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The History of Needlepoint

The roots of needle point go back thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians who used small slanted stitches to sew up their canvas tents. There are also many references in the Bible to elaborate needlework on religious articles, including the tent used for worship in ancient Israel.

In the Middle Ages, there were two types of needlework that were forerunners of modern needle point. A kind of embroidery, in 13th century Europe, was done on coarsely woven linen fabric similar to canvas mesh.
Tapestries, also popular in that era, were woven on vertical threads on a loom. In the 16th century, people began to imitate these forms on a canvas background using steel needles, invented around this time. This allowed more intricate work than the fishbone or thorn needles used previously.

During the times of Mary, Queen of Scotts (who did needle point during her long imprisonment), needle point was a pastime of the leisure class. As time went on, its appeal gradually broadened to other parts of society.

During the 16th and 17th centuries embroidery on canvas, or needlepoint gained in popularity where it was used for pictures, upholstery fabric, and fashion accessories.

Needlepoint is the technique of forming stitches on an open-weave fabric called canvas. The canvas is constructed with vertical and horizontal threads that are woven together to make precisely placed holes between threads. The points at which these threads meet are called meshes. Needlepoint designs are more durable than other types of needlecrafts, making them well suited for chair seats, pillows, and rugs.

Most needlepoint designs are printed or hand painted on the canvas. Each color on the canvas represents a yarn or thread color. The stitcher covers each area on the canvas with the corresponding yarn or thread color, using a blunt tapestry needle. Some designs, especially those with a repeating pattern, are stitched on a blank canvas by counting from a pattern or chart.

The most common stitch is called a “continental stitch” or “tent stitch,” and is worked diagonally across the canvas threads. Other stitches are used to create dimension or to add outlines and highlights.

With an increase in leisure time along with the invention of a method of printing colored charts for needle point designs (called "Berlin Work"), needle point finally took its rightful place in style.

Needlepoint was born to recreate the look of woven tapestries.