About The Author:
Janet M. Perry is one of the leading writers of needlepoint stitch guides in the world. She writes innovative guides for needlepoint canvases from over 20 designers. She puts into practice her motto to make needlepoint fast, fun and affordable. She is an expert in needlepoint, both on the Web and through her writing as the Needlepoint Pro for Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine. She works with deigners, shops, and thread manufacturers on new products and regularly reports on trends in needlepoint. Her newest book, Needlepoint Trade Secrets, will be available in the summer of 2007 on Amazon. Visit her website (http://www.napaneedlepoint.com) or blog (http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com) to learn about my newest products.
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Needlepoint and Focal Points
By: Janet M. Perry

With the many different threads and stitches available to us as needlepointers, it is easy to agree with the saying “This is not your Grandmother’s needlepoint!” We’ve come a long way from the days where endless streams of continental were done by dignified ladies. This is a very good thing.

Having so many threads to choose from, and so many stitches at our disposal
Upright Gobelin Stitch:
Bring the needle up at A, move up over 2 threads, and down at B. Now move on to the next stitch. Starting where we left off at B, bring the needle up at C, move up over 2 threads, and down at D. The next stitch...from D we bring the needle up at E, move up over 2 threads, and down at F. Continue until you reach the end of the row. Here, we have stopped at L.

To start the next row, we begin where we ended at L, bring the needle up at M, move up over 2 threads, and down at K. This row ends in the same spaces that the above row started. Now, starting where we left off at K, bring the needle up at N, move up 2 threads, and down at I. Continue until you reach the end of the row...
Upright Gobelin Stitch
Trammed Upright Gobelin Stitch
Trammed Upright Gobelin Stitch:
Bring the needle up at A, move right horizontally over your choice of spaces (here we have chosen 6 spaces), and down at B. Starting at B, where we left off, bring the needle up at M, move up over 2 threads, and down at N. Continue until the end of the row, then work another horizontal stitch and begin the upright gobelin stitches again. Basically, you are simply inserting the upright gobelin stitch over a horizontal stitch. The purpose of
Gobelin Filling Stitch
Gobelin Filling Stitch:
This stitch is quick to work.
Bring the needle up at A, move up 6 threads, and down at B. Move over 2 threads and down 6 threads, and bring the needle up at C. Move up 6 threads, and bring the needle down at D. Continue in this manner - up at E, down at F, up at G, down at H.

Now we move on to the next row. Starting where we left off at H, move down to 3 threads below G and over 1 thread - this will bring the needle up at I. From I, go up
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GOBELIN STITCH
There are three types of straight Gobelin Stitches (There are also diagonal Gobelin Stitches). They are the Upright Gobelin Stitch (aka straight gobelin stitch), the Trammed
TRAMMED UPRIGHT
GOBELIN STITCH
GOBELIN FILLING STITCH
 
Upright Gobelin Stitch (similar to the bokhara couching stitches) and the Gobelin Filling Stitch. The Upright Gobelin Stitch is worked horizontally from the top, left to right. These stitches are best when worked on single canvas. The Trammed Upright Gobelin Stitch is worked left to right (for the tram) and then right to left for the gobelin stitch. The trammed stitch is shown in dark blue for demonstration purposes only. The Gobelin Filling Stitch alternates between left to right for the first row, then right to left for the second row and so on...One diagram has been used to demonstrate each of these stitches. Clicking on the PRINTABLE VERSION icon, located at the end of the diagram, will direct you to the page to print these instructions.
this stitch is to give your piece a more hard-wearing surface.
6 threads and down at J. Continue in this manner until you finish the row at P.

Add as many rows as you need, making sure that each row overlaps the previous row by 3 threads (as pictured above).
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major focal point and there may be a very few additional focal points. The focal point is the most important area of the design and all the stitching everywhere in the piece needs to support it.

Next chose the threads (and maybe the stitches) for your focal point. These should be threads and stitches which make the focal point come towards the viewer. So for example, if your background is going to be wool, make the focal point silk or pearl. Use a more textured stitch, or a lighter color.

You can pick and chose stitches for your design as you go, adding some texture
makes making lovely needle art easy — or is it?

