Remember the days when needlepoint was all about Tent stitches? Well, move over grandma, because a stitch-tastic revolution is here! At Poppy Monk, we're all about empowering you to break free from the ordinary and unleash your inner creative genius with needle and thread.
Ready to transform your canvas into a masterpiece that bursts with personality? Dive into the exciting world of open stitches, playful borders, and magical surface embroidery. We're here to guide you every step of the way, with inspiring ideas and endless possibilities.
So, grab your favorite kit and let's embark on this stitching adventure together!
Here are a three ways you can embellish a needlepoint canvas while enjoying your creative stitching journey...
1. Use Open Stitches
Leave something to the imagination! Using stitches that leave strategic areas of the canvas “open” not only creates pretty patterns, it's usually a faster way of stitching.
This Blue and White Leaf Vase uses a stitch that looks like embossed wallpaper, so we dug deep into our imagination and called it Wallpaper #1.
Skip Tent stitch is fast and easy to stitch and it adds a lovely texture to the canvas like you see on the top half of this Born To Be Wild needlepoint kit…
Skip Tent stitch is also used on the background of this Girl With A Pearl Earring needlepoint design.
The Baby Sleeping Unicorn has a lovely open background stitch called Squares and Rectangles which is fun to stitch and adds interesting visual appeal.
You will find other open stitches by searching online or investing in a needlepoint reference book like this Stitches For Effect needlepoint book.
2. Add A Border.
We love it when the needlepoint speaks for itself, but some designs can be made more fun to stitch if you add a border, even if there is not one printed on the canvas.
We added a border to this Twinkle Twinkle design where there wasn’t one printed. This is a modified Scotch stitch—so easy to do.
And, the If You Fall design using a simple Skip Tent border to great effect.
3. Use Surface Embroidery.
Most of the designs in the Poppy Monk needlepoint stable are small, but we try to pack a lot of fun stitching into them. That's why we're big fans of using surface embroidery to stitch fine detail. This usually means taking one or two ply of a stranded thread like cotton floss, and using a Back Stitch to outline or highlight a feature.
The Parasol detail on this Shin Bijutsukai Parasols design was stitched using a single strand of cotton thread and a Back Stitch, after all the other stitching was completed.
The string of lights and bow on the Christmas Truck needlepoint ornament kit were stitched using a Wrapped back stitch and a thicker thread to form a bold line.
Surface detail can also be added in the form of knots like French knots on this Butterflies design.
The windowsill snow on this Cat Toys needlepoint kit is in French knots and the lights on the tree are a Wrapped Back Stitch.
There are so many ways to add pizazz to your stitching. We hope you have enjoyed these ideas and find ways to use them on your next needlepoint project.
Happy stitching!
Shop Poppy Monk needlepoint kits and experience the joy of innovative stitching with 10% off. Use code REVOLUTION10 at checkout.
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