needlework techniques Archive

If you are like most stitchers compensation is an issue, I know that often it is for me. That’s why Joni Stevenson’s series on compensation is so great. She’s taken a shape (black line on the drawing) and shows us, step by step how to compensate it when you are stitching with a diagonal stitch. I love that she shows us how to place each row and that she shows what teachers say but often brush over, “Make the whole stitches then fill in.” She’s also honest and offers good advice on what to do with problem areas. It’s the best tutorial I’ve ever seen on compensation. Read the whole thing here. Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013Some Rights ReservedOriginal content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:Non-commercial, Attribution, no Derivative workLicense Summary:You may copy this content, and re-publish it in unmodified form for non-commercial purposes, provided you include an overt attribution to the

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Using Plastic Canvas, felt & a scrap of fabric, you can make the delightful project from my friend Diane over at CraftyPod. It’s a needlebook with a pin cushion on the front cover. It’s so adorable I wish I sewed. Check out the tutorial. Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013Some Rights ReservedOriginal content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:Non-commercial, Attribution, no Derivative workLicense Summary:You may copy this content, and re-publish it in unmodified form for non-commercial purposes, provided you include an overt attribution to the author(s). You are not permitted to create derivative works.License URL:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd

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Originally posted 2011-04-22 07:39:26. Republished by Blog Post PromoterNeedle Nook of La Jolla is creating a video library for needlepoint and the first entry is fantastic. David McCaskill shows how to use a laying tool. If you’ve never had a chance to see David in person watch this to get a look at his delightful personality. I learned to use a laying from David many years ago when he lived in northern California, so I highly recommend this

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Originally posted 2011-03-18 07:48:36. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThis week we’ll list the open stitches and techniques from the Stitches for Effect books. Each is listed by its name. After the name you’ll find the volume and page number. This concludes the series of indexes for these popular books. Open Stitches are those stitches designed to leave some canvas exposed. Techniques are those stitches or stitch patterns that are for a particular technique such as Bargello, Pattern Darning or Laidwork. I – Stitches for Effect II – More Stitches for Effect III – Even More Stitches for Effect Remember all these stitches are also in their “Just the Facts, Ma’am” book, Stitches to Go. Open Stitches Alicia’s Lace Variation I-22 Sprats Head I-49 Sprats Head Heart I-49 Buttonhole II-35 Open Cretan II-53 T Stitch II-61 Tied Cross with Small St. George’s Fill II-62 Techniques Bargello Line 1 I-23 Bargello Line

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You might think that needlepoint belts are the ultimate preppy accessory, but they can be so much more. Before we get into looking at how to make a needlepoint belt, let’s think about ways you can use them: turn them into a purse, camera or guitar strap cut them up and use them to make a purse or sandals let them decorate the top of a purse finish them to be trim on a basket make them the edge of a tray There’s lots of things you can do with these long skinny canvases. Needlepoint belts are usually about 1.25 inches wide or 21 threads on 18-mesh canvas. That’s the finished length. When stitching you need to add a row of binding stitch, or overlapping cross, on each side. Don’t be tempted to just make Tent Stitch. The overlapping layers of biding stitch help because the edges get the most

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Originally posted 2010-11-20 07:27:42. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe Needle Bug, a great shop in Montgomery, Alabama, posted great instructions on how to use Thread Heaven on their blog earlier this week. If you’re like me and using this little product is baffling check it out. There is also a link on the page to buy it

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Needlepoint classes often fall into broad categories: they either teach you many different stitches or they concentrate on one technique. There’s nothing wrong with this. In a stitch class, you’ll get so many new ideas to spiff up your needlepoint projects. In a technique class you’ll get a chance to learn, and practice one thing in depth. That’s what makes this class so different. You’ll get a taste of many different techniques. Techniques you can put to use right away in your other projects. You could think of it as a sampler, but instead of samples of each technique, you’ll do them within the context of an actual needlepoint piece, this dramatic amaryllis by Piet Mondrian. As you can see from this details you’ll learn: how to use textured stitches in needlepoint using outlining techniques for definition padding to create dimension pattern darning and shadow stitching The class is free

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Originally posted 2009-10-23 07:16:20. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThanks to ANG and Judy Souliotis for providing an article from the archives of their magazine. The article goes through how to do gold leafing on needlepoint canvas. I’ve used metallic markers and stencils to color canvas in the past, and there are plenty of metallic paints out there in all kinds of colors. But nothing can match the richness and real metal look of gold leaf. The major obstacle Judy encountered was finding an adhesive that would work, but that wouldn’t discolor the canvas. You can read the details of what she did in the article. I can’t wait to try it

