Needle weaving is often used by embroiderers to make embroidered creations look more interesting. If the needle weaving is done correctly, objects created with needle weaving will look like they were actually woven on a loom. Below, find out how to use needle weaving to create a simple square (like the blue and gold ones pictured above). You’ll need a needle and a thread, plus a piece of embroidery linen, and I suggest you use two distinct colors of yarn, so you can easily see the difference between the horizontal weave and the vertical weave.
- Thread your needle with one of your colors of thread, and weave eight vertical bars. Start from underneath and move from top to bottom, then sideways. Then, go from bottom to top, and move sideways at the top. Repeat this pattern until you have eight stitches, always moving sideways (instead of up or down) to start a new stitch. Make sure there are not huge gaps between your vertical bars.
- With your second color of thread, starting at the top right corner of your vertical bars, start from underneath and weave horizontally through the vertical bars, following an over-under pattern. Always start each row with “over” and end it with “under.” In order to start a new row, bring your thread to the back of your fabric and move sideways.
There you go—your first basic needle weaving creation! Once you know the basics of needle weaving, it is easy to see how you can modify the type of stitches you make in order to create different shapes. For example, to create a triangle, start from the bottom with large stitches and make them smaller and smaller until you reach the point at the top. To create a circular weave, make a spiral out of many small, close-together stitches. Weave a stitch in and out of the spiral several times in order to add points to the weave, such as those on a sunshine or a star (shown in the top left and bottom right corners).
