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Posts tagged ‘needlepoint finishing’

Needlepoint Purse/Guitar Straps

With a beautiful blend of traditional craft and modern style, needlepoint is perfect for adding a personal touch to any handbag or guitar. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced stitcher, needlepoint straps offer a creative outlet to express your unique style. From classic florals and geometric patterns to contemporary motifs, the possibilities are endless!

Explore our complete NeedlePaint Purse and Guitar Strap Collection!

Martini Purse or Guitar Strap Needlepoint Kit

“A bag is a woman’s partner. It travels with her through the
heights of glamour and the valleys of despair.” — unknown

Tobacco Leaf Purse or Guitar Strap Needlepoint Kit

“A bag isn’t just for this season;
it’s for all the seasons of your life.” — unknown

Diamonds Purse or Guitar Strap Needlepoint Kit

“A true investment is not just in the bag in front of you, but the stories
it will hold and the tales it will tell in years to come.” — unknown

Garden Bee Purse or Guitar Strap Needlepoint Kit

“A bag is not just an accessory; it’s a blank canvas
for creativity and identity.” — unknown

Smoking Hot Purse or Guitar Strap Needlepoint Kit

“A bag is poetry in motion: every fold, every pocket, every zip is a
verse in the style symphony of fashion.” — Sonya Horsford

Ask us about our leather finishing service
for both purse and guitar straps, at: info@needlepaint.com

Your accessories will love a needlepoint, exclamation point!

Needlepoint Treasure Trees

By Peggy Bond

The Treasure Trees grew from my desire to add something to my Christmas gingerbread house display. I already had Santa’s New Ride, but the mantel had more room. Now we have three dimensional needlepoint kits, featuring our Small Treasure Trees in and Large Treasure Trees!

Trees are created using 4 needlepoint isosceles triangles that form a pyramid. A tree could be assembled by sewing the sides of the triangles together and filling with polyester stuffing in a manner similar to the construction of Santa’s New Ride, but I wanted the trees to be like the Gingerbread house, something that opened and could contain Christmas surprises – Treasure Trees.

Elements for assembly are:

  • Lightweight cardboard to keep the tree rigid – 4 triangles to match the needlepointed canvases and a square the size of the base of a triangle.
  • Lightweight cotton fabric: one piece (the lining) twice the height of the triangles plus 2 inches and 4 times the base of the triangle plus 2 inches and a second 1-1/2 inch larger than the cardboard square.
  • Felt or cork square the same sizes as the cardboard square for the base of the tree.
  • 4 rings and cording for the trim and tie.

Trim the tree triangle leaving 3/8-inch edge which are turned under and steamed in place. Points will require additional trimming so that blank canvas is not visible. Fold the cotton lining piece in half along the length and press. Open the lining flat. Working from the center, position the tree on the lower half of the lining with tops at the fold crease. The bases of the trees should not overlap. Allow space for the cording trim as well. 

Sew by hand or machine the cording and trees in place through only one layer of the lining. Fold the lining to sew the edges together, making sure the bases of the two outer tree triangles match. Trim the seam to ¼ inch and press open. There will be a tube. Turn over the half tube that does have the triangles so that the raw edges match. Trees will be inside with their tips with slip rings reaching above the fold. 

Top view of edge stitching

Cover the cardboard square with cotton square gluing or lacing the raw edges on the backside. This will be the inside base of the tree. Miter folds at the base of triangles to form a box and whip stitch. Insert the covered cardboard square. Glue a square of felt or cork to the base of the tree and string cord through rings. 

Your Treasure Tree is done!

Treasure Trees can come in any size. Shown in the photos here are the small 2-1/2 inch tree which could hold very special surprise and hang on the Christmas tree and a larger 5 inch tree is much more a mantle decoration and can hold surprises and/or candy treats.

When Christmas is over, they can stack together like nested Russian doll or hop into the Gingerbread house with Santa for safe keeping.

Stitch something unique this holiday season!

Pulled Yarn Stitches with a Silver Lining

Written by Peggy Bond

After my first foray into pulled yarn stitching, I was anxious to try one with color. Using the combination of the pulled yarn star and traditional reversed scotch stitches, I created a two-colored background that lets the silver lining of the I Love Mom ornament shine through.

I stitched the heart, “I Mom”, and background between the letters and image with the continental stitch before starting the pulled yarn star/reversed scotch background. 

