Welcome again to NeedlePoints of View, a month-to-month column dropped at you by me, Shannan of Bobbin and Fred, and Emma of The Maker’s Marks, the place we’ll be sharing our love of all issues needlepoint. Whether or not you’re new to the craft and wish to study what it’s all about otherwise you’ve already fallen underneath needlepoint’s spell, we hope to encourage you to select up a needle and get stitching.

Whether or not you’re a seasoned needlepointer working in your newest canvas or a brand new needlepointer working in your first, chances are you’ll end up wishing you had an additional hand if:

You’re experiencing hand fatigue from holding the canvas…

You’d wish to attempt two-handed stitching to extend your velocity…

Or, you wish to enhance your posture as you sew.

That’s the place needlepoint frames and stands come to the rescue!

Should you’re a needlepointer who needs to sew sooner or extra comfortably for longer, this fast information will introduce you to the various kinds of frames and stands available on the market.

What sort of body is greatest for needlepoint?

A needlepoint body holds the canvas taut when you sew, stopping it from distorting as you sew. This implies it’ll want much less blocking earlier than ending.

There are many completely different frames to select from, however the most effective frames for needlepoint are scroll frames and stretcher bars.

Scroll Frames

Scroll frames work a lot the way in which they sound. You connect the highest and backside of the canvas to the curler bars and slot the bars into the extenders to make the body. You then roll the canvas across the curler bars (like a scroll) till it’s taut.

Historically, scroll frames contain basting or machine stitching the needlepoint canvas to the twill tape on the curler bars. As you possibly can think about, getting the material sq. on the body might be fiddly.

However there are simpler methods to connect the canvas! 

Some stitchers use dressmaking pins to pin the canvas to the twill tape.

Some curler bars are cut up in half so that you can sandwich the canvas between them.

Others use hook and loop tape.

Scroll frames are available in numerous sizes, from tiny ones designed for stitching belts to massive frames for rugs and fabric initiatives.

They’re a fantastic selection whenever you’re stitching a big canvas. 

However some needlepointers hate them!

Why, you ask?

Should you use specialty stitches and beads they’ll get crushed whenever you roll up the canvas and transfer on to the following part. One resolution is to put felt or toweling on high of the finished areas and roll it into the scroll to cushion the stitches and forestall them from being squished flat.

Additionally, a scroll body solely holds the canvas taut from the highest and the underside of the canvas, so the perimeters are free. Some needlepointers lace the perimeters to the extender bars or use stress clips to maintain a fair stress over the entire canvas.

Stretcher Bar Frames

Should you favor your needlepoint canvas tight as a drum, then a stretcher bar body will be the reply.

These frames are made up of 4 interconnecting items. They normally match collectively by hand, however some might require a mallet to safe the 4 joints in place. I discover the final nook is all the time the hardest. Utilizing thumbtacks or a staple gun, you then stretch your canvas over the body.

Stretcher bar frames are bought in pairs of various lengths, normally measured in inches. You’ll want two pairs (4 items) to make a body. They’re typically cheap, in order that they’re very best for these on a tighter finances.

A couple of issues to notice earlier than you rush out to purchase a stretcher bar body:

• The stretcher bars have to be smaller than your needlepoint canvas so you possibly can stretch the canvas excessive of the bars.

• If the strain loosens (this could occur from stitching), you’ll have to take away and restretch the canvas over the body. Nevertheless, Evertite has integrated a tightening mechanism into their stretcher bars. It’s very efficient, and also you gained’t need to take away the canvas to regulate the strain, however they’re costlier.

• Should you’re engaged on an enormous canvas, chances are you’ll wrestle to comfortably sew all of it. You possibly can flip the canvas the other way up to achieve the highest, however don’t neglect to show the sew information the other way up too. In any other case, whenever you flip the canvas again, your stitches will be the mistaken approach round.

Needlepoint Stands

A needlepoint stand is a useful third hand, holding your framed canvas when you sew.

Once you use a stand, you possibly can sew the canvas two-handed (one hand above and one under the canvas), which is a a lot sooner strategy to work. 

Stands are additionally wonderful in the event you’re experiencing hand fatigue or ache from holding the canvas as you sew.

stand may also help enhance your posture when paired with the fitting chair, permitting you to sew for longer and extra comfortably. 

The three varieties of needlework stands are:

Lap Stands 

Needlepoint lap stands both stability on high of your lap, or they’ve a base that’s positioned underneath your thigh as you sit and sew.

Flooring Stands

Flooring stands relaxation both in entrance or to your facet when you sew.

Desk Clamp Stands

Desk clamp stands connect to a desk or worktop floor and are essentially the most moveable of the bunch.

There are many completely different manufacturers making stands on the market however the ones needlepointers champion again and again are (in no explicit order): 

Needlework System 4

Needlework System 4 is an interchangeable vary of stands and equipment created from light-weight aluminum and chrome steel. These sturdy stands present wonderful worth as a result of their versatile nature and the power to construct the best stand for any state of affairs out of the completely different elements.

Okay’s Creations

Okay’s Creations provide a variety of moveable stands created from chrome steel and wooden. Needlepointers typically reward Okay’s for his or her swiveling ball joint that permits for optimum positioning. 

Lowery Workstands

Lowery Workstands present a small vary of needlework stands created from aluminum and chrome steel. The stands are light-weight, totally adjustable, and customizable, so you possibly can create the right stand in your wants.

Choosing the proper needlepoint frames and stands for you

Which body and stand fits you greatest will depend on your wants, the place you sew, and your finances. Many native needlepoint retailers carry a wide range of stands, and a few even mortgage them out that will help you work out which one’s greatest for you.

I really like utilizing stretcher bars for smaller initiatives and scroll frames for bigger canvases. I pair each with a Lowery Workstand. The Lowery was the fitting selection for me as a result of it’s compact, the levers are form on my palms, and the additional lengthy L bar permits me to sew wherever I’m sitting.

I hope this fast information to the most effective needlepoint frames and stands helps you battle hand fatigue and allows you to sew for longer!

Subsequent time Emma will introduce you to a implausible group of stitchers who meet recurrently to needlepoint and natter. She’ll additionally let you know the way to search out your native sew membership or set one up.