Needlepoint Stitches
Most commercial needlework kits recommend one of the variants of tent stitch, although Victorian cross stitch and random long stitch are also used. Authors of books of needlepoint designs sometimes use a wider range of stitches. Historically, a very wide range of stitches have been used including:
- Arraiolos stitch
- Brick Stitch
- (Victorian) Cross Stitch
- Encroaching Upright Gobelin stitch
- Gobelin stitch
- Hungarian Ground stitch
- Hungarian point stitch
- Mosaic stitch
- Old Florentine stitch
- Parisian stitch
- Random Long Stitch
- Smyrna stitch
- Tent stitches - Basketweave, Continental and Half cross variants
- Upright cross stitch
- Whipped flower stitch
There are many books that teach readers how to create hundreds, if not thousands, of stitches. Some were written by famous stitchers, such as Mary Martin and Sylvia Sydney. However, the most popular and long-lived is The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christensen, Simon & Schuster. First published in 1976 by Prentice-Hall, the nearly 400-page text has been continuously in print and was revised in 1999; over 350,000 copies have been sold. Called "the bible" by its users, it is a comprehensive volume. Part One is filled with basic information on supplies, equipment, and basic procedures and techniques. Part Two teaches readers the fundamentals of color and design. For those who want to design their own projects, instructions on how to do so are included in Part Three. The heart of the book is the 250 pages of almost 400 well-charted, photographed stitches. Considered the one book to have, needlepoint shop owners recommend it enthusiastically.
Most of the other popular books are self-published and many are available from amazon.com. The team of Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson have written several inventive and useful books on how to use stitches to create special effects. Other prolific authors of stitch books include Brenda Hart, Amy Bunger, June McKnight, Ann Strite-Kurz, plus many others.
Amy Bunger has produced a very informative and entertaining series of eight DVDs that teach viewers a wide range of creative techniques for needlepoint, also called canvas embroidery.
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