It is all too easy for a canvas to get overwhelmed by too many textures, colors, threads and stitches, so that the piece loses it’s focus and looks like a mishmash instead of something worth the work you put into it.

When you get a new canvas and are thinking about how to stitch it, decide which things in the piece will be your focal points. There should be one
here, picking a different thread there.

1-3-5 Rule for Great Needlepoint Pieces
But keep in mind while you work what I call “Mary Shipp’s Rule.” Mary is an amazing stitcher and teacher and one of my mentors.
She says that there are three aspects of needlepoint  thread,
piece which you will finish is much better than one which will languish in your stash.
you plan, keeping in mind Mary’s rule.

And if you start to feel as if you have gone too far — evaluate the piece according to the rule, and make adjustments. Don’t be afraid to rip things out if the piece is not working. a
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color and stitches. The line between lovely needleart and confusion is in how many of each of these you use.

In good needleart, one of these should be dominant, another should be “just an accent” and the third should be somewhere in the middle. In fact she uses the proportions 1-3-5 to demonstrate this.

For example, if you are doing a piece in all wool, you could have lots of colors (say a bouquet of flowers) and relatively few stitches (maybe one stitch for the leaves and another for flower center). But you could also have lots of stitches (maybe all the
different furs of animals in a Noah’s Ark piece). And in that case your colors would mostly be browns and tans.

But what if you made every flower a different stitch or every animal a fanciful color? You can probably imagine how confused this would look.

When you are planning to stitch a canvas, start with the focal point and then move on as you stitch (which is what I do) or as 

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***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
A - I

2,4,6,8 & Tie Stitch

Algerian Eye Stitch

Algerian Eye Daisy
Stitch

Algerian Filling Stitch

Algerian Plait Stitch

Alternating Cross
Stitch

Astrakhan Stitch

Aubusson Stitch

Back Stitch

Bargello Stitch

Basketweave Stitch

Bazaar Stitch

Binding Stitch

Bokhara Couching Stitch

Bokhara Couching Stitch (Diagonal)

Bokhara Couching Stitch (Staggered)

Brazilian Stitch

Brick Stitch

Brighton Stitch

Bullion Knot

Buttonhole Stitch

Buttonhole Stitch (Detached)

Buttonhole Stitch (Double)

Buttonhole Stitch (Tailored)

Buttonhole Stitch (Whipped)

Buttonhole Wheel
Stitch

Byzantine Stitch

Cable Stitch

Cashmere Stitch

Chain Stitch

Chain Stitch
(Braided Variation)

Chain Stitch
(Heavy Variation)

Chain Stitch
(Interlaced Variation)

Chain Stitch (Lazy
Daisy Variation)

Chain Stitch
(Raised Variation)

Checker Stitch

Continental Stitch

Coral Knot Stitch

Couching Stitch

Couching Stitch (Buttonhole Variation)

Couching Stitch (Herringbone Variation)

Couching Stitch
(Open Chain  Variation)

Cretan Stitch

Cretan Stitch
(Diagonal Variation)

Cross Stitch

Cross Stitch (Bound)

Cross Stitch (Diagonal)

Cross Stitch (Heavy)

Cross Stitch (Houndstooth)

Cross Stitch (Reinforced)

Cross Stitch
(Reversed Double)

Cross Stitch
(Staggered)

Cross Stitch (St.Andrew)

Cross Stitch
(St.George)

Cross Stitch (Trame)

Cross Stitch (Triple)

Cross Stitch
(Two-Sided)

Cross Stitch
(Woven)

Cushion Stitch

Czar Stitch

Diagonal Stitch

Darning Stitch

Diagonal Buttonhole Stitch

Diagonal Interlaced Stitch

Diagonal Leaf Stitch

Diamond Stitch

Diamond Eyelet Stitch

Diaper Pattern Stitch

Double Cross Stitch

Double Knot Stitch

Double Star Stitch

Double Stitch

Double Straight
Cross Stitch

Droit Stitch

Eastern Stitch

Economic Stitch

Egyptian Stitch

Encroaching Slanted Gobelin Stitch

Eye Stitch

Eye Stitch with Backstitch

Fan Stitch

Fancy Stitch

Feather Stitch

Fern Stitch

Fishbone Stitch

Fishbone Stitch (Diagonal)

