Punch needle: Fun projects with less hand stress

It’s an ancient technique that’s good for beginners or embroidery experts. The punch needle technique is great for art projects or decorations on pillows or other items.

The great thing about a punch needle is that the needle itself is large. It doesn’t require the maker to hold a tiny needle or use a magnifying glass to see the stitches. The punch is held like a pencil and has a large threading hole, making it easier to get started. You can use a piece of wire or a wire threading tool to get it going.

This type of punch needle is a lot like rug hooking. However, in punch needling, the needle pushes a loop down into the fabric, instead of pulling it up as in rug hooking.

You will need a design (you could even make one yourself) and a tracing template, thick yarn or rug yarn, a punch needle, monk’s cloth, and an embroidery frame.

If you are a beginner, you might consider a complete beginner’s kit with all the right supplies, including the needle. Complete kits run about $20 to $40.

If you have all the supplies you need, you’ll find free templates for punch needle projects online.

Luckily, if you have no experience but want to start a project, you can see entire videos of projects on YouTube.

Like any project you aren’t familiar with, there will be some getting-started pain.

Among the things you should watch out for:

• Be sure to pull the fabric as tight as possible on the hoop. Consider using a screwdriver to close the hoop tightly. If the fabric isn’t tight enough, you’ll have loose loops and stitches.
• Keep about a foot of slack in the yarn and unwind as you go. Never lean on the slacked yarn.
• Make sure to punch the needle down to the handle on each stitch, otherwise, you might get uneven loops.