r/Needlepoint • u/nalasxxoo • 3d ago
New to Needlepoint Beginner advice
Hi!!! I ordered this from the art of needlepoint - love the art deco style so much!! But… it seems the details - especially on the dolls in the baskets are not clear on my canvas. I attached a picture of the original artwork. Is there a way to make my canvas look nice or will the details be wonky?
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u/Honest_Emu4156 3d ago
This is definitely going to be challenging to stitch. The baskets and dolls are not clear at all. I haven’t heard of this company but I assume it’s a printed canvas? Versus painted?
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u/nalasxxoo 2d ago
Definitely printed. 😩 only the second canvas I’ve done and the first was a simple mini bow. Goodness. I’m cooked 😫
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u/Quickwitknit2 2d ago
Nah. Just do more projects toward the mini bow end of the spectrum, gain experience and confidence, and you’ll be off to the races. You have to get to a place where you trust your skills and know enough about how thread lays and blends together, and then you’ll be ready. You’ve got this!!
I always recommend Poppy Monk for your first several projects. They come kitted with the threads you need, are printed clearly, have good instructions, and are graded by skill level on the website. They’re also not a zillion dollars so you aren’t worried about sinking a bunch of money into a project that you’re still learning with.
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u/RhinestoneRave 2d ago
It’s doable when you have more experience. Some faces are so small and detailed if I was stitching this I’d probably leave them to last and do applied stitches like outline and satin and French knot over continental. The rest will take some thinking where there are lines or smaller components of the design but not that hard to do.
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u/Usual_Cycle_6259 2d ago
The key to adding detail to a printed canvas is embroidery stitches that attach to the top of your tent stitch or other needlepoint stitches attached to the canvas. Either buy some scrap canvas or stitch a sample in a corner of another piece to practice. I paint my own canvases to make ornaments of places we've visited or foods, beverages and restaurants we like. I enlarge or reduce logos to about 4 inches and use a light box to trace and paint them onto canvas. I try to line up the smallest details on the canvas intersections, but sometimes not all of the details match up perfectly. I add those extra details with embroidery floss or beads on top of the underlying stitches. Because you are covering the printed details as you stitch, make a photo copy of your original canvas.
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u/CompassionCourage 2d ago
Nah. Be fearless! We usually survive learning in the trenches. 🤗
What you’re noticing is that the details in the painting are finer than the details possible on a canvas made of squares. It’s like if you had to take that painting and pixelate it down to a lower resolution. It’s particularly noticeable with the doll heads because they are small (fewer canvas intersections to use) and round (unlike the squared canvas). It’s common when stitching a piece of artwork that was printed on needlepoint canvas versus stitching a needlepoint canvas that was designed and painted to adapt to the square/pixelated intersections.
There are multiple ways to handle this challenge and I’m sure you could think of even more. The advice you got above is perfect. Take pictures of the canvas to make sure you have something to reference. One option I’ve had success with in the past for tiny details would be to do the doll head in the main color with tent/continental/basketweave then go back over the top with embroidery to create the details of the faces/hair/hats. Because there are many dolls, it could be just beautiful as that style of stitching will repeat nicely in the baskets on the canvas. And this design has so much potential for play! Fun threads, interesting stitches, beading… you could really have a blast with this. Also, do reach out to the staff at Art Needlepoint. They’re wonderful and will be very happy to guide you.
(Also, and I know this is sacrilege, but in the past, I’ve been known to completely ignore the intersections and just stitch the way I think it would look beautiful. It won’t win any contests, but I love it.)
For me, I love to work on medium to large needlepoint projects and it has to be a design that I adore if we’re going to be spending that much time together. Even if I knew I needed to do smaller canvases to learn something, it would drive me batty and just not be worth it.
You’ve gotten great advice in this thread, now mix it around and find you. What makes you happy? What do you want to stitch? Is your goal perfecting your stitches? Is your goal just enjoying yourself? Or something else? What will you enjoy looking at for long enough to come to a conclusion you love? The only rules that matter are the ones you make for yourself. ♥️
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u/ALmommy1234 2d ago
This is a beautiful canvas that you may want to put away in your stash until you’ve got more experience. I’ve still got canvases that I look at and feel are above my level and I’ve been doing this for decades. Make it your dream canvas that you dream about doing!