How to Learn Needlepoint Stitches
Whether you're interested in learning needlepoint as a new relaxing hobby, to produce gifts or decorations for your home or to begin a new career as a crafter, one of the first skills you must master is the actual stitching. The stitches that beginners should try to master include scotch, interlaced cross, mosaic, basketweave, continental, overcast, ming and straight gobelin.
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Instructions
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Purchase a beginner's needlepoint stitching book, such as "101 Needlepoint Stitches and How to Use Them" by Hope Hanley, "Needlepoint Stitches: 52 Stitches Explained and Illustrated" by Susan Higginson, "Stitch Sampler" by Lucinda Ganderton and "The Stitch Starts Here" by Summer Louise Truswell. Look for books with lots of color illustrations and step-by-step explanations of each stitch.
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Join a local needlepoint group or club such as the Loose Thread Stitchers in Philadelphia. The free organization offers weekly stitching evenings, retreats, group projects and a listing of needlepoint industry professionals. Clubs may offer needlepoint lessons; you can also review the membership roster and look for someone in your area who may be able to serve as a mentor or instructor.
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Sign up for needlepoint emails, which are available from needlepoint instructors and hobbyists. Some, like the email course available from All About Needlepoint, are free and consist of weekly emails teaching the basic continental and basketweave stitches, plus other, more intricate stitches, tools and a basic project to begin the learning process.
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Review online stitch patterns from organizations such as the American Needlepoint Guild. The Guild offers a new free pattern at the beginning of every month, such as the October 2009 Upright Trellis. The Guild's website offers an image of the completed stitch, then a step-by-step guide to completing it.
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Stop by the customer service desk of a craft or hobby store in your town and ask about their class list; national retailers such as Joanne Fabrics, Michael's and AC Moore often have free or inexpensive evening or weekend lessons. They also may have someone on staff to recommend as a needlepoint tutor. Check your Yellow Pages for a needlepoint shop such as Connecticut's Next Station Needlepoint, which offers beginner needlepoint classes over a two-week period and includes basic stitch instruction cards, needles, threaders, canvas, fibers, stretcher bars and homework instructions.
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