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Originally posted 2011-04-14 06:49:32. Republished by Blog Post PromoterA guest post by Brenda Stimpson of www.Needlepoint-For-Fun.com – your needlepoint home on the web. Thanks to Brenda for letting me post this article from her recent newsletter. In our house, ‘couching’ has two definitions. The first is what I like to do with a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon (or a glass of wine, depending on how far past noon it is). The second definition, and probably the one you are all tuning in for, is the term used for laying down and securing a thread on canvas. I have always called couching – well, couching (hence definition 1 above)! But, apparently, the correct pronunciation is KOO-ching (like KA-ching but without the benefit of pennies falling from the sky). However, now that I have dutifully informed you of this I want you to know that I will be continuing

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The second book in the Art & Needlepoint series is now available on Amazon. The title says “beginner” but any stitcher will delight in these wonderful ideas for stitching anything you find in a landscape: fields, trees, hills, water, skies, and more. Not too toot my own horn, but this is the book on stitching landscapes I’d want to have by my side. Every single stitch or technique is easy to do. Every single technique is something that you’ll be so glad you learned. I like the ideas here so much that I realized that I have four landscapes sitting in my queue needing immediate attention, four more slightly further out, and who knows how many more in my stash. Every single one of them will be using the ideas in this book. In addition two of the canvases from the book will be subjects of cyberclasses with Art Needlepoint

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Originally posted 2010-08-28 07:17:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter One thing you can often say about Victorian art is that it tends to be elaborate. Star took her charming Berlinwork motifs and added to them this glorious folded ribbon border. Now you can make up the motifs into a very simple cushion by outlining each block with a line or two to Tent Stitch in a contrasting color, but if you really want a showpiece, go for this ribbon. You can see that she has isolated each motif with an are of the background color and that the border in in one of the accent colors in the design. You can find links to all the smaller motifs in these posts: Part 1 Part 2 Part

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Something small and flat to stitch onto needlepoint – that’s what I need. You’d think this would be easy, but it can be confusing because there are different types as well as two different terms used for them. “Paillette” is usually a dressmaker’s term referring to small, flat, round disks with a hole in the middle sewn onto garments. In fact dictionary.com calls them sequins. In needlework Kreinik uses this term to refer to their real metal disks made from real silver or gold. Recently they had an outstanding blog post about using them. Much of the advice also works for sequins. In the picture you can see them on an piece. Outside of needlepoint a sequin usually is cupped, like the picture above, instead of flat. These can be sewn on, but if you group them, they will not be as flat. In needlepoint you will also find flat

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Compensation, or the process of fitting partial stitches into edges and corners of your needlepoint, is often confusing. That’s true even of experienced stitchers. Compensation can range from easy to difficult depending on the stitch (oblique is harder than diagonal) and the shape of the area (curves are harder than straight lines). But, unless we plan on having exposed canvas, we’ll need to compensate on every canvas. Joni Stevenson has written a blog post about compensating diagonal stitches along a straight edge. It’s wonderfully detailed and has tons of her large clear diagrams that show you exactly what you need to know to compensate these common stitches. If compensation confuses you, this in-depth tutorial is ideal

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Are you looking to save money on your embellishments? Look no further than your local bead store or, my favorite, Fire Mountain Gems on-line. Using jewelry and bead supplies in needlepoint is a great way to add interest easily. The disadvantage of buying this way is that often you get more than you need. You can solve this by sharing the items with your friends. The advantage is that you will save lots of money. I’ve stayed loyal to Fire Mountain for years because they offer Mix & Match Discounts so you get bulk pricing by buying many things, not just many of one thing. A recent catalog from them got my creative juices flowing so I want to share some items you might consider for embellishments. Remember that when looking a bead catalogs, most of the time pictures are actual size and sizes are in millimeters. Frosted Acrylic Flowers

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I don’t know about you but often I’m frustrated when learning a stitch. Yes I can try it on a canvas but often the spaces are too small or too irregular for me to have a great feel for the stitch. Ideally I’d like something big but not too big, straight-sided, easy to finish, and useful. You probably feel the same way. As part of the Plastic Canvas Blog Hop, Pam at Gingerbread Snowflakes signed up for a project. Although this was the first time she had used PC, her project is a real winner — stitch sample coasters. She used yarn and 7-count plastic canvas and made six lovely coasters. But you could use smaller count canvas and your stash threads.If I was using 14-count I’d make my coasters 3″ square. In her blog post, she shows you step-by-step how to make these. I just love this idea!

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