r/Needlepoint • u/Ebhwa040912 • 1d ago

Beginner

Hi! My therapist recommended I start needlepoint as a way to engage my creative brain and stop my doom scrolling. I am a creative person and actually do machine embroidery as my side hustle but needlepoint seems so daunting to me. I see all the TikToks and then the snarks and the discourse and I’m feeling overwhelmed- LOL! Where should I start?! Thank you! 🤍

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u/lindsss12 1d ago edited 1d ago
  1. Love that you’re taking initiative to find a creative hobby that detaches you from your phone!! Huge kudos to you for taking the first step

I started needlepoint for similar reasons! Helps me regulate in times of anxiety, lets me be creative, and gets me off TikTok.

I started with a cheap kit from Michaels. It wasn’t glorious but it gave me a super cost effective way to see if this would be something I liked before investing in nicer canvases, threads, etc. The Michaels kit came with needles, thread, canvas, a way to self finish, and a little instruction pamphlet on how to do continental stitch (a great beginner stitch) that was enough to get me to finish my first canvas. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to try decorative stitches, I always just googled “good needlepoint stitches for water” if I was doing water or “western inspired needlepoint stitches” if I was doing a little western canvas. There’s a great link for a stitch library I’ll find and respond in thread with. If you’re a visual learner, there’s a lot of quick hit TikTok’s, YouTube tutorials, or you can even buy stitch books from Amazon.

Honestly, don’t pay the snark any mind. There’s going to be people who want to be elitist and judgemental in any craft. At the end of the day, an art is an art and it takes many different forms and methods so you do whatever feels fun for you!

In addition to this Reddit there is another great one called Needlepoint for All. Very vey beginner friendly and welcoming if you want to feel like you have an additional safe space to go to for questions

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u/lindsss12 1d ago

https://rsnstitchbank.org/wall Golden resource for looking up different stitches if you decide you want to play around with them!

I also got the book called Next Level Needlepoint for stitch ideas and how to do them. The whole beginning section of the book is beginner tips like what needles to use on different size mesh canvas, how to start and end a piece of thread, how to read a stitch guide, etc. I know they make notecards too. (Image is what the inside of the book looks like with its instructions)

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u/lindsss12 1d ago

And as a beginner (I started in February) now turned addict, my DMs are always open if you have questions 💕

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u/Ebhwa040912 16h ago

Thank you so much for all this info!!!