Yarn & Needlepoint
Needlepoint is the craft of creating a wide range of designs by precisely stitching a canvas, a mesh fabric with vertical and horizontal threads that form openings for stitches. Once complete, needlepoint canvases can be used for decorative pillows, chair seats, sofa cushions and wall hangings, among other things. Designs can be intricate, involving many small stitches, or simpler with larger, less intricate needlework. A large, and often bewildering, array of yarns exists in a variety of colors, textures and weights.
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Yarns
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A strand of yarn usually contains several plies. Needlepoint yarns consist of strands that are made up of plies, slender threads that make up a single strand. Yarn can be identified by the number of plies it has: usually two, three or four. The thickness of a yarn should match the size of the canvas holes. It must be small enough to fit through the holes, yet thick enough to cover (or hide) the canvas threads.
Persian Yarn
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Persian yarn is one of the most frequently used for needlepoint. It is a two-ply, three-strand thread made of wool or acrylic. Strands can be combined for canvases with large holes for stitches or separated for those with smaller holes. Persian wool is especially recommended for needlepoint.
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Tapestry Yarn
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Four-ply, single strands spun in wool or acrylic, tapestry yarns are a little finer than Persian threads. However, the plies are difficult to separate.
Other Yarns
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Metallic threads--available like other yarns in various weights, colors and textures--are fragile and should only be used in small areas of a canvas. They are usually made up of a base, non-metallic thread braided with a metallic one. These threads are fragile and should be avoided for heavy-wear needlepoint furnishings such as chair seats. Other yarns include pearl cotton, a strong, two-ply thread with a bright sheen, and silk and wool blends. .
Stitches and Needles
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Needlepoint stitches are in only two directions: diagonal or parallel to the horizontal and vertical canvas threads. Needles are blunt edged so that they don't rip into the canvas. The size of the eye--the hole into which yarn is threaded--varies from 26, the smallest which produces the finest stitch, to 13, the largest. The size of the canvas hole determines the size of the needle.
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References
- Photo Credit wooden bowl of yarn image by Jeanne Hatch from Fotolia.com handcrafted yarn image by mrslevite from Fotolia.com