Stitched Canvas

Each reversed scotch block and pulled yarn star is 8 horizontal by 8 vertical threads. The reversed scotch blocks should be completed before the pulled yarn stars, particularly if the canvas is not on a stretcher.

By starting the reserved scotch blocks at the center top of the canvas and working diagonally downward as shown above the location of a diagonal row of stars is created. For this ornament, the stars alternate with the scotch blocks, but they can also be randomly positioned. It is important that the stars be worked from the center outward. Since the stars are a different color than the scotch block, each was work independently and ends tied off and hidden so that they are not seen.

Reversed scotch block

So now the background lining! The ornament has only three colors. I did not like the idea of using black. Nether white nor red would show off the holes for the pulled yarn stars. Maybe gold or silver? I tested a silver lining of aluminum foil. I liked how it looked. I went looking for fabric and found stretch satin silver fabric at my local fabric store.

Satin Silver Fabric

To finish the ornament, I used red felt for the backing, quilt batting for padding, a cardboard stiffener, and silver braid for trim and hanger.

Ornament elements

My two pulled yard projects have been done on 18-point canvases and now I am ready for something bigger and maybe better….

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have at: info@needlepaint.com

Happy Stitching!

Give Pulled Yarn Stitching a Try

Written by Peggy Bond

Pulled yarn stitches are often overlooked for needlepointing canvases because they do not fully cover the canvas. However, they can be used with conventional stitches and have some advantages as backgrounds. Firstly, they can be worked up quickly and secondly, they are lacy allowing a differently colored backing to show through.   

This Be Mine Valentine needlepoint ornament kit finished as a door hanger, has a pink felt backing that gives the background behind the heart, the look of checked gingham.
Up close, this is not the case.

When working pulled yarn, it is important to keep consistent tension or pull. This is what creates the pattern. The best pulled yarn stitches have equilateral pull which minimizes distortion.

The 4-sided over 3 pattern shown here is a good example. Notice the direction of the stitches:

1 – left to right

2 – bottom left to top

3 – bottom right to top

4 – bottom left to right

The back will show a large cross stitch (X) as shown above.

My original idea for this project was to back the canvas the same felt as used for the frame. The red felt did not show through. However, the bright pink felt showed well and tied the red and pink of the heart together. Below is a photo of the four layers that used for the hanger.

This project was stitched with white thread on white canvas and had a hot pink backing. Alternatively, it could be done with red thread on the white canvas and a white or sparkling backing. There are many options, and the only caution would be not to try pulled yarn stitches on a printed background. Pulling the stitches will expose the white of the unprinted canvas.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have at: info@needlepaint.com

Happy Stitching!

A Sweet New Gingerbread House Needlepoint Kit!

Written by Peggy Bond

I had never baked a Gingerbread House nor did I want to. But then I got inspired by Santa’s New Ride needlepoint car canvas. Why not make a needlepoint Gingerbread House that has a roof that opens for the wrapped candies and treats that can be eaten? NeedlePaint’s designer Krystal Duffy designed the canvas and the house became a reality.

Gingerbread House Dimensional Needlepoint Kit Two
(available with an attached or detached roof)

The house is 8 x 6 ¾  x 9 inches, a scale that matches Santa’s needlepoint car, and I used a variety of stitches for the project. A staggered, elongated, horizontal cashmere stitch for the gingerbread gives the house the appearance of being made of bricks. 

Stitch Detail

Elongated Cashmere Bricks

Mosaic Window Trim

Continental – Gobelin Snow

The snow alternating rows of the continental stitch and straight Gobelin worked over 2 strands. Window frames are the slanted 2 x 2 Gobelin over 2 strands and dots above and the below the windows are the mosaic stitch. he windows are a staggered strait Gobelin over 2 stitched. There are lots of places to try new and different stitches. It was fun! 

As I stitched along, my mind worried away at “how are you going to put this all together”? Sure, it was going to a rectangular house with a roof with overhangs. How was it going to be stabilized since I wasn’t going to stuff it. (Stuffing the Gingerbread House is certainly an option.)

Initially, I cut plastic needlepoint canvas 1/8″ smaller than each side and the roofs, and stitched them to the canvas. The house could stand on its own but it wasn’t going to be rigid enough to be a container. 

