can’t find 2″ frames, only 2.5″. In that case add a border of Diagonal Gobelin around it to make the needlepoint fit.

Another fun idea is to make a needlepoint bookmark. You can buy charming blank or painted bookmarks already inset into Ultrasuede. The top is not sewn so you can get to the needlepoint. Then sew the edges to get a lovely finished piece.

Sometimes I have made glass paperweights as Christmas gifts. Yarn Tree makes a nice variety. You don’t need to stitch something fancy, even a geometric pattern or a Bargello design will look great.

The accessories from Lee’s Needle Arts and Needlepoint of Back Bay make lovely gifts (though more expensive). Why not stitch something for one fo their small items. I’ve given needlework coin purses often as gifts and now my thoughts have been going towards Needlepoint of Back Bay’s stunning Silk Dupionni jewel boxes. Sine these products have sticjy adhesive with them, you can finish them yourself.

Don’t overlook your local stores. With scrapbooking popular, you can often find albums which have openings in the front for photos. Often these can be used to hold needlepoint. But not every album works, you need to have certain characteristics. Look for an album which:

• has an accessible hole (i.e. not covered in paper)
• is thick enough to hold needlepoint
• has a back like a frame or one which could be covered with decorative paper once the needlepoint is inserted

If you can’t find an album which works, you could always scan your needlepoint, make a high res print and insert that.

In my house, Christmas ornaments are the big thing. Two of my favorite ornament finished work great for last-mimute gifts. I like to use the largest size of Dritz button forms (2.5″ or size 100) to make round ornaments. I usually use Congress Cloth, make the design, cover the button form with sparkly fabric and then put the needlepoint over it.

Another great finish was used for the Four-Way Bargello ornament. This works with any diamond-shaped needlepoint.

1. Make a square around the diamond and cut it out about five canvas threads beyond it.
2. Fold that margin and then fold the corners of the square to the back so that they meet in the center.
3. Insert your hanger at one of the points.
4. Sew the edges of the canvas together on the back.
5. Glue on a pretty piece of Ultrasude to cover the unstitched canvas.

So happy stitching!

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1. Getting Ready to Give Needlepoint Gifts
2. New and Updated at All about Needlepoint
3. AMH Keychain – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts & Projects
4. Give the Gift of Stitching – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts
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You’re good, and every piece you stitch immediately gets finished into something.

Yeah. Right.

And I bet you never thought that one piece which languishes this way could never become the start of a gift so lovely, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this before.

Just about any needlepoint which is blocked so it’s square can quickly be made into an adorable tote bag with nothing more than a glue gun.

So now instead of stitching and finishing something, you can buy a ready-made tote bag at a local shop, invest in a glue gun (if you don’t have one) and make a gift.

Here’s what you need:
stitched and blocked square or rectangular needlepoint with 1″ canvas margins
low-temp glue gun
extra glue sticks
ready-made tote bag in fabric, straw or plastic
pencil or pen

Trim your needlepoint to a 1/2″ margin, Clip the corners along the diagonal so the bulk is reduced.

Plug in the glue gun. Usually these have short cords, so your work table will need to be close to an outlet.

Fold he margins so that they are turned to the back. Using the glue gun, work with on side of the needlepoint at a time and glue the margin to the back of the canvas. Hold it down briefly to make it stay.

Once this is finished, glue the needlepoint to one side of the bag. Test where you want the needlepoint to be and put marks with the pen or pencil, just inside the area to be placement guides.

Using the hot glue glue a side of the needlepoint and put it into place. Once the needlepoint is on the bag, you will need to shoot the glue between the bag and the needlepoint. I find this works best if I lay the bag flat on the table.

You may need to touch up the glue in spots to get a good seal.

Those of you who worry about heirloom quality are probably cringing right now, but shouldn’t needlepoint be fun sometimes, and shouldn’t we be able to use it without worrying about spoiling it?

The bag above is the first one I made using a pattern from Bargello Revisited and a plastic tote. I made another one this spring using another Bargello piece by Pat Mazu and a straw tote from Wal-mart.

BTW I was art my local Wal-mart yersterday and found in the small craft department packages of canvas bags, just for embellishing. There were two per package and some were natural canvas color and some were black. They were, I think, $5. With this, your needlepoint, some ribbon, and that trusty glue gun, you have it made.

And I’m planning on making lots more to use up that stash of projects in my closet.

