Here’s a long sad story for you: for a year, I’ve been working on a needlepoint belt for my boyfriend. I bought a custom painted canvas and a kit to needlepoint it myself. I recently finished the belt, and sent it off to Sign of The Arrow. They called me and said that I had doubled up on my thread, so that I had two strings going through each hole of the canvas. It looks great, but they said they could not mount it onto a leather belt because it is too thick. I really worked hard on this belt, and I don’t want it to go to waste. I’ve looked every where online, and haven’t been able to find any do-it-yourself ideas for mounting the needlepoint design. Any ideas on how I could still turn this into a wearable belt? Maybe a Dring and not-so-feminine ribbon? Could I glue it onto a regular leather belt? HELP!
It is a long strip of canvas, that would typically be bound to leather ends by a needlepoint finishing shop, including a brass buckle. But since the expert said it was too thick, they couldn’t bind it onto leather.

I think that if you get a canvas belt and use monofiliment, you should be able to stitch it onto the canvas. I wouldn’t glue it because glues have a tendency to fail after a while. You will need a strong thread or can use fishing line - about 8 lb test - and a very strong and sharp needle. Maybe a quilt basting needle. They are thin enough and should fit through the holes. You can also use a pair of nylon pliers to pull the needle thru if the holes are tight.

Want to make a needlpoint wall hanging (not too big) of my grandbabies name, birthdate etc, in the color scheme of her room which is pinks and browns. How would I do something like that? I’ve never done needlepoint or cross stitch without a ready made kit. Cross stitch embroidery would be okay too. Any links or ideas? Could I make the design on my computer and print it on iron-on transfer paper?
Also any ideas where I could buy the supplies I need?

I make my designs for needle point the long way using graph paper. I use the paper that has it gridded so many squares per inch. I also prefer the larger squares.
I put several of these sheets together with tape or glue and then to the design.

This is tedious but I find that this is the easiest for me to do as I then can count my stiches on the paper that is the same size as the needle point fabric that I am using. I can also color this in. I have taken my design to the copy store and copied it several times so I can
do several color layouts to find the one that I like the best.

You can use any design that is crosstitched. I only use one stitch for each cross stitch in the pattern(explanation below)

There are many books at the library that would give you many resources for patterns, stitches, and so on.

I also like to use plastic canvas with four ply yarn for needlepoint. I don’t use cross stitch for either of these as the stitch is too thick . I
only use needlepoint stitches when using either of these two mediums
(canvas or plastic canvas).

Good luck. Have fun!

Dorothy

Can someone explain the difference between needlepoint, long stitch, crewel and counted cross stitch? My sister loves long stitch but is having a hard time finding kits. Now the stores just have needlepoint. She found some old kits on eBay but what’s odd is that it’s called Needlepoint Long Stitch. Thanks for any clarification you can provide.

I assume that what she likes looks something like this link.
http://needlepoint.about.com/od/valentinesday/ss/PinnnkHearts.htm
If so, we’re talking about the same thing. ‘Long stitch’ IS a specific needlepoint technique or stitch (most commonly seen in ‘bargello’ work), so ‘needlepoint long stitch’ or ‘long stitch needlepoint’ makes sense and should be what she wants (crewel and counted cross stitch are completely different and not what you’re looking for). I did a Yahoo search and found a number of vendors selling long-stitch kits on-line - you can try it yourself.
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu6Hxw1JL5gYAtNZXNyoA?p=longstitch+needlepoint+kits&fr2=sb-top&sao=1
I have bought a number of kits from ‘The Stitchery’ over the years and been pleased.
http://www.thestitchery.com/
Herrschner’s has some, too, and I’ve also had good experiences with them.
http://www.herrschners.com/
I’ve personally had good experiences with kits made by Janlynn and Bucilla, but I’m sure there are other good ones too.
Good luck - I hope you both find what she’s looking for!

Free beading tutorial for the “Beadpoint” technique, including detailed animations and video, produced and narrated by Ann Benson of www.beadseast.com

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Josephine Wall (born 1947 in Farnham, Surrey) is a popular English fantasy artist and sculptor.

Educated at Farnham and Parkstone (Dorset) grammar schools, she studied fine art at Bournemouth College and worked at Poole Pottery as a designer and painter of Delphis Ware[1]. Her pottery figures include characters from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and mythological creatures. Pieces of this work now feature in a book on the history of Poole Pottery.

