Punch needling is something I only learned about over the last year. I got a beginners set for Christmas from a friend and finally had a chance to try it out. The same kit can be purchased from Kussen and Kiss. It is a great beginner set because it comes with the basic tools and some instructions. The set includes: Oxford #10 Regular Punch Needle, 8″ No-Slip Hoop, 2 pieces Monk’s Cloth, 7″ Pattern, and Punch Needle Guide. It does not come with yarn, so that is something additional that will need to be purchased.
I started with putting a rough outline of a pattern on the Monk’s cloth. To make the letters a bit more polished I printed the letters and than traced them onto the cloth. Then I proceeded to start the project. The begging was a little rough as this is something that I have never tried before. I watched a YouTube video by HGTV Handmade called How to Punch Needle & 3 Beginner DIY Projects – HGTV Handmade. I found it very help for the first initial few punches and to show some other ideas that punch needle can be used with.
Getting the right tension and spacing was a challenge. The more I did it the easier and better it started to look. The biggest thing to remember is to push the needle all the way in, but not lift it high when you pull it out. I created my own patter which posed an extra level of difficulty, but there are patterns in kits or for sale individually online on sites such as Etsy. Alternatively, you can create something on the computer and print it out yourself for a specific look.
I ended up not liking the spacing of the “&” and “E” so I moved it over a bit. With this type of art the patter gets covered so it is okay to move aspects a round. I actually did the “E” where it was supposed to be, but didn’t like it so pulled it out.
The final piece turned out pretty good for a first attempt. Being a knitter I had lots of yarn so I did not need to make a special trip or order to get yarn. I plan on playing around with making my own patterns and trying different weights of yarn so stay tuned!