My Beginner’s Guide to Needlepoint: How to Start, What You Need, and Where to Shop

Thinking about starting needlepoint? This beginner-friendly guide walks you through the basics—what tools you need, easy stitches to learn, and where to shop for the prettiest canvases

This is my current needlepoint project I started while at High Hampton on our recent vacation! It’s from a local (to me) designer with Penny Linn and she has the cutest canvases! Her Instagram handle is @everydaynataliejane.

Needlepoint has become my favorite hobby (other than mahjong). It’s part art, part science, part therapy—and it’s more approachable than you might think.

I get so many questions about this so thought it would be great to create a post with everything you need to know!

If you’re needlepoint-curious or ready to try something creative with your hands, this post is packed with everything you need to know:

✔️ beginner supplies

✔️ where I shop for canvases

✔️ thread types

✔️ guide to beginner stitches

✔️ canvas recommendations

✔️ storage solutions (trust me, you will need it soon enough!)

Let’s get you stitching!

But before we do —

This post is packed with everything I wish I had when I was starting needlepoint: tools, thread tips, where to shop, what was actually a necessity (and what wasn’t) — even a stitch guide!

It took hours (and lots of experience) to put this together, and I’m so excited to share it. If it helps save you time or gives you practical tips + inspiration on your own stitching journey, I’d love for you to consider becoming a paid subscriber!

This post is available to paid subscribers. While I don’t publish paid content regularly yet, this guide is packed with the kind of information I wish I had when I was starting out—and it felt right to make it part of my paid tier.

You can cancel anytime—no pressure, just resources when you need them. If it’s helpful to you, you’re welcome to subscribe for just one month to access this post!