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1. Stirling Tool Tote – 12 Days of Christmas Gifts
2. When the Canvas Isn’t Finished – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts
3. Princely Collection Bookmark – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts
4. AMH Keychain – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts & Projects
5. Stitch, Slip & Go – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts

Not that this hasn’t happened many times before to me, but last year I actually had a good idea for what to do about it.

Yes, I’ve wrapped up and given the unfinished canvas, but somehow that never seems special enough. And I feel guilty exposing my work in progress to others.

Last year, very close to Christmas I found this delightful Botswana angel from Painted Pony. My DH and I love the Number One Ladies Detective Agency books and he has wanted to visit Botswana for decades. So I thought this would be perfect for him and ordered it right away.

But what to do, it couldn’t get her by Christmas, it couldn’t be stitched, but I wanted to announce it.

I went to the store and bought a Christmas card with a blank inside. I pasted a picture of the canvas, taken from the Web on the inside front and wrote that I’d be making this for him in the New Year.

He was so delighted he posted it on the wall above his desk.

A nice way to turn an unfortunate necessity into a virtue.

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It’s Christmas Eve. If you’re lucky you have your shopping done. If you’re unlucky you still have some people who need gifts.

Why not give them something special?

Give them the gift of your time and the gift of a craft which is relaxing, creative, and always fascinating — give them the gift of needlepoint!

I have a friend who took up needlepoint over the summer, but you could do the same thing as a gift.

Put together in a box or project bag a card announcing the gift of a first project and needlepoint lessons, a package of needles, a threader, and some scissors.

Then after Christmas, and from your stash, you pick out a canvas, threads, and stretcher bars. If more threads need to be bought, buy them together.

Use this piece to teach her needlepoint.

My friend is going great guns on her first piece (a companion dog to my Jack Russell) and, while it isn’t replacing knitting for her) she is really enjoying it.

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2. Give the Gift of Needlepoint
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Make a quick gift with these pendants, designed by Crafty Pod

You use scraps of embroidery floss and 10 mesh plastic canvas. The shape can be rectangular, square, or diamond-shaped. The pattern can be any geometric you like.

Once complete embellish it with buttons or other items, add a jump ring and string it onto a necklace. And your done!

Sister Diane of CraftyPod developed this design and shares it with us in this tutorial, including detailed finishing instructions

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Diane, who blogs and podcasts at CraftyPodposted a wonderful entry about plastic canvas yesterday.

Like me, she sees great possibilities in this medium. Yesterday’s post has a wonderful picture of a box she made from 14 count PC and pearl cotton. On Craft Stylish, she has a complete tutorial on how to make it.

I think you’ll agree this is great needlepoint.

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I love the wonderful geometric style of so many of them.

They are hand-painted on 18 mesh canvas, and come in a kit which includes thread. The price is reasonable and the shipping is even better ($1.00 for two bookmarks).

You can give them as a gift to someone who is learning needlepoint or make it and give the finished bookmark as a gift. The site also has instructions for stitching and finishing them on it.

1. Princely Collection Bookmark – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts
2. Give the Gift of Stitching – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts
3. AMH Keychain – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts & Projects
4. Stitch, Slip & Go – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts
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First off, and pictured above is this lovely laser-cut alder wood heart pictured here, available on Etsy. One thing I love about this is that the wood is so lovely, it becomes the background to the needlepoint. I learned about it from Denise over at Craft Gossip.

If you are looking for larger items to embellish with needlepoint, why not consider the needlepoint lampshade when it becomes more widely available this spring. As I write this I’m thinking about where I can use it.

If you haven’t stitched on something other than cloth before, you might be hesitant to do so on something as nice as these items. All of them feature a punched grid on something that doesn’t “give” the way canvas does. In this they are similar to perforated paper. This material has been around as a ground for needlework since Victorian times and is available both as sheets and in charming pre-finished items, such as those from Tokens & Trifles. On their site you can also get detailed instructions on how to stitch on perforated paper. Just do needlepoint stitches instead of cross stitches.

Mill Hill makes perforated paper in many solid colors and metallics as well as in some lovely variegated colors that would make the needlepoint really stand out. They also make many small kits using perforated paper as the base, often featuring beads as well.

Now don’t just sit there, and don’t just sit there and needlepoint, sit there and needlepoint something both beautiful and useful!

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