Guide
Getting Started with Needlepoint
New to needlepoint? You only need one stitch to finish your canvas. This page walks you through it.
What you received
A printed needlepoint canvas — your design, printed directly onto 18-count mono canvas. Each little square of colour on the canvas is one stitch. You stitch right over the printed design, covering it completely as you go.
The printed image is your map, not the finished piece. When you're done, the canvas won't show at all — only thread.
Your packing slip lists every thread colour in your design, its name and SKU, and how many stitches use it.
What else you'll need
- Threads. Your packing slip lists exactly which colours your design uses. (Complete thread kits are coming soon — for now, take that list to your local needlepoint shop or favourite online supplier.)
- A tapestry needle, size 22 or 24. Tapestry needles have blunt tips — they slip between canvas threads instead of piercing them. Don't substitute a sharp needle.
- Stretcher bars or a frame (optional but recommended). Holding the canvas taut keeps your stitches even and greatly reduces distortion. Two pairs of stretcher bars sized to your canvas plus a few tacks is all it takes.
- Small sharp scissors.
What is "18-count"?
It means 18 stitches per inch. Your canvas has 18 holes per inch in each direction, so an 8″ × 10″ canvas is 144 stitches wide by 180 stitches tall.
Higher count means finer detail and smaller stitches. It also means more stitches — so allow more time than you would for a coarser canvas.
The continental stitch
Nearly all needlepoint is worked in tent stitches — small diagonal stitches, each covering one intersection of canvas threads. The continental stitch is the most common one, and it's the only stitch you need to complete your canvas.
Every stitch slants the same direction: from lower-left up to upper-right. Consistency matters more than anything else here. A stitch that leans the wrong way will catch the light differently and stand out.
Working a row
Continental is worked right to left.
- Bring your needle up through the hole at the lower-left of the intersection you're covering.
- Take it down through the hole diagonally up and to the right — one hole across, one hole up. That's your stitch.
- Bring the needle back up one hole to the left of where you started, ready for the next stitch.
- Repeat across the row.
On the front you'll see a neat row of matching diagonals. On the back, longer slanted stitches — that's correct, and it's what gives continental its good coverage.
Turning at the end of a row
When you reach the end of a row, rotate the canvas 180° and work the next row in the same right-to-left motion. This keeps every stitch slanting the same way on the front.
If you'd rather not turn the canvas, you can work left to right on alternate rows — just make sure the slant stays identical.
Starting and finishing a thread
Never use a knot. Knots create bumps and eventually work loose.
To start, use a waste knot: knot the end of your thread, take the needle down through the front of the canvas about an inch ahead of where you'll be stitching, then work back toward it. Your stitches will trap the tail on the back. When you reach the knot, snip it off flush.
To finish, run the needle under four or five stitches on the back and trim close.
Work with about 18 inches of thread at a time. Longer than that and the thread frays as it passes through the canvas repeatedly.
Tips that make a real difference
- Let the needle hang. Every few stitches, let your needle and thread dangle free to untwist. Twisted thread covers poorly and looks thin.
- Stitch the details first, background last. Small elements are easier to place accurately on an empty canvas, and the background then fills around them.
- Check your coverage as you go. If canvas peeks through between stitches, you may need an additional strand of thread. Better to find that out in the first square inch than the last.
- Don't carry thread far across the back. Jumping more than a few stitches to reach the next area of the same colour leaves long floats that show through pale sections and snag later. End the thread and restart.
Basketweave: worth learning for backgrounds
Once you're comfortable, basketweave is worth adding. It looks identical to continental on the front but is worked in diagonal rows rather than horizontal ones, and it produces a woven pattern on the back.
Two advantages: it distorts the canvas far less, and it's more durable. Most stitchers use continental for detailed areas and basketweave for large background fields.
You do not need it to finish your canvas. Continental alone will get you there.
Frequently asked
- Can I change the colours?
- Absolutely. The printed canvas is a guide. Stitch whatever colours you like — many people swap a background or accent.
- What if I make a mistake?
- Unpick with the eye end of your needle rather than the point, so you don't split threads. A few stitches out is nothing. Try not to reuse thread that's been unpicked — it's usually roughed up.
- How long will this take?
- It varies enormously with design and stitcher. As a rough guide, an experienced stitcher might average a few hundred stitches an hour. An 8″ × 10″ at 18-count is about 26,000 stitches, so treat it as a project you'll enjoy over weeks rather than an evening.
- Do I need to block it when I'm finished?
- If you stitched on stretcher bars, probably not much. If the canvas has gone out of square, blocking — dampening and pinning it square to dry — will bring it back. Any needlepoint shop can block a piece for you, and most finishers do it as part of framing or making up.
- What do I do with it when it's done?
- Frame it, or have it made into a pillow, an ornament, a stocking, a bag. Finishers specialise in this and it's worth using one for anything three-dimensional.
Still stuck?
Email support@yourneedlepoint.com — we're happy to help, including with your first stitch.
More about the studio in our FAQ or How It Works.