Here’s my final batch of needlepoint “Do you Knows”?
~ Start your background stitching at the top and work down to the bottom, your hands will move over the work less that way.
~ Scroll frame or stretchers, fix the canvas to the frame on all four sides for best tension.
~ Having your canvas stretched makes it easier to count threads.
~ Using a slightly looser tension with wool or wool/silk helps them to fluff out and cover the canvas better.
~ On the reverse of your stitching, the thread should travel AWAY from the hole, this makes the stitches sharper and the holes cleaner.
~ If something in class doesn’t make sense to you, ask about it & get a demonstration, even if you can’t express the problem clearly.
~ Don’t stitch or talk while the teacher is teaching or demonstrating. You are taking the class to learn after all.
~ In class if you are unhappy with your work (or a stitch) let the teacher know.
~ The longer the stitch, the more light reflection you get, so the lighter the color.
~ There needs to be a contrast in color and value between the focal point and the background. Otherwise the focal point disappears.
~ If the overall tone of your piece is pastel, choose a harmonius but deeper shade for your background.
~ If you are using Gobelin Stitch and the canvas shows through, use a single strand and do backstitch between the rows.
~ Typically, the sides of box pillows are 1.5 to 2 inches thick.
~ When you do Turkeywork, fill an entire space with loops before you cut anything.
~ Do Turkeywork, or any looped stitch over something like a collar stay to make all the loops even (and easier to cut.
~ Rice Stitch can be substituted for cross stitch in many pieces to make the needlepoint wear better.
~ Dark colored backgrounds make the other colors stand out.
~ Pure black is hard to use as a background since it can make the needlepoint look harsh. Think about using a very dark grey or brown or blue instead.
~ Use nature as the inspiration for color schemes.
~ Remember the colors painted on canvas are not necessarily the exact colors of the thread to use. Sometimes designers change these colors to make them easier to see and stitch. Pull the colors and look at them together before you start to stitch.
~ Overdyes and hand-dyed threads can vary considerably, so much so that different dye lots may look like completely different colors. If you are doing a project which calls for these kind of threads, pull them first. Then pick out the other threads. If they don’t match well, use the original threads as the basis to choose new harmonius thread colors.
~ Put most of your canvases in pendaflex – file folders, categorize them & keep them in a file-box.
~ Save time when working Bargello; use several needles, one threaded with each color. Park them in the margins between rows.
If you liked these tips and want more, why not get a copy of my book, Needlepoint Trade Secrets? It’s packed full of tips about needlepoint from start to finish. You can buy it at your local needlework store, from Amazon.com (here) or from Nordic Needle.
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