PUNCH NEEDLECRAFT

PUNCHING

Depending on how deep your frame is, you may need to adjust your hold on the frame to keep the needle from hitting your work table. Experiment with your working position to discover what you find most comfortable.

STARTING

In most instances, start a piece of punch needle by working the motifs. Start with the main image within the design, and finish it before moving on to the background and any negative spaces or in-between shapes.

Choose a spot to start, punch the needle through the base cloth as far as the tool will allow. Without pulling the tool up, check whether the loose end of the yarn coming from the tip of the needle is still visible from the front. If so, reach underneath and pull so that the end hangs down on the back side.

TECHNIQUES

There are a few key things to pay attention to here. As you pull the needle out all the way, leaving the yarn in the cloth, you do not want to lift the needle too high. You want the needle only to graze the surface of the cloth as you move it to the next spot, which should be approximately 3 holes away, rather than every hole. When stitches are too close together, the tension will be too tight.

However, if your stitches are too far apart, the tension will be too loose. With a little practice you will learn how close to punch your stitches to achieve the perfect tension. Also – and this is important – keep the channel of the tool facing in the direction of your movement. If your line of stitches changes direction, rotate the frame so the tool remains comfortable to hold.

If you find your stitches are pulling out as you punch, make sure the yarn supply from the ball to the punch needle tool is loose, free-flowing and not caught on anything. In addition, check the weight and content of your yarn is suitable to use with your base cloth. For instance, cotton may be too slick, whereas a wool or acrylic has more texture and therefore might work better.

CHANGING YARN COLOURS

To change yarns, simply snip the piece you are using at the tip of the punch needle, rethread with your desired yarn and continue punching. When the piece is finished, trim any loose ends. If using embroidery stitch you may want to gently pull the loose end through to the back of your piece.

When all areas of the design are filled in, there will likely be plenty of loose ends of yarn hanging about and probably the occasional stitch or two that seems looser than the others. ‘Snipping’ is the process when you simply snip loose ends to clean up the appearance of the piece.

Likewise, if there are any gaps where you’ve missed a stitch, simply return to that area and fill those gaps in.

If an entire area is not to your liking – perhaps you have changed your mind about the stitch or colour – then remove the yarn in question by finding or snipping an end and pulling out as much as you want. Before you begin to punch into that area again, even out the weave of the base cloth a little with the point of your tool.

FINISHING

Once a project is completed, the entire surface will feel solid as each stitch is held in place by the others around it.

You shouldn’t need to worry about losing stitches through wear and tear. If a loose stitch does appear, it can be tucked in again or snipped off.

“CREATE TEXTURAL ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECES!”

HOW TO PUNCH EASY STEPS

STEP 1 The best way to hold the punch needle is to hold it as you would a pencil.

STEP 2 The point of the punch needle will find the openings in the base cloth, so you don’t really need to aim the tool. Simply apply enough pressure to