Flame Stitch

Flat Stitch

Flat Stitch (Crossed)

Florentine Stitch

Florentine Stitch (Split)

Fly Stitch (Closed)

French Knot

French Stitch

Ghiordes Knot

Gobelin Stitch

Gobelin Droit Stitch

Gobelin Filling Stitch

Gobelin Stitch
(Trammed Upright)

Greek Stitch

Half Cross Stitch

Herringbone Stitch

Herringbone Stitch (Double)

Herringbone Gone Wrong Stitch

Herringbone Stitch
(Six Step)

Hobnail Stitch

Hungarian Stitch

Hungarian Diamond Stitch

Hungarian Ground
Stitch

Hungarian Ground
Stitch (Diagonal)

Hungarian Point Stitch

Interlocking Gobelin Stitch














***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
I - Z

Irish Stitch

Jacquard Stitch

Kalem Stitch

Kelim Stitch

Kilim Stitch

Knitting Stitch

Knitting Stitch (Diagonal)

Knitting Stitch
(Reverse Tvistom)

Knotted Stitch

Knotted Stitch (Single)

Ladder Stitch

Leaf Stitch

Leaf Stitch (Diagonal)

Leaf Stitch with Backstitch

Leviathan Stitch

Leviathan Stitch (Double)

Leviathan Stitch
(Triple)

Long Armed Cross Stitch

Long Stitch

Long and Short Stitch

Loop Stitch

Mexican Cross Stitch

Milanese Stitch

Montenegrin Stitch

Moorish Stitch

Mosaic Stitch

Mosaic Stitch (Crossed)

Mound Stitch

Nobuko Stitch

Oblique Stitch

Oblique Stitch (Diagonal)

Oblique Stitch (Reverse)

Oblique Slav Stitch

Oblong Cross Stitch

Oblong Cross Stitch with Backstitch

Oriental Stitch

Outline Stitch

Palestrina Stitch

Palace Pattern Stitch

Paris Stitch

Parisian Stitch

Pavillion Stitch

Perspective Stitch

Plait Stitch

Plait Stitch (Crossed)

Plait Stitch (Square)

Plaited Edge Stitch

Plaited Gobelin Stitch

Plaited Interlaced Stitch

Portuguese Cross Stitch

Portuguese Stem Stitch

Princess Pattern Stitch

Pyramid Stitch

Quick Point

Raised Stitch

Raised Cross Stitch

Ray Stitch

Ray Stitch (Expanded)

Renaissance Stitch

Rep Stitch

Reverse Bargello

Reversed Basketweave Stitch

Reversed Cross Stitch

Rhodes Stitch

Ribbed Wheels Stitch

Rice Stitch

Rice Stitch (Padded)

Rococco Stitch

Roman Stitch

Rope Stitch

Roumanian Stitch

Rug Binding Stitch

Rya Stitch

Satin Stitch

Satin Stitch
(Alternating)

Satin Stitch
(Padded)

Scotch Stitch

Scotch Stitch (Alternating)

Scotch Stitch (Condensed)

Scotch Stitch (Crossed)

Scotch Stitch (Woven)

Scottish Stitch

Sheaf Stitch

Shell Stitch

Single Knotted Stitch

Slanted Gobelin Stitch

Smyrna Cross Stitch

Sorbello Stitch

Soumak Stitch

Spanish Stitch

Spider Web Stitch

Split Stitch

Sprats Head Stitch

Square Plait Stitch

Star Stitch

Star Stitch (Large)

Stem Stitch

Stem Stitch
(Diagonal)

Stepped Sheaf Stitch

Surrey Stitch

Sutherland Pattern Stitch

Tapestry Stitch

Tent Stitch

Tent Stitch (Alternating)

Tent Stitch
(Diagonal Mosaic)

Tie Stitch

Trame

Trammed Tent Stitch

Triangle Stitch

Tufting Stitch

Turkey Stitch

Tvistom Stitch

Two Sided Italian
Cross Stitch

Upright Cross Stitch

Van Dyke Stitch

Velvet Stitch

Waffle Stitch

Wave Stitch (Closed)

Wave Stitch (Open)

Weaving Stitch

Web Stitch

Wheat Sheaf Stitch

Woven Band Stitch

Woven Pattern Stitch

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