The Stitch Journal

Stitched rose flower popping forward from a subtler textured needlepoint background

The Best Needlepoint Background Stitches (And W...

The best needlepoint background stitch for most people, most of the time, is basketweave: it looks identical to the rest of your tent stitching, keeps the canvas straight, and wears...

The Best Needlepoint Background Stitches (And W...

The best needlepoint background stitch for most people, most of the time, is basketweave: it looks identical to the rest of your tent stitching, keeps the canvas straight, and wears...

Printed checkerboard needlepoint canvas with threaded needle ready to begin

The Mosaic Stitch: Your First Decorative Needle...

The mosaic stitch is the smallest box stitch in needlepoint: three diagonal stitches — short, long, short — that form a neat 2×2 square block. Repeat the blocks side by...

The Mosaic Stitch: Your First Decorative Needle...

The mosaic stitch is the smallest box stitch in needlepoint: three diagonal stitches — short, long, short — that form a neat 2×2 square block. Repeat the blocks side by...

Needlepoint canvas folded to show tent stitches on the front and the woven basketweave back

The Basketweave Stitch: Needlepoint's Favorite ...

The basketweave stitch is the tent stitch worked in diagonal rows instead of horizontal ones. From the front it looks exactly like the continental stitch — the same neat field...

The Basketweave Stitch: Needlepoint's Favorite ...

The basketweave stitch is the tent stitch worked in diagonal rows instead of horizontal ones. From the front it looks exactly like the continental stitch — the same neat field...

Needlepoint canvas surrounded by seven pink wool shades, needles, and scissors

The 7 Essential Needlepoint Stitches (In the Or...

There are seven needlepoint stitches worth knowing as a beginner — and you only need one of them to finish your first canvas. The rest are upgrades you add when...

The 7 Essential Needlepoint Stitches (In the Or...

There are seven needlepoint stitches worth knowing as a beginner — and you only need one of them to finish your first canvas. The rest are upgrades you add when...

Relaxed strand of wool rising from evenly tensioned stitches on flat needlepoint canvas

Needlepoint Tension: How Tight Should Stitches Be?

Correct needlepoint tension feels almost lazy: pull the stitch until it rests snugly against the canvas, then stop. If you take one sentence from this post, that's the sentence. Here's...

Needlepoint Tension: How Tight Should Stitches Be?

Correct needlepoint tension feels almost lazy: pull the stitch until it rests snugly against the canvas, then stop. If you take one sentence from this post, that's the sentence. Here's...

Needle threader wire loop pulling dusty rose wool through a tapestry needle eye

How to Thread a Needle for Needlepoint (3 Ways ...

Threading a tapestry needle takes about five seconds once you know the fold method — and it's genuinely the most common place beginners get stuck before their first stitch. Here...

How to Thread a Needle for Needlepoint (3 Ways ...

Threading a tapestry needle takes about five seconds once you know the fold method — and it's genuinely the most common place beginners get stuck before their first stitch. Here...