Your first stitches.

A LITTLE PLACE TO BEGIN

Needlepoint makes a picture from small stitches worked through the holes of a canvas. A tent stitch crosses one canvas intersection diagonally. You do not need to know how to knit or crochet.

Settle in.

Choose a bright spot at the table. Put your canvas, needle, colour chart, and thread where you can see them. Bring scissors. Keep needles and loose thread away from children and pets.

Start with a small practice patch.

Thread your tapestry needle with a manageable length of the supplied yarn. Practise on the separate swatch before starting your design. Use gentle tension: snug enough to cover the canvas, without pulling the holes out of shape.

Learn the movement.

Our intended stitch is continental tent stitch. It creates little diagonals on the front and longer diagonal stitches on the back. The direction of travel matters. Before your first row, use the illustrated reference below to see the needle’s route.

See the Royal School of Needlework’s tent-stitch reference ↗

Explore DMC’s stitch diagrams ↗

Let a few rows become a rhythm.

Follow one colour at a time and check against your chart. Stop if the canvas starts to buckle. Take a break when you want one. A small project does not need a deadline.

The last stitch is not the last step.

Once the design is stitched, the coaster needs its backing and finished edge. We are testing that construction alongside the kit. The final kit-specific guide will show the complete route with photographs of the actual materials.

This introductory page is available while the first kits are in development. The production guide and demonstration footage will be added after sample testing. The linked references belong to their respective publishers.