Why Is Tent Stitch Called Tent Stitch?

Poppy Monk tries to get to the bottom of why tent stitches are called--tent stitches.

https://poppymonkneedlepointkits.com/blogs/the-5-minute-needlepoint-blog/needlepoint-tent-stitch-fun-facts

By the way, if you are intrigued by the essays that Poppy Monk does on their website, listen to the interview with their founder, Brenda Stimpson on Fiber Talk.  It's fascinating!

https://wetalkfiber.com/2026/04/05/poppy-monk-opens-the-door-to-needlepoint/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright March 29, 2026 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Tent Stitch Versus Embellishment: The Drama!

WipStitchNeedleworks has brought the controvery out into the open.  (and I'm snickering)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DT0S0cjkVyr/?img_index=1

https://www.instagram.com/p/DT4TUyBgFqm/

Folks, stitch any way you want.  No rules here (except the thread goes through the eye of the needle, to quote SharonG).

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright January 24, 2026 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Plain or Fancy?

Ada of Eye Candy just posted two versions of one of her designs on her blog.

https://eyecandyneedleart.blogspot.com/2025/02/one-canvas-two-ways.html

One is all done in plain tent stitches, the other uses a multitude of stitches.  Which is better?  Neither.  The best one is the one you like best that will also hold up for the use it is intended.  The embellished version of Ada's piece wouldn't last as a glasses case, for example, but would be fine framed.  

So you choose the one that works for you and that's the Best One.  

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright February 27, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Fixing a Tent Stitch Over Two Intersections

Lori at Waste Knot shows how to fix a common mistake--creating a tent stitch over two intersections instead of one.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuCuy3vA6gr/

She uses two tools:  A Stitcher's Best Friend and Waste Knot Scissors.  You can pick these up from Waste Knot (www.wasteknot.com) or find them elsewhere.  Needlepoint.com has a little video showing how they use the Stitcher's Best Friend on their website.

https://needlepoint.com/collections/needlepoint-accessories/products/rg1822

The Waste Knot scissors (no relationship to the shop Waste Knot) are from Rainbow Gallery and are curved to help cut stitches in ripping out.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1383992935/waste-knot-scissors-curved-blade

Thanks for the demo, Lori!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright June 28, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

More Beginners Guide to Needlepoint: Handling Threads

Yesterday in my tutorial on how to do needlepoint, I ended with a photo of little tails sticking out all over the front of my canvas.  What's up with that?!

This is how I manage ending threads.  When I get down to the last 2-3 inches of a thread, I come up either horizontally or vertically in the channel down from my last stitch and bring the thread to the front.  NEVER go on the diagonal when doing basketweave, whether you are tying off a thread on the back or just bringing it to the front like I'm doing.  You read the tips on yesterday's tutorial, right?  If not, go read them again.  Dragging threads across the back on the diagonal when doing basketweave creates a ridge on the front.  

https://poppymonkneedlepointkits.com/blogs/the-5-minute-needlepoint-blog/how-to-do-a-perfect-needlepoint-basketweave-stitch

If you forget this tip, you'll have little ridges on the front of your work instead of having a nice smooth surface.  You are aiming for perfectly even fat little stitches that are identical.  

Anyway back to what I was saying:  I like to put my end of thread tails on the front, especially when I am just starting a piece and there's not much on the back side to weave my thread tails through.  As I stitch the green leaves, I'll cover the yellow tails on the back with my green basketweave, and eventually I'll have them secure enough that I can pull up on the end of the tail from the front and snip off the thread close to the canvas.  It will be held securely. 

In a few places you see big yellow knots in the end of my thread.  These are away knots, which is one way to start threads that's explained here--

https://needlepoint-for-fun.com/pages/needlepoint-waste-knot

Just remember not to run that thread on the diagonal if you are doing basketweave!

Tomorrow, a progress report and I'll explain how I'm stitching the pink and red torch ginger flower.

Now that this series is finished, I'll post all the other articles here:

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/how-to-stitch-beginners-guide-to.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/more-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint_0657953055.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint_01444392938.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright April 28, 2021 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

More Beginners' Guide to Needlepoint: Basketweave

Today I'd like to talk about the stitches I'm going to use on my little torch ginger mini sock.   You can see the design above.  If you missed Part One from yesterday, here's the link.

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/how-to-stitch-beginners-guide-to.html

I'm using tent stitches on the design.  This is the most basic needlepoint stitch.  It looks like this / and from the front you see rows of ///////.  However, there are three types of tent stitches:  continental, half cross and basketweave.  I'm using basketweave for the background, the leaves and the lighter pink of the flowers.

Basketweave is tent stitches done on the diagonal, which makes it a little tricky.  (Half cross and continental are done in horizontal or vertical rows.)  This is a good tutorial.

https://poppymonkneedlepointkits.com/blogs/the-5-minute-needlepoint-blog/how-to-do-a-perfect-needlepoint-basketweave-stitch

If you look at the black and white numbered diagram in the Poppy Monk tutorial, you'll see the last diagonal row you've finished makes little "teeth" that the next row you do will slot into, sort of like a zipper.  Make sure you read the tips at the bottom of the article.  If you have areas you need to skip over on your canvas, here's a tutorial on that.

https://poppymonkneedlepointkits.com/blogs/the-5-minute-needlepoint-blog/how-to-work-around-shapes-in-needlepoint-basketweave-stitch

Here's my start on the background.  Tomorrow I'll talk about all the yellow "tails" you see sticking out on the front.  It's my thread management, which isn't pretty but works for me.  But more on that tomorrow.  

