Needlepoint canvas painting might require a little practice before you get perfect results, but essentially it is easy to learn.
By painting your own designs onto needlepoint canvas, you get a truly unique product to stitch. Get creative. Have fun.
You will need:
Blank needlepoint canvas. Choose a canvas size that is right for the size and detail of the design you are transferring. For more information, or to purchase needlepoint canvas click on this link.
Paints. Any acrylic artist paint from your local craft store will do the trick. Delta is a good brand that is widely available. Try to avoid buying the cheapest paints you can find as they will likely lack the pigmentation to cover the canvas well.
Paint brushes. You will probably need a few different sizes. Perhaps a small pointed brush for fine
detail areas, and a flat tipped brush for larger areas and straight lines. Experience and personal preference will guide you here. The brushes do not want to be soft and feathery for needlepoint canvas painting. As a general rule, a firmer brush allows for more precise paint application.
White paper. This is to lay your needlepoint canvas on so it is easier to see what you are painting.
A straw.
Water. For rinsing brushes.
Let's start needlepoint canvas painting.
Cut the canvas 2 inches larger all the way around than the design you plan to create.
Lay the canvas onto the white paper. This makes it easier to see the design as you paint.
Sketch the outline of a design onto your canvas using pencil. You can also do this by tracing over a painting or
drawing you have already done. See the images below. We painted a rough copy of a needlepoint idea we had for
a design called "Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates". We placed this painting underneath the needlepoint canvas and traced an outline of it onto the canvas using a pencil.
Now you color in the design using the colors you have selected. Unless the paints are old, you should not
need to water them down, although if you find it easier to work with them being a little thinner then go ahead. As
you paint, you need to think like a stitcher. Each cross-thread in the canvas mesh is a stitch and so each
cross-thread must be designated a specific color. This is so that the guess-work is taken out of the equation for the stitcher. You are "stitch painting" not just slapping on color willy-nilly. This makes the process a little slower as you think what
color each stitch should be and paint the cross-threads on the canvas mesh accordingly.
Special Tip. As you paint, the canvas holes can get clogged with paint. Use the straw to "blow out" the holes periodically.
You may need to go back over some colors or touch up the details at the end. The paint dries very quickly and so in no time at all you will have your own needlepoint canvas painting.
This is our finished design. Next we are going to find some interesting fibers to stitch the design so that it really does look like a rich, inviting box of chocolates. Then we will finish it by framing it in a gallery-style frame.
Other finishing ideas:
lavender-filled scent pillow for a drawer
stitch it onto a tote bag
place it in the top of a wooden photo box (instead of a photo).
Contact us with questions about
needlepoint canvas painting.
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