~ A Punch Needle Tutorial - of sorts ~
Well Hello!!
I am attempting to show you via photos
how I work with my punch needle....
I have been needle-punching for over 20 years ~
I am a fast & furious puncher and enjoy it immensely...
and I have been blessed to have taught lots {and lots!} of folks
how to needle punch up and down the East Coast and into the middle states ;)
*Disclaimer*
I have a cat.
so there are cat hairs in my photos {gasp!}
on we go then....
This is a design that I have named
'Love Shack'
and here it is in it's finished-finished state ~
for larger designs,
I use my Hookinpunch© gripper frame from Notforgotten Farm™
and a MEDIUM tip Ultra Punch {Cameo} punch needle.
my threads of choice are DMC 6 strand cotton floss
& Valdani pearl cotton size #8
when working with Valdani,
I DOUBLE the thread and use it in my MEDIUM tip punch needle...
it punches up wonderfully & full.
and when working with DMC thread, I use ALL SIX STRANDS at once.
I usually keep my Ultra Punch Needle with MEDIUM top set on the #1 or lowest setting,
unless I'm working on a dimensional project, then my pattern instructions will dictate that for you.
 |
| back or working side of my project and the first cat hair! |
As you can see in the photo below,
the darker ground under the house has been punched totally horizontally,
but I wanted to change my direction for more movement in the design.
this is called Directional Punching.
so I penciled in some guide-lines...
then punched them...
then filled them in more...
...until the bottom of the heart shape was completely filled in {below}.
this lends an old look to my work, and keep the eye moving ~
I also have a trick that I use before I outline my border row:
as you can see in the photos below, I leave a space between the motif and the border-row...
so when I do punch the border-row the motifs don't interfere with the row
and I don't accidentally 'blend' my threads... leaving both nice & crisp.
now the MOST IMPORTANT thing I do is this:
looking at the photos below, you can see that I keep the 'eye' of my needle
against my previously punched row - and I punch SUPER CLOSE to my previous row!!
neat & tidy, huh?
I will outline all of my motifs this way, then continue to hold my needle in the same position while I finish the fill-in of the background.
But, before I fill in the background, I want to keep it from looking flat or static...
so I pencil in more guidelines to break up the expanses in the unfinished background:
now the next photo below show a very vague way of how I will punch each penciled in section...
no, I don't draw these little arrows in when I'm working,
~ but for this little tutorial they are there for you to see :)
So now once the majority of the background has been filled in with the Valdani #8 pearl cotton,
for added interest, I am using 6 strand DMC cotton floss in a complimentary color value ~
I like doing this, as it also lends an old look and makes my work more interesting to me.
~
Here is the shaggy back of my work, or the 'working' side.
Notice I trim my threads away as I work, so they do not get accidentally pushed to the front...
and you can clearly see where I used the non-variegated DMC floss in little 'puddles'
{upper left of heart}.
So now to finish-finish this project into a stuffed pillow or pinkeep:
Once I have trimmed away any snags or long loops from the front of my project,
I will lay it face down on my backing fabric, which is face-up on my work surface.
Then I carefully machine stitch ALL THE WAY AROUND the entire finished project
coming as CLOSE to the last punched row as I can...
Yes you will catch your loops with the machine, and that is ok!!
**{photos below show a different project but clearly show the technique}
can you see the darker line under my last punched row of white thread?
that is my machine-stitched line.
Now once I have machine stitched all the way around my project,
using PINKING SHEARS I trim away the excess weavers cloth
to within 1/4" from my machine stitching...
~ then I make a slit in the backing fabric and turn my project right sides out.
Save a piece of the backing fabric to use as a patch to cover the opening!!
I like to use cotton balls, sawdust or clean scraps of fabric for stuffing,
~ but for this it's cotton balls.
I will unroll the cotton balls and use a chopstick
to stuff the project firmly...
now you can cover the slit with the scrap you saved:
...and there you have it!!
I am always available to answer your questions ~
Hope you enjoyed this!
~ Lori