Plastic Canvas Backings

While browsing through a crafter’s catalog, I found 8-inch square boxes which could be cutdown to make a 8 x 6 ¾ inch rectangle. This would give the base a solid frame and the sides could be cut down to size and shaped for the roof.  It worked! Below is a mock up of the box frame. The final was glued and the peak supports were cut from acid-free art board.

Mock up of House Frame

The base of the house is lined with a lightweight cotton fabric. Lining is sewn as shown below along only the upper edge of the stitching. The two roof segments are lined with a sturdier white fabric, leaving the top of each segment open to be sewn together later. (I probably could have used a lighter weight fabric but thought that extra weight would make a better hinge for the roof.) Turning the lining was not easy with the canvas backed by the plastic canvas, but the results were better than I had expected. There was one seam to stitch along the side of the base and it could be slipped onto the box frame. Acid-free art board was cut fit inside roofing pieces.

Also, piece of acid-free art board cut to the inside dimensions of the box is covered with the lining material and slid down to hold the lining of the sides in place.

The lined roof is stitched together at its peak with the back sides together, and the outside seam trimmed and covered with a bias strip. Self-adhesive Velcro dots along the sides and a strip at the peak affix one side of the roof and a button-ribbon tab is sewn to the opening-side of the roof.

There are certainly other ways to assemble the house. My granddaughters are all eyeing the Gingerbread House and maybe I will have to make more so please let me know if anyone has assembly suggestions.

We would love to help with all of your needlepoint needs.
Please contact us with any questions that you may have at:
info@needlepaint.com

  Stitch a little something sweet for the holidays!

New 3-Dimensional Needlepoint Kits!

Written by Peggy Bond

Santa Claus is Coming To Town And He Has New Wheels!
Santa’s reindeer refused to work in the summer heat, so Santa Claus had to find new wheels. NeedlePaint came to his rescue with their newly designed 3-D needlepoint station wagon, stitched on 18 mesh canvas with DMC thread. After Santa is done using it for warm weather transport, it will make an unforgettable stocking stuffer toy or Christmas mantle decoration.

Stitched car canvas: 
The main body of the car and window were stitched with only four strands of the DMC thread, so that it will be less bulky to sew together. Santa, his dog, and the remainder of the car were stitched with all six strands of the DMC thread which makes them stand out from the background. The brick stitch is used for the wood panel on the car, and the double brick stitch is used for the light blue underbody of the car.

Inside-out: 
Finishing the car was a bit more challenging than finishing a brick door stop, because there was not a solid frame and the car has curves. I trimmed the canvas closer to the stitching, leaving at least a ¾ inch of blank canvas. Folding the stitched portion of the canvas with right sides together to join the hood and trunk to the sides, is a delicate operation requiring that the curves are the same for each side. It took me a couple of tries to get that right. The stitching was done with thread of the same color as the sections being joined. For example, the front window was joined with dark grey, the hood and side with blue, and the underbody with light blue. There were a lot of tiny stitches and knots!

Sew car inside-out:
To prepare the car form before stuffing, I pressed the seams open and tacked down the corners as shown.

Addition of Pellon stiffeners:
I inserted 3 pieces of heavyweight Pellon interfacing to give the car some rigidity. It is not necessary, but I found this gives the car sharper edges. More rigid inserts would give even sharper edges. It is a matter of taste!

Stuffing in progress:
I used heavy felt for the bottom of the car, similar to the finishing technique I used for the needlepoint brick covers. I stitch most of the bottom in place, leaving a four inch opening on one side before stuffing the car.

Stuffed and sewn up!
I gave Santa and the car another steaming to crispen up the edges of the roof and seams. He says that his new wheels and helpful dog will guarantee a Merry Christmas to All!

Santa’s New Ride Three Dimensional Needlepoint Kit

Red Truck Three Dimensional Needlepoint Kit

We would love to help you with all of your holiday decorations!
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have at: info@needlepaint.com

Stitch up some magic this holiday season!

Brick Works – How to Finish a Needlepoint Brick Doorstop

Written By Peggy Bond

Needlepoint Brick Doorstop

A needlepoint doorstop is one of the most functional needlepoint projects you can stitch; and finishing it doesn’t require any unusual supplies or skills. If you can stitch a canvas, you can finish the doorstop.

