1: You may purchase a kit with pre-painted canvas. A kit will have the design already painted on the canvas and will instruct the user as to which stitches to use. Beginners will find kits an easy way to learn the basics of needlepoint, while learning individual stitches. There are many exciting kits available today (look to the right side of the web page - the advertisement section - for some interesting kits).
2: Another option is to work a design from a chart. With charted designs, the chart will
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THE BASICS
- PREPARATION -
TYPES OF NEEDLEPOINT PROJECTS:
There are different types of needlepoint projects to choose from.
be a graph with each graph square marked by symbols or colors. Each symbol or color will represent a stitch or thread/yarn color. Charts are very handy for florentine projects.
3: Designing your own piece is another exciting choice, although not recommended for beginners. It is best to draw the design on paper or graph paper and then transfer it to the canvas. To transfer a design from paper to canvas, simply lay the canvas over the paper design and trace the design onto the canvas. There are also computer software programs available for designing needlepoint projects. Helpful Hint: Be sure to leave approximately 3 inches around the edges of your design on the canvas. This will be needed to finish the piece and frame it.
PREPARING THE CANVAS:
If you are working from a needlepoint kit, the canvas should already be prepared and ready to mount on a frame (see Frames).
If you are working from your own design, you will need to protect the edges of the canvas. This is done to prevent the canvas from fraying. There are two ways in
which to protect the canvas edges:
1: Bind the edges with tape. You will need to use an adhesive binding tape. Simply pull the tape across the edge of the canvas and then proceed to wrap the tape over the canvas edge.
2: Baste the folded edges. This method is more time-consuming. You will need to fold the edges of the canvas and then proceed to sew the folded edges.
A FEW RANDOM HINTS:
When loading the yarn or thread, the yarn/thread should be no longer than 18 inches. This will prevent wear to the thread and also hinder tangles.
It is recommended that you separate the multiple ply yarns to create a fuller look that will completely cover the canvas. When working needlepoint, you will most likely be using 3-ply persian yarn. Rule of thumb - if you are able to separate the thread/yarn, then do so. If you find the yarn is too difficult
to separate, then it is probably not required. (An exception to this rule would be if you are using cheap yarn.)
Always tie off your yarn/thread. Leave a small amount of yarn at the back of the piece to tie to the next length of yarn. When you have finished one 18 inch length of yarn and need to continue in the same - or different - color, tie the new length of yarn to the last length of yarn.
Try to work light colors first. When you tie off a dark color and then continue to work a light color over it, a "shadow" effect may occur. You may be able to see a shadow of the dark color through the light color.
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All About Needlepoint Canvas
By: Sajeena Ali
Modern needlepoint derives from the canvas tent artwork that was quite popular during the 16th century and the shadowed wool work in bright-colored yarn that was a craze during the 19th century. In Early American civilization, young girls usually made cross stitch or
thread canvas are with sufficient holes or spaces to let big threads to move through without frazzling. Usually canvas is classed by thread count per inch or mesh sizes. Sizes differ from 5 to 24 threads every inch; standard mesh sizings are 10,12,14,18, and 24. The three kinds of needlepoint canvas available in the market are interlock, penelope and mono.
Mono canvas is available in the broadest diversity of colors (particularly on 18 mesh) and is woven plainly, with one woof thread passing over and below one warp thread. This type of canvas has a good scope for open and manipulation canvas. It
needlepoint works that normally consisted of a blessing on their families in combination with the numbers and alphabet. This ritual of passing showed not only their ability in stitching, but their literacy as well.
Selecting the canvas is one among the most vital aspects of planning a needlepoint work. Another important
thing involves picking out the stitch or stitches to be done in the fabric from among the five basic categories of needlepoint stitches. Even though the two aspects rely upon one another, we will deal with the needlepoint canvas. The size and type of the canvas utilized will have a bearing on the quantity of detail in the blueprint of your work. Apparently, the more elaborate the project, the better the gage of canvas.
Many kinds of needlepoint canvas are used. Double thread and Single
is normally used for hand-colored canvases. Penelope canvas is having two threads nearly aggrouped conjointly in both woof and warp. Since these threads can be separate apart, penelope measurements are usually stated in two numbers, like 10/20.
Interlock canvases are having stable mesh intersections although they come with single threads. This happens as the woof threads, break up at the intersection points and enwrapping the warp threads. Interlock
canvas is usually employed for impressed canvases. Silk gauze which is a kind of interlock canvas, comes in small frames for tent stitch work. Silk gauze is widely available in 32, 40 and 48 count, while rarely 18 count is sold and 64, 128 and some other counts come handy for miniature needlework.
Designs available in the market for needlepoint work are made in different ways. Charted Canvas, Hand-Painted Canvas, Free-form and Printed Canvas are widely available. In Hand-Painted Canvas, the designer paints the design on the
canvas, or painted according to their directions by another person. Some canvases are stitch-painted, wherein each and every thread
intersection is fastidiously painted in order that the stitcher has no uncertainties on what color is required to be used with the intersection. They may also be hand-painted, in which case the canvas gets painted with hand and the stitcher will be required to employ his own judgment on the colors to be used in case a thread intersection is not painted intelligibly. Hand-painted needlepoint canvases let the stitcher use his creativity more with unique stitches and threads as he is not required to rely on a separate chart. In the United States this is the most common kind of needlepoint canvas.
About the Author
You can Buy Needlepoint Canvas and other Needlepoint accessories from http://www.buyneedlepoint.com/
Published At: www.Isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com - Arts and Crafts
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***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
A - I
***Stitch Index*** (Alphabetical)
I - Z
Copyright 2006...Stitchopedia...All Rights Reserved
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Stitch-opedia
An encyclopedia of needlepoint Stitches...
