This needlecraft technique is not complicated to do, but what we call it, and how we define it, is a little more difficult. The terms tapestry, needlepoint and canvas work seem to be used more-or-less interchangeably, but also differently between the UK and US. What does seem to be agreed upon is that the threads used are thicker than the two strands of embroidery floss commonly used in cross stitch, and the material used is robust canvas rather than cotton or linen fabric. To avoid getting too tangled up in definitions, we are going to concentrate in this “How to Guide to Tapestry” on diagonal stitching onto canvas with tapestry wool, tapestry cottons, or six strands of embroidery floss.
Tapestry is a wonderfully relaxing and creative hobby, and the repetitive nature of the stitching technique is calming but also engaging. And at the end you have a colourful picture or design, perfect for transforming into a cushion or a wall-hanging!
So, let’s grab some supplies and get started!
Download a pdf version of this guide for offline reading.
Kits
For a beginner, a kit may be the best place to start. In fact, even for an experienced stitcher, selecting and then working on a tapestry kit can be a real pleasure. Kits will include the canvas fabric and all the tapestry wool/cottons or threads required. They may also include a needle, instructions and a how to guide, and an image of the finished piece. If the design is not printed on the canvas, also included will be a stitch diagram, rather like a cross stitch chart, showing you which colour to use in which area, in order to complete the finished image.
Working from a kit will mean you won’t have to worry about calculating wool/thread quantities or canvas size required for your chosen project, and many will include details of the brand and colour code of the wool included, so if you were to run out of a colour, you will have the details needed to purchase extra. The amounts of wool/thread needed will have been calculated carefully, in order to ensure you do have sufficient to complete the project, but should something go wrong (maybe you need to restitch an area because you used the incorrect colour wool for it), knowing that you can buy extra of the exact brand and colour to replace it is very useful.
There are many tapestry kits to select from – if you’re new to the craft, our advice would be to choose one that’s just challenging enough to keep you engaged, but not so difficult that you get discouraged. And, of course, you can go very traditional or very modern; very colourful or monochrome/pastel; a realistic picture or an abstract design – whatever style you choose, enjoy watching your project develop as you stitch away!
Canvas
Tapestry or Needlepoint canvas is made up of loosely woven square netting with horizontal and vertical threads that weave over and under each other at evenly spaced intersections. It is then stiffened with sizing to keep the woven strands in place, making it strong and durable, and able to withstand the constant rubbing and pulling of your needle and wool. Good quality canvas is stiff and crisp, whilst being smooth enough to make the stitching process easy and the stitches looking neat and even.
The count of the canvas indicates the number of squares or holes to an inch (often expressed a “hpi” or “holes per inch”), so that the higher the number, the finer the canvas and the smaller the stitches will be. The images below show the corresponding sizes of the holes per inch of the same type of canvas, for comparison.
In addition to differences in the number of holes per inch, canvas is also available in a few different types. Mono canvas is woven as from single threads, and is perfect for cushion fronts as it is a more flexible fabric. Double Thread canvas provides greater stability, because it has threads running in pairs, making it stronger and more stable than single thread fabric; whilst Interlock canvas is both stable and flexible owing to the twisting of the threads around each other, and also lightweight. Interlock and Double Thread canvases are best used for more detailed pieces, for example, wall hangings showing portraits with intricate shading on the hands and face
As well as cushion fronts, the stiffness of canvas makes it ideal for creating items such as spectacle cases and wall hangings.
Printed Canvas
An alternative to stitching the design from a chart onto blank canvas is to have the picture already printed onto the canvas. Many kits include canvas printed in this way, but you can also buy pre-printed canvases, for which you would purchase the threads separately. Designs printed onto canvas are not always completely straight (when lined up against the grid of threads in the canvas), so you may sometimes have to decide which colour a particular stitch is intended to be. Our advice here would be, just choose – no one will be able to find it once you have moved on in your stitching, and that includes you!
One final point about your canvas – taping the edges with masking tape before you begin is a really good idea. It will mean that your canvas fabric cannot unravel or fray at the edges as you work on your project and, crucially, it will prevent it from catching and snagging your threads as you stitch. We guarantee that if you don’t do it, it won’t be long before you’ll wish that you had!
