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Why needlepointing is the craft everyone is doing at the moment
Taylor Swift, Anne Michael Maye and Olivia Stallings: everyone is needlepointing, but why?
Needlepointing is the art of threading a needle through a cotton or linen stiff-weave open mesh fabric. Using an array of thread types, like silk to cotton, there are many different combinations that make each needlepoint project unique.
Why is everyone doing it?
Like embroidery or even painting, needlepointing has an endless pool of designs for people to create. Similar to recent trends like gem painting, needlepointing is time-consuming because it is a tedious process. Whether you are doing a continental stitch or a basketweave, they exhibit the careful care each stitcher has to exhibit in order to create a sophisticated piece of art.
With tutorials on every social media platform, learning how to needlepoint is very accessible, though the materials are expensive. As a frugal needlepointer myself, I find Michaels has great canvases. Most blank canvases are either 13 ct or 18 ct. The difference is how many holes are in an inch. For novice needlepointers, 13ct mesh is easiest because you can complete a project faster than with 18ct mesh.
Terminology
WIP Wednesday — stands for “Work in Progress” and most influencers share their needlepoint progress on Wednesdays for alliteration efforts.
LNS — Local needlepoint shop. Most commonly used in conversation. For example, today I’m going to my LNS to pick up some new thread to match my canvas.
Must have supplies for getting started
- Project bag.These can be any ordinary bag, but most prefer see-through bags so they can see what’s in each bag and know which project is in which bag.
- Needleminder. A magnetic plate that can be magnetically connected to your canvas by connecting both ends of the magnet that the needles can stick to, to prevent the loss of needles in unwanted places. For example, you’re needlepointing in your bed and lost a needle, and now you are sleeping with a needle. This cheap and useful tool is for organization and style, since most needle minders have really cute designs.
- Needleholder. Carrying the same idea and the pose of dangers of not knowing where your needles are, needleholders are magnetic and is a box. The bonus of most needlepoint materials is that you only have to buy them once.
- Threader. Unless you want to spend way too much time threading thick threads through the tiniest hole, usually on a size 20 needle, you will need a threader.
- Thread Organizer. Once you get the hang of needlepointing, you will have loads of extra threads you can scour over to use in future projects. Thus, you must label and organize your threads. Most organizers are in tiny plastic containers or key rings.
- Mini Scissors. Instead of bringing regular-sized scissors for your projects, it’s easy to use sharp embroidery scissors, which are sharper and very compact.