Step-by-Step for a Plastic Canvas

Yarn is not just for knitting.

Plastic canvas, also called vinyl weave, is a great medium for learning how to do needlepoint and embroidery. The stiff material is easy to work with, and the large stitching holes make it easy to plan out a pattern and faster to finish a project. Plastic canvas is usually stitched with a yarn needle and colorful yarns. The canvas can be cut into unique shapes and stitched together to form 3-D objects. There are thousands of patterns available for various plastic canvas crafts, attesting to the popularity of the craft.

Things You'll Need

• Pattern
• Yarn
• Plastic canvas
• Scissors
• Yarn needle

Instructions

Setting Up

1. Read your pattern and be sure you understand it. You'll want to start with a pattern using the basic continental stitch.

2. Sort your colors of yarn, making sure you have all the colors the pattern calls for.

3. Cut the canvas to size carefully, using the grid of the canvas to make sure the size is exact. For example, your pattern may be 30 squares wide by 40 squares tall.

4. Thread your needle with the color yarn that begins the main object. Background colors are usually stitched last. Determine how much yarn you'll need by measuring the squares and doubling the length. If it is very long, just use whatever length you are comfortable with so your yarn won't tangle.

5. Following the pattern, count the squares in the grid to determine where you will begin stitching.

Stitching

1. Stitch by inserting the needle from the back of the canvas up into the lower left hole. From the front of the canvas now, push your needle through the upper right hole directly diagonal from the one you started toward the back of the canvas. This is called the continental stitch. Leave a tail of about half an inch of yarn at the back of the canvas when you first begin.

2. Repeat by moving your needle down to the hole directly below where your first stitch ended. Make another diagonal continental stitch.

3. Overlap your tail of yarn on the back of the canvas to secure it in place as you fill in stitches.

4. To finish a color, flip the canvas over and run your needle underneath and through about a half inch of stitches. Trim off the yarn.

5. Repeat as necessary with different colors of yarn.

6. Finish the edges of your project using an overcast stitch. This diagonal stitch starts at the back of the project and goes through the first edge hole to the front. Loop the yarn over the edge by bringing your needle to the back of the canvas again and pushing it through the next hole to the right and toward the front again. This will create a nice colored border around your canvas instead of bare plastic edges.

References

• AOK Corral: How To Do Plastic Canvas Craft Projects
• Plastic Canvas Crafts: An Introduction
• Craft Designs 4 You: Learn to Stitch Plastic Canvas