Needlepoint Canvas Crafts
- A quilt made in bargello style
Bargello is a particular type of needlepoint in which straight stitches are used. The straight stitches may be horizontal, vertical or diagonal; some designs use all three. Bargello designs are usually geometric patterns, such as squares or diamonds, and they often repeat or are mirror images of each other. Bargello is sometimes called Florentine work after a particular design that was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. - Petit point is a variation of needlepoint worked on Penelope needlepoint canvas. Penelope canvas is constructed with pairs of threads rather than single threads. This means that the intersection of horizontal and vertical threads may be treated as a single intersection or you may stitch between the individual threads creating, in effect, a canvas that has four times as many squares per inch as the original. Petit point allows for very fine details. Petit point and needlepoint can be combined on the same canvas, with the details and design being worked in petit point and the background being worked in needlepoint. Stitchers who want a relaxing project can purchase canvases where the design has already been worked in petit point, leaving them to complete the background.
- Whitework is a type of stitching traditionally done with white thread on white canvas. Needlepoint canvas allows the solid areas of the stitched design to show up against the open mesh of the background. Other variations include painting the canvas a solid color and stitching in white, placing a piece of colored fabric underneath the white stitching and canvas, and using a single solid color other than white to do the stitching.
- Pulled thread embroidery and drawn thread embroidery both involve using tight stitches to form a lacy effect. In pulled thread embroidery, stitches are pulled tightly, creating open spaces. In drawn thread embroidery, threads of the canvas are cut and removed, leaving an opening to be filled with decorative stitching.