Threads
Tapestry is traditionally worked in pure wool. This wool is 4-ply and is perfect for stitching onto 10 and 12 hpi canvas, as the relative heaviness will give great depth of colour to your stitching. The colour range for all the brands pictured below (Appletons, DMC and Anchor) is large, enabling you to add subtle shading and variation to your work.
DMC Tapestry Soft Cotton is a matte tapestry thread, also known as Retors Mat. It is a soft, 5-ply, non-divisible thread which will stitch smoothly, making your stitches look very even and regular. It is perfect for tapestry, as an alternative to wool, if you are looking for a smoother, less textured and dense finish.
It is important to use the recommended wool (or whatever thread is included in your kit), so that the thickness is appropriate for the count of the canvas, as you will not want any canvas showing through when the piece is finished.
If you are working from a kit, be sure to carefully identify each colour of thread before you begin stitching. This is especially important where there is a range of close colour shades which you may mistake for each other. Use good, natural light if possible, comparing the thread colour to the area of the printed canvas. You may have a colour key on the edge of your canvas – a series of coloured boxes with the thread number printed next to each one. If you do, once you have identified each shade, attach a short strand of each wool/thread to the corresponding coloured square of the key – this will help you to consistently link the colour printed on the canvas with the intended shade. Some printed colours on the canvas may be exaggerated to increase the contrast and make the printed canvas easier to follow, and matching up the printed colour with the correct thread will be very helpful in avoiding confusion and errors, particularly when stitching in artificial light. You will specifically want to avoid inadvertently stitching a large area, intended to be of one colour, in more than one shade, as this will really show up when the piece is finished and you step back to admire it.
Additional Supplies
So, if we have tempted you to give tapestry a try, what else might you need to get started?
Needles
First of all, a needle. Tapestry needles have a blunt tip and a big eye – you don’t need a sharp point as you are going to be pushing the needle through clear holes in the canvas, and you need a big eye through which to thread your bulky tapestry thread or wool. If you have bought a kit, you may have a needle included in the contents. If not, here are a few tips to help you make your selection. The larger the number, the smaller the needle: so, for 8 and 10 hpi canvas, you could choose a size 16 needle; for 12 hpi, a size 18; for 14 and 16 hpi a size 18 or 20 needle; for 18 hpi, a size 22; and for 22 and 24 hpi, a size 24 or 26. Canvas can be rough, and if you find that your thread is shredding or fraying, try a larger needle (one with a lower number), as it will open up the hole in the canvas a little, allowing the needle to glide through more easily without catching on the canvas threads. Try this simple test to determine the size of needle you need: insert the tip of the needle into a hole in your canvas and let go. If the needle falls right through, it’s too small. If, on the other hand, you really have to pull at it to get it through, it’s too big. The perfect size tapestry needle will stop when the widest part of the eye hits the canvas and, when you gently pull it through, opens up the canvas threads very slightly.
Scissors
Just like for all needlecraft hobbies, you will need a pair of small, sharp scissors for tapestry. These will help with cutting your thread cleanly, which is handy for easier threading of needles, and also with snipping off finished threads close to the back. Although it is the front of the project that is the star of the show, it is best to avoid a messy and bulky back where possible, as this could make your completed piece a little bit uneven, making it trickier to finish neatly.
Frames
Whilst it is not essential to use a frame when stitching your tapestry, sometimes – particularly for bigger projects – it can help to avoid stretching them out of shape during the stitching process. This is no reflection on your stitching technique or ability, it just happens after a canvas has been pulled in different directions during stitching. This distortion will be minimised if you attach your canvas to a tapestry frame before you begin. Additionally, it can also help to ensure you always hold your work the same way up (there is always the danger of stitches going in different directions because of the temptation to turn your work around to stitch awkward-to-reach areas).
