Maybe by now you’ve s�tched a few needlepoint canvases using Basketweave or Con�nental s�tch and

you’re ready to step it up a notch and try some decora�ve s�tches for your next needlepoint project.

How do you go about choosing what s�tches to use and where to use them? Here’s what we do...

1. Get Your Creep On.

The very first thing we do when planning out a canvas is we stare at it for a really long �me. Sounds creepy,

we know, but it works. Have your canvas sit beside you while you eat breakfast and just look it over, peer at

the individual elements in it and think about how you want the overall canvas to look. Pick it up again while

you wait for the news to come on at night (yes, we know we’ve aged ourselves right there), or, before you go

to sleep so your subconscious can ruminate on it overnight, or while you’re having that post-long-day-at-work

-my-boss-is-so-annoying glass of wine. Whenever it may be, take two or three occasions to just look at the

canvas and think about the following:

About how many different s�tches will this canvas ‘take’ before it starts to look overdone?

What effect am I going for – Art house? Tradi�onal? Realis�c? Abstract? Contemporary? Minimalist?

What am I going to do with the canvas once I’ve s�tched it? Frame it? Make a pillow? S�tch it to something

else?

Is the canvas itself beau�ful and should I leave some of it showing?

Once you’ve spent a bit of �me perusing the canvas and ge-ng a feel for it, without making too many

decisions, it’s �me to analyze some of your answers and do some more detailed planning. It’s �me to…

2. Sketch It Out

The way we do this is to take a photograph of the actual canvas and print it out so you can write notes on the

paper. You could also sketch an outline of the elements in the canvas onto a piece of paper.

How to Plan the S�tches

on Your Needlepoint Canvas

Here’s a picture of a small ikat needlepoint design we planned to s�tch…

The first thing we did was print out a photograph of the design onto a piece of paper so we could plan out

our s�tches by wri�ng notes on the paper. This included the colors we were using and arrows going to places

on the canvas with suggested s�tch ideas. It’s messy, but here’s what it looked like...

First, we decided on an overall Look & Feel. This was a small canvas so it wasn’t going to easily make up into

a pillow. We decided we were going to frame it, so we wanted it to look like original art—our Look and Feel

was going to be contemporary and minimalist.

We also wrote down how many colors we had to “play” with. As a rule of thumb you don’t want to use any

more s�tches than half the number of colors you have.

Say, what? If your canvas has four colors on it, two decora�ve s�tches are probably enough to use without

overwhelming the eye. The smaller the canvas, the fewer unique s�tches you should use – a large canvas

can take more without looking overdone and confusing to the eye. We had five colors to play with so

decided we would look for ways to incorporate two decora�ve s�tches. And, since we knew we wanted a

contemporary look, the decora�ve s�tches we chose were simple and suitable for small areas—an Upright

Cross S�tch and a Sa�n S�tch.

There was some lovely shading on this canvas, so we thought it might be fun to experiment with leaving

some small canvas areas open (uns�tched) – this way the completed design would look more textured and

contemporary.

S�tching the en�re canvas is the tradi�onal thing to do in needlepoint and it always looks good. Leaving

some areas open, or par�ally s�tched, is an increasingly popular technique, especially if your canvas is hand-

painted with nice shaded areas. Also, we knew we could fill in the open areas at the end if we didn’t like

them.

So, now that we had our plan sketched out the next step was to get started. Since we weren’t sure if our

plan would work (we never are) we decided to complete one corner of the canvas using all the s�tches and

colors so we could see if we wanted to con�nue or if the plan needed adjus�ng.

Here’s what the canvas looked like with one area s�tched...

At this point we could have made adjustments, or ripped out and started again, without it being too painful.

Those were the steps we took to plan the Ikat Mini canvas (which you can find on our website, or you can

email and ask us about it at info@needlepoint-for-fun.com), and the same strategy can be applied to

planning any needlepoint canvas. Here are a few other useful �ps…

A good needlepoint book, with examples of the various decora�ve s�tches, is

invaluable. How to Needlepoint by The Na�onal Needlearts Associa�on is the best

starter booklet we know of, and we would love to give you one for free when you

place your first order with us within 30 days of downloading this pdf. In order to

receive this free book just email us at info@needlepoint-for-fun.com once you’ve

placed your order—you can write Free Book Please in the subject line and we’ll

match up your email address with your

order!