Her paintings are mainly influenced and inspired by Arthur Rackham, with lesser influences from surrealist artists such as Magritte and Dalí, and the romanticism of the pre-Raphaelites.

A number of her works were exhibited in Teheran and Tokyo during 1974 and her first solo exhibition took place the following year in Swindon. Josephine and her paintings were the subject of a special feature on Southern Television in 1990. Following a visit to the Spring Fair[2] in Birmingham in 1993 she signed contracts with firms in Britain and Switzerland to publish her work as prints, posters and cards for worldwide distribution. Her originals and limited edition prints by are often sold through Courtenay’s Fine Art. In 1996 a licensing agreement with a company in Los Angeles, California, USA led to many new outlets including cards, stationery, puzzles, journals, bookplates, mugs, needlepoint kits and posters, as well as limited edition prints[1].

In 1998 five original works were selected for an exhibition at London’s Mall Gallery entitled Art of the Imagination. Josephine has subsequently joined the circle of artists in the society of the same name[3].

Since then her works have been selected for exhibitions at New York Art Expo and have been the subject of a book The Fantasy World of Josephine Wall, jointly published by the artist and Courtyard of Romance. Pop singer Britney Spears has used a number of Josephine’s images on her website. Britney also purchased a number of Limited Edition prints and Josephine is working on an original painting for her.

In 2008, Sunbeams Initiatives, Inc., Jacksonville, FLorida was chosen as Josephine’s Official International Marketing Group and “One Stop Shop” source for all of her art. This includes retail and wholesale sales of original paintings, prints, games, greeting cards, books and other quality products which carry her name. The company is headed by Dr. Patricia Sager as it’s President and CEO. Dr. Sager personally handles much of Ms. Wall’s personal appearances and event planning worldwide.

Wikipedia.

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To watch in HQ:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNI7Fe6w9tI&fmt=18

Josephine Wall (born 1947 in Farnham, Surrey) is a popular English fantasy artist and sculptor.

Educated at Farnham and Parkstone (Dorset) grammar schools, she studied fine art at Bournemouth College and worked at Poole Pottery as a designer and painter of Delphis Ware. Her pottery figures include characters from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and mythological creatures. Pieces of this work now feature in a book on the history of Poole Pottery.

Her paintings are mainly influenced and inspired by Arthur Rackham, with lesser influences from surrealist artists such as Magritte and Dalí, and the romanticism of the pre-Raphaelites.

A number of her works were exhibited in Teheran and Tokyo during 1974 and her first solo exhibition took place the following year in Swindon. Josephine and her paintings were the subject of a special feature on Southern Television in 1990. Following a visit to the Spring Fair in Birmingham in 1993 she signed contracts with firms in Britain and Switzerland to publish her work as prints, posters and cards for worldwide distribution. Her originals and limited edition prints by are often sold through Courtenay’s Fine Art. In 1996 a licensing agreement with a company in Los Angeles, California, USA led to many new outlets including cards, stationery, puzzles, journals, bookplates, mugs, needlepoint kits and posters, as well as limited edition prints.

In 1998 five original works were selected for an exhibition at London’s Mall Gallery entitled Art of the Imagination. Josephine has subsequently joined the circle of artists in the society of the same name.

Since then her works have been selected for exhibitions at New York Art Expo and have been the subject of a book The Fantasy World of Josephine Wall, jointly published by the artist and Courtyard of Romance. Pop singer Britney Spears has used a number of Josephine’s images on her website. Britney also purchased a number of Limited Edition prints and Josephine is working on an original painting for her.

In 2008, Sunbeams Initiatives, Inc., Jacksonville, FLorida was chosen as Josephine’s Official International Marketing Group and “One Stop Shop” source for all of her art. This includes retail and wholesale sales of original paintings, prints, games, greeting cards, books and other quality products which carry her name. The company is headed by Dr. Patricia Sager as it’s President and CEO. Dr. Sager personally handles much of Ms. Wall’s personal appearances and event planning worldwide.

Duration : 0:9:20

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To view the next video in this series click: http://www.monkeysee.com/play/11640 This video will show how to needlepoint and discusses choosing a canvas.

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The Needlepoint Kit Fall Wreath is available for purchase at www.abullrun.com. The kit includes 12-mesh 100% cotton interlock canvas with heat transferred design, wool yarn, needle, graph, and instructions, with a design size of 14 x 14.

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Plastic Canvas is fun and easy, Larry, an amateur explains the basics to get you started.

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Plastic Canvas is fun and easy, Larry, an amateur, shows some of his projects. Part 2

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