What you need 2 2

The supplies are simple:

  • Needlepointed canvas
  • Brick
  • Lightweight quilt batting or flannel to cover the brick
  • Felt or heavy wool for the bottom of the brick
  • Needle and thread
  • Optional: a glue gun

(Note: Dimensions for these directions are for an 8″ x 4″ x 2″ concrete brick.)

Blocking Your Canvas

Preparing the Canvas: Begin by blocking the finished canvas so that it is square. If the canvas has been stitched on a frame, there should require minimal blocking that often can be completed with a steam iron. Put the needlepoint face down on the ironing board or towels. Set the iron for steam and hold ¼” above the canvas. While canvas if warm and damp, tack it into final shape on a Styrofoam surface or a board as shown above.

Corner

Stitch the corners of the blocked canvas by folding the right sides of each corner together as stitching through the last needlepointed stitched. This can be done by hand or by machine.

simply trim corners

Trim the mitered corners to ½” and press open. Turn canvas right sides out. 

Cut batting for brick

Wrapping the Brick: Since the brick has irregular edges that easily catch on the canvas, it is recommended that you cover the brick with lightweight quilt batting or flannel.  Cotton/bamboo batting is my preferred choice. This will give a smoothness to the finished project and protect the canvas from snags and wear. Cut a 12.5″ square of cotton batting and trim 4″ x 1.75″ from each corner as shown above.

Now here is where there is a choice – to glue or to sew.

Brick in the batting

Sewers will miter the edges with a ¼” seam as described above for the canvas. Again this can be done by hand or by machine. Turn the batting so that the stitched edges are to the inside, i.e. facing the brick. Insert the brick with its sharp/squared edges down.

Wrapped Brick

Fold over the batting and stitch in place. The wrapping can easily be glue gunned in place. Not my thing, but a good process for this part of the finishing. A glue gun is not recommended for the final two steps of the finishing process.

Bottom of brick

Putting It Together: Insert the covered brick into the finished needlepoint canvas with the bottom of the brick facing up. Lace the canvas in place. Cut a 8″ x 4″ rectangle of felt or heavy wool. Felt is easier to work with as it does not ravel. Stitch in place. Voila a finished doorstop.

Finished

No more slamming doors!

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Here at NeedlePaint.com, we offer a personalized brick cover needlepoint canvas, and a custom designed needlepoint brick cover canvas for you to stitch.

NeedlePaint personalized brick cover

A-CROSS YOUR BACKGROUND

Tired of the Tent Stitch? There are several cross stitches which are great substitutes. They cover well and give texture to a needlepoint piece, or your brick cover. 

The simplest is the Small Upright Cross that is worked on the diagonal as shown below.

Small upright cross

The one thing to remember with this stitch is to keep the crosses consistent. In other words, do the vertical stitch first and then have the horizontal on cross over. Or, do it the other way around. 

Since this stitch is small and has a firm finish, I have used it on belts.

Cross section CTF Belt

For this Colorado Trail belt, the Continental tent stitch was use for the lettering and logo in white and the small areas of these were filled with green tent stitch. The tent stitch was also used for a 3-row border along both edges which will be turned over when sew to a leather backing. Then, the small upright cross was used to fill the background.

For something a little more dramatic, there is the Long-Armed Cross. This stitch has longer stitches and give more visual relief.

Lond armed cross. png

This stitch takes a bit of attention in getting started and some counting, but it is worth the effort. It made a nice wave-light background for the loon, on my Loon Brick Cover needlepoint canvas.

Loon in Long-armend Cross

Loon Brick 4 Color

Both of these examples were worked on 18-pt canvas with 6 strands of DMC floss.

Changing canvas size and thread give a very different look as seen below on the brick on 10-pt canvas with 3 strands of Waverly wool.

Brick in Long-armed Cross

Varying lengths of red, grey, white, and black yarn were used for the top and ends in the Long-Armed Cross, and a single row of the Long-Armed Cross was stitched on each side surrounded by the Continental tent stitch. 

Needlepoint Pillow Finishing Stockings and Key Fobs

If you’ve purchased needlepoint kits from NeedlePaint in the past, you may know that we offer many types of finishing services.  We have some very talented employees here, and I’d love to take a minute to show you what we can do!

Needlepoint Pillow Finishing – offering finishing on all sizes  (Prices Ranges from $100 – $150)

Once you are done with your needlepoint, we’d love to help.  We offer a solid back with a hidden zipper (or no zipper on 8 inches or smaller), and can do piping or no piping.  We include a removable pillow form on pillows that have a zipper.  For the backing and piping, we have 20 colors of velvet to choose from.

