Punchneedle Embroidery – Needle and Fabric

Needles for punchneedle embroidery are much different that needles used for other types of embroidery.  They tend to be a bit bulky to use but they create such a wonderful texture embroiderers tend to forgive the needle.

 

                       

 

There are various brands of punchneedles on the market.  I use the Super Luxo.  When I started it was the one available in my area.  It is all metal (handle and needle).  It is heavy to hold (since it is all metal) but I am used to the weight of it now.  You need to get the brand that you like and can afford.  You will notice in my photo I have a rubber band wrapped around the handle.  I found when I laid the needle on a table, it tended to roll off the table and on to the floor, which dulled the needle point.  So I use the rubber band to keep it from rolling away.

What ever brand needle you use they are all the same. It’s a hollow needle with an angled tip and the eye drilled above the point.  You don’t have to pull the entire length of thread through the fabric as you do with other embroidery or sewing so the thread doesn’t fray.

angled or beveled tip

 

hole above the point

 

The needles come in various sizes. Small using one strand of embroidery floss   medium using 2-3 strands or large using 6 strands (the one pictured above uses 6 strands).  There are different types of needle available.  Some with each size needle sold separate or with one needle holder and the needles themselves are interchangeable (the super Lixo is one with interchangeable tips).

The loop size is depending on the needle as well.  Some needles have a dial which adjusts the needle length while others use a little piece of plastic tubing placed on the needle shaft to act as a stopper for the needle.  (By the way the needle tip in the picture below is for 2 strands of floss)

 

 

Fabric

The fabric most often used is known as Weavers cloth.  It is a cotton-polyester blend (45% cotton and 55% polyester).  This blend allows the fabric to be resilient enough to  punch but doesn’t tear the fabric (unless your needle tip is dulled). The needle tip tends to push aside the threads of the fabric when it punches through the fabric.

Weaver’s cloth

 

Other fabrics tend to stretch when punched and do not have a weave that allows punching.  They also don’t return to the original size when stretched in the hoop such as weavers cloth.  So weaver cloth is recommended for beginners but as I will show in a future blog, there are ways to punch other types of fabric.

Next week threads and hoops.

 

© 2018, 2021 – Cheryl Fillion