A book with more advanced s�tches and needlework ideas is Jo Ippolito’s The

Needlepoint Book which is a staple in any needlepoint library. It can be found on our

site under Accessories-Books.

We’re going to finish up with a list of…

General Tips and Techniques for Planning Your Needlepoint Canvas:

1. Don’t Forget Surface Embroidery

This is a technique that is o?en overlooked in needlepoint. Surface embroidery can be used for s�tching

curved lines and areas of fine detail on your canvas (le@ering, faces etc.). Surface embroidery might include

using a back s�tch in a finer thread, or applying French knots to your design at the end, or even couching

threads on the top. It’s a wonderful way to apply detail, texture and add interest to your design, and infor-

ma�on about surface embroidery and needlepoint couching can be found on www.needlepoint-for-fun.com

by entering these terms into the Search box at the top of the Home Page.

2. S�tch the furthest away objects first.

If your design has elements that sit one in front of the other – this might

be trees, people in a crowd, a collec�on of objects - s�tch the furthest

away objects first. The last s�tches placed will then sit on top, and will

bring that object further forward in the picture where it belongs.

For example, s�tch the willow tree in this JP Needlepoint design last.

3. Big s�tches need big spaces.

When choosing needlepoint s�tches think about how big the

area is you have to s�tch. If you want to use a s�tch that needs

some space to establish the pa@ern (e.g. Leaf or Nobuku), then

you will need a larger s�tching area to apply it to. Small spaces

on your canvas might be best s�tched in a Tent, Scotch or Cross

S�tch. This Swirl S�tch needs some room and isn’t effec�ve in

a small space.

4. Diagonal Versus Straight S�tches.

It can get tricky when diagonal s�tches bu@ up against straight s�tches. This is not to say they shouldn't, just

be mindful of the design elements you are portraying with your s�tching, and how your planned s�tches will

look when they line up together. Lining diagonal up against straight will not be a smooth transi�on and will

show separa�on of elements, which is great if it's what you're going for. When you bring a diagonal s�tch up

against a straight s�tch, s�tch the straight s�tch last (the straight s�tches on the edge will share holes with

the diagonal s�tches).

5. Make things that move look like they are moving.

If there are elements in your design that move in real life – water, trees, hair – try to select s�tches that have

‘movement’ in them. For example, Encroaching Oblique and Oblique Slav, Water S�tch—these all give an

impression of something being moved along in a wave-like mo�on.

S�tches that are uni-direc�onal give an impression of flow or movement, whereas cross s�tches tend to

block movement. The variety of knots you can make (French knot, Colonial knot, bullion knot), can give

movement and texture to hair or fur.

6. Use S�tches With Good Coverage For Pillows & Furniture

You don’t want highly decora�ve or loose s�tches on items that are going to get a lot of use. S�tches that

cross mul�ple thread intersec�ons are looser and not as stable as s�tches that don’t—so s�ck with them if

your s�tched canvas is going to be made into a pillow or a chair cover etc.

7. Don’t Mess With The Face

There is very rarely a reason to s�tch faces in anything other than a Tent s�tch. We think the same thing ap-

plies to skin in general. It always looks be@er s�tched simply with a@en�on paid to subtle color changes

rather than decora�ve s�tches.

Here’s our Ikat Mini canvas s�tched and framed. We have informa�on on our website for how to frame a

needlepoint canvas just like this—by doing it yourself with a store-bought frame and a few easy to find

supplies. Use the search box to find this and anything else you’re looking for on our site.

We certainly hope you’ve found this informa�on useful. If you have any

ques�ons please contact us at info@needlepoint-for-fun.com.

You’ve also signed up for our bi-weekly newsle@er which will include �ps like

these. The newsle@er, called Got Needlepoint? will arrive in your Inbox every

second Friday.

Www.needlepoint-for-fun.com info@needlepoint-for-fun.com Ph. 877-722-8463

80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd #386, Sierra Madre, CA 91024