Good frames to use for tapestry projects are made from wood, with “scroll” bars on each longer side, enabling you to tighten the canvas by twisting the bars, wrapping the canvas around them. You can then position it so that the part of the canvas you are stitching on is displayed, keeping the rest of the canvas (either stitched or unstitched) out of the way, wrapped around the bars. Your canvas can be either stitched onto webbing attached to the frame, or held tight under plastic clips. Some frames have a stand attached, freeing up both of your hands for easier, quicker stitching.
Stitches
Tapestry uses just a few basic types of stitch – half cross or diagonal stitch; and tent or continental stitch. Both have the same consistent appearance on the front of the canvas (rows of diagonal lines) and are very easy to achieve.
Half Cross or Diagonal Stitch
If you use the half cross or diagonal stitch for your tapestry, you would push your needle out from one hole and into the hole diagonally across from it (Image 1). The next stitch begins in the hole directly below the previous stitch (Image 2), and goes into the next diagonal one (Images 3 and 4).
Continue in this way, methodically filling in each coloured section with horizonal lines of stitching. The front of your canvas will look smooth and regular, your stitches sitting in neat rows. The back of your canvas will show small vertical stitches, where you have moved your needle down to begin the next stitch.
Tent or Continental Stitch
The alternative tapestry stitch choice is Tent Stitch, also known as Continental Stitch. This looks the same as Half Cross/Diagonal Stitch on the front of the canvas, but is created slightly differently, and looks different on the back.
For this stitch, your needle comes out of a canvas hole and goes back into the canvas diagonally and down to the left (Image 1). It then comes back out, one hole along from where your first stitch began (Image 2), and back into the hole next to where your first stitch ended (Images 3 and 4).
On the canvas front, you see the same diagonal stitches as you would from the Half Cross stitch. On the back of the canvas, however, the stitches do not form vertical lines but long, diagonal ones.
As mentioned, the tapestry will look the same from the front, whether you use Half Cross/Diagonal Stitch or Tent/Continental Stitch. But there are differences – Half Cross/Diagonal Stitch is faster to stitch and more economical on thread use than Tent/Continental Stitch, which is more durable and so is often the preferred choice for tapestries intended to be made into cushions or other homeware. Tent/Continental Stitch can also be better at not distorting the canvas as you stitch (because you are pulling the needle through the canvas to both the left and the right), which may give a more even finish to your piece.
Just a quick note – if you are stitching from a kit, be sure to check which stitch is recommended, as the amount of wool supplied my differ between the two. If would be such a shame if you were to stitch three quarters of your picture in Tent Stitch and run out of tapestry wool because the kit supplied sufficient only for Diagonal Stitch.
Beginning and Ending Stitching
We would recommend the “catching” method of starting. To do this, pull your thread through a canvas hole, leaving about 5cm on the back, then sew over that end as you work your next stitches. Hold the surplus end flat to the back of the canvas and catch it under the back of the stitches as you proceed.
It is useful to begin your stitching with the lighter colours in your design, to avoid pulling through to the front darker threads from adjoining areas.
When you have finished with your thread, secure it on the back of the canvas by weaving your needle under a few stitches, then neatly snip off the remaining thread, close to the canvas. Once you have some stitches in place, you can begin your threads in the same way, by weaving under some existing ones on the back, close to where your new stitching begins.
And also, just before you complete your design…
Before you remove your work from the frame, hold the canvas up to the light and check for any stitches you may have missed. It is very easy to overlook some holes in a stitched area, and this will help you to see them, so that you can completely finish the project. Additionally, check for any loose thread ends on the back and snip them closely to the canvas, to keep your tapestry as smooth and neat as possible.
And finally, a quick look at Needlepoint and Canvas Work
In the introduction, we alluded to the difficulty in defining the needlecraft techniques of tapestry, needlepoint and canvas work, and in distinguishing them from each other. Whilst they do share some aspects in common (stitched onto canvas rather than fabric), Needlepoint/Canvas Work uses a range of different stitches and threads to create decorative texture. The canvas is often of a smaller count than that used for the type of Tapestry we have talked about above, and also may be coloured, so that where there are unstitched areas, the coloured background will show through and tone with the stitched areas.
If you find any of these instructions unclear or just need a little extra help, don’t hesitate to email us at sales@woolwarehouse.co.uk or give us a call on 01926 88 28 18.