Needlepoint Pillow Finishing

Needlepoint Pillow Finishing

Needlepoint Stocking Finishing – (Ranges from $125 to $155)

We finish stockings with a velvet back, piping, and hanging loop.  Inside we put a white liner or coordination cotton liner.

Needlepoint Stocking Blocking and Finishing

Needlepoint Stocking Blocking and Finishing

Needlepoint Tallis Bag Finishing (Ranges from $100 to $150)

We will include a hidden zipper on the back, piping is optional on the front, and the inside is lined with a white liner to protect the tallis.

Key Fob Finishing$23.00

Leather backed “loop” with leather tabs at the end, and circular key ring included.

Needlepoint Key Fob Finishing

Needlepoint Key Fob Finishing

Flask Finishing$60

We offer a 5 oz stainless steel flask, with leather wrap on top and bottom, and 1 side (outside edges of needlepoint)  Dimensions: 4.5″h x 4″w x 1.25″deep

Needlepoint Flask Finishing

Needlepoint Flask Finishing

Card Wallet Finishing – $60

Card wallets made with full grain leather, and include three card slots, and an opening in the top to fold and store money and/or more cards.

Needlepoint Card Wallet Finishing

Needlepoint Card Wallet Finishing

The No Tears Needlepoint Pillow

As I mentioned in my earlier post An Elegant Finished Edge, I had come up with a use for the odd-shapped design that we had designed for our first test custom needlepoint canvas. This 6″ x 7″ canvas is now the center piece of a 12′ x 12′  pillow  for my granddaughter’s nursery.

As you can see, this pillow does not have piping — the most difficult and frustrating part of needlepoing pillow finishing. Also, there is no zipper, no turning inside out, and IT IS EASY!  It is a modified pillow sham which fits over a 12″ x 12″ pillow form.

Materials for the pillow are:

  • 12″ x 12″ polyester-filled pillow
  • 1/2 yard 42″-45″ fabric
  • 1/4 yard Velcro (optional)
  • finished needlepoint canvas that is smaller than 12″ x 12″ and whose edges have been bound

Directions:

  1. Cut one 18″ x 18″ front.
  2. Cut two 11″ x 18″ piece for left and right sides of back.
  3. Position finished needlepoint canvas in the center of the front. Stitch in place by machine using zig-zag stitch or by hand using an overcast slip stitch.
  4. Sew 2″ hem on left back side and narrow hem on right back side as shown below. (Optionally sew Velcro as shown.)
  5. Place left back over right back to create a 18″ x 18″ square.
  6. Fold under 1 3/4″ on all four sides of front and back and press with steam iron, mitering each corner.
  7. With wrong sides together, stitch around  1 1/4″ from the edge.
  8. Stuff pillow form into completed pillow sham.

This method works well for a casual cushion and especially well for a child’s pillow because the finished needlepoint can be easily removed and the pillow sham washed.

Needlepoint Finishing and Wedding Pillow Design

My friends Bob and Irene got married this summer, and I decided that since we love our ring bearer pillow so much, I’d have to make them one!   (You click the following link see our wedding ring bearer pillow.)

Their Custom NeedlePoint Wedding Pillow

Not only was this a fun project to design, but it also was a great opportunity for us to test out our new needlepoint finisher and our pillow finisher.  I’ve used them 5 times so far, as can be seen on the cat needlepoint post and in our newsletter, but this time the stitcher got away from the tent stitches and she decided what stitches she thought would look best.

Designing the pillow was relatively simple, I used Bob and Irene’s wedding invitation for my design inspiration, and made some alterations in photoshop.  You can see I even used their invitation for matching the colors.

We used a burgundy velveteen backing for the pillow, and the contrast looks great.  My only regret on this project, is that I think I should have made the pillow 12 x 12 rather than 8 x 8.  It does not cost much extra to put a ‘frame’ around the needlepoint, and I think fills out better on a sofa.

If you have a project that you don’t have time for, we can make it for you.  Our prices start at $2 per inch for stitching, $50 for custom needlepoint kits, $60 for pillow finishing, or $160 for a complete custom ring bearer pillow.

You can visit our personalized needlepoint shop online at www.needlepaint.com

Needlepoint Finishing Close Up Picture - Click to Enlarge