If you are just getting started with needlepointing, we recommend 5 things to start out your needlepoint “kit.”
- Beginner needlepoint canvas. You can check out our needlepoint canvases designed with beginners in mind here, but generally we recommend a smaller project with only one or two color changes.
- Needle. If your canvas doesn’t already come with a needle (all of ours do!), you will need to determine what size mesh your canvas is. If it is a 13 mesh (bigger holes), you will need a size 18 or 20 needle. If it is an 18 mesh (smaller holes), you will need a size 22 needle.
- Thread. If you didn’t buy a kit, meaning you bought the canvas only, you will need to kit the canvas yourself. If you bought an 18 mesh canvas, you’re in luck, as you can likely find all the threads you need at your local big box craft store ("DMC Pearl Cotton 5" at Michaels, Joann’s, or Hobby Lobby). You will definitely need these to start stitching!
- Scissors. We recommend small embroidery scissors that you can keep in your project bag for cutting your skeins of thread and also cutting off the little tails once you finish stitching each thread.
- Project bag. This is definitely not actually necessary, but extremely helpful to keep all of the above together! Your project bag can be as simple as a ziploc bag, or you can buy an elaborately embroidered zipper pouch that you can reuse again and again for different projects. While we aren’t selling any project bags of our own yet, stay tuned for future options here!
Honorable Mention #6: Needleminder. Bridget and Isabella are split on the utility of a needleminder, where Isabella feels like she can’t stitch without one, and Bridget doesn’t feel like she needs one! A needleminder does what its name describes, it minds your needle. It is a magnet that sticks to your canvas and attracts your needle so that it doesn’t go missing! If you don’t have a needleminder and you need to take a break, however, you can always just thread your needle through the empty part of your canvas.
Have we covered everything you think a new needlepointer needs? Let us know if there’s anything we forgot!