Do you know that learning how to make a needlepoint pillow only requires three steps? You read that right! This fancy pillow that typically comes at a high price point is doable at home.
If you have a knack for decorative pillows and shams, getting your hands in doing a needlepoint pillow should be easy. It may seem intimidating since you depend on quality stitches for the design of the pillow. However, some basic sewing skills will do, and even doing it in the sewing machine or by hand is relatively simple.
How To Sew A Needlepoint Pillow
Step #1. Design
Much like making any pillow type, preparing your materials is crucial beforehand. Once you finished a needlepoint square, you’re ready to construct a pillow using this canvas as the focal point. However, you might have to block it first by steaming if the stitching process had affected its square shape.
For the pillow back, you want to cut from durable materials and never from thin ones like sheeting. Corduroy is a good option, but any heavy fabric will do. Then, measure the piece similar to your needlepoint square, but add an inch of the seam allowance to the dimensions.
This way, you don’t risk damaging your canvas from accidentally cutting into it. Remember that needlepoint squares and embroidered canvas will get damaged if you cut even close to half an inch into them. More so, you’ll sew the back fabric piece into it in the next step.
Step #2. Sew
After preparing the materials, you’re ready to sew the pillow together. Place your needlepoint canvas and back fabric with their right sides facing and pin the edges to make stitching easier. Don’t forget to leave some inches unpinned because you’ll turn the pillow liner right side out in the final step.
You can start sewing around the needlepoint square, leaving the unpinned areas open. Since you’re making the stitches around the needlepoint canvas, you should see where your patterns ends and not damage them. Then, sew the seam inside these ends twice to reinforce it and ensure the durability of your pillow.
Step #3. Finish
You’re close to finishing your needlepoint pillow, so miter cut corners to achieve a neat look. Turn your pillow right side out using the opening, and push out all the corners, so that it will look snug when stuffed. Fill the pillow until you achieve your desired firmness and structure and blind stitch the opening close.
Needlepoint Vs Embroidery
A common question in the art of designing fabrics and pillows is the difference between needlepoint and embroidery. In the guide above, you’ve made a pillow with a needlepoint canvas, and another way to design a pillow is by embroidering the fabric itself. Therefore, are these techniques the same or share similarities?
Needlepoint uses surface embroidery by hand on fine materials, but embroidery uses needles and thread that you can do by hand or with a machine. You can think of needlepoint as an embroidery technique, but you’re working one stitch at a time on an even-weave canvas and counting squires or filling a painted design on the canvas. On the other hand, you’re not limited to the fabric types you can use for embroidery.
How To Needlepoint For Beginners
The project above teaches you how to use a needlepoint canvas that you just finished for the pillow’s front. But what if you have no experience with making one? Do not fret because it’s a relatively easy technique that might surprise you with how fun it is.
After you threaded the needle, make a waste knot at the end of the thread farthest from the needle eye and place it on top of the canvas. To do so, you want to poke the canvas from front to back, an inch away from where you need to start stitching. Stitch over the thread on the back of the canvas to lock it in place and cut the knot off the front once you reached it.
How do you end your thread? Have your threaded needle at the back and run it through the stitches you just made. Trim the excess thread to start another thread, this time, not making a waste knot. Run it under five of the stitches you just made as if you’re ending the thread twice to lock it before you start stitching.
What is a tent stitch?
The most common stitch for needlepoint is the diagonal tent stitch. You can learn different variations ranging from the half cross, basketweave, and continental stitch. As for the needlepoint canvas, the two basic types are the single and double thread materials.
Conclusion
If you have taught yourself to embroider a pillow, why not take it one step further and make a needlepoint square? Learning how to make a needlepoint pillow simply means constructing a pillow using two fabric pieces where the front one is the needlepoint canvas. Those who are familiar with sewing a basic pillow can quickly do this at home.
You don’t need a sewing machine to do so since you’re just sewing the pieces together. Leave an opening for turning the liner right side out, and then stuff the pillow to achieve the structure you like. Sew this opening securely, and you’re done with a needlepoint pillow!