Now that this series is finished, I'll post all the other articles here. starting with the first:

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/how-to-stitch-beginners-guide-to.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/more-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint_0657953055.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint_01444392938.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright April 20, 2021 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

How to Stitch: A Beginner's Guide to Painted Canvases

Lots of people are trying needlepoint for the first time.  I thought I'd post about my current project (a mini sock with Hawaiian torch ginger from Vanoni) to help answer common questions that people wonder about when they start needlepointing a paint or printed canvas, just in case you have no one to ask.

So, here it is, a little design that's about 3 1/2 inches at the widest point and perhaps 5 inches tall.  It's on 18 count needlepoint canvas, which means approximately 18 stitches to the inch.  Take a good look.  As you can see, most of the design is outlined, either in black (leaves) or dark red (torch ginger flower).  The sock itself is outlined in black, too.  Just keep that in mind.  It's important.

The first decision to make is what color to use for the background, which is unpainted.  You can go with any color you want, but often if you choose a very dark color like black or navy, the white canvas will show.  We needlepointers call that "dandruff."  Since I don't want white speckles in the background, I rummaged in my stash and found a pretty pale yellow Impressions from Caron for the background.  Any white that shows won't be noticeable if I use pale yellow.  

Impressions is a silk/wool blend.  I decided to see what other silk/wool blends I had in two shades of red and green tucked away in my stash.  I found I had both greens and the dark red in Planet Earth's Essentials, which is a blend of silk and merino wool.  You can mix thread types, of course, and use a metallic with cotton,  wool and silk, but these threads can be different weights so I would recommend beginners use one type of thread for everything until you have a little experience under your belt.  

The only problem I had with thread colors is that my two shades of green were a dark rich green and a dark olive green.  I didn't have any spring green in a silk-wool blend!  Oh, well, I'll just use olive green and no one will ever know.  You won't tell, will you?

I have some pink Bella Lusso, an all-wool thread from Fleur de Paris for the flower.  More about that later.

I didn't look for any black thread for the black lines.  That's because I'm not going to stitch them. I'll just cover the black lines on the leaves with green.  Let's take a look at the painted canvas again.

This design was originally drawn on needlepoint canvas as a black and white drawing, then the artist filled in the various areas with paint, sort of like coloring in a coloring book.  The black lines are just guide lines--they don't add to the design.  Since I'm using two shades of dark green, the black lines won't show if I stitch over them.

The red lines are also guidelines but they serve a purpose--they are there to help outline the petals of the torch ginger blossom.  I am going to stitch the dark red lines so the flower won't be a big shapeless blob.  The outline of the sock is just a guideline.  I'll stitch yellow background up to the line.  The yellow thread won't hide the black lines well.  The black lines may show through the pale yellow, but that's ok. I won't cover the black outline and the finishing will hide that edge anyway.   

I think that's enough for today.  Tomorrow I'll talk about the stitches I will use.  Stay tuned!

Questions?  Just email me at chilly hollow at hot mail dot com.

Now that this series is finished, I'll post all the remaining articles here:

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/more-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/more-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint_0657953055.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint.html

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-beginners-guide-to-needlepoint_01444392938.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright April 17, 2021 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Spinster Stitcher Is Hearing Voices

Conni, the Spinster Stitcher, is hearing voices.

https://spinsterstitcher.blogspot.com/2020/12/no-shame-in-my-needlepoint-game.html

And you know what?  They are making perfect sense.

Stitch what makes you happy, people!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright December 9, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

All About The Tent Stitch

Peggy at Needle Paint has written a good tutorial about the tent stitch family, with diagrams and photos of how continental, half cross and basketweave look on the back side, which helps you understand why some of the tent stitch family is good for upholstery, why half cross works best when you are running out of thread, etc.  There's even a little guide to how much thread of various types to use for good coverage in tent stitches.
https://www.needlepaint.com/blog/2018/08/28/the-tent-stitch-when-where-and-why/

Thanks, Peggy!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 29, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Basic is Always Classic

Some days we need to step back from all that embellishment and just enjoy a basic tent stitched piece where the original design is king.  It's just beautiful, Stephanie!
https://stephsstitching.blogspot.com/2018/07/i-really-am-stitching.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 29, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Basketweave and Continental Explained

Today at The Whimsical Stitch Mary explains how Basketweave and Continental stitches are done and explains where she uses each.  It's a great tutorial on each stitch so I've added it to the "Tutorials and Tips" tab for later reference.

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2016/7/10/the-smallest-of-all

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright July 11, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A Toast to Beads

Suzanne just finished a wonderful Raymond Crawford champagne flute, a sort of New Year's toast of a canvas.  It's a toast to beads, with three different beading techniques to create sparkle.
http://suzannehicks.blogspot.com/2015/04/heres-to-usa-champagne-toast.html

The background is done in brick stitch beading, which is just brick stitch with a bead added to each stitch before you take the needle to the back side.  The baubles on the table are Suzanne's piled on bead technique, which is just what she says--piles of beads.  The third beading technique is to do tent stitches on the glass, adding a bead to each stitch before taking the needle to the back side.  After she finished a row of beaded tent stitches, she threaded the needle through the row of beads to straighten them slightly.  (Beads are wiggly things.)

Bet in person this is fabulous but cameras are notoriously blind to beads and bling.  We'll use our imagination in this homage to beads instead.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright April 16, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Chocolate, Samplers and Me

I've always known that a certain percentage of needlepointers only work needlepoint designs in all tent stitches.  But until the needlepoint group on Facebook came into being, I didn't interact much with this subset of stitchers.  After all, my main focus has been embellishment and light coverage stitching, which certainly isn't what traditional needlepoint has been.  Traditional needlepoint is full coverage, often in wools, and mostly used for utilitarian objects like upholstery, rugs and pillows.  These things need to wear like iron and stand up to use.  They are not like the framed pictures and designer models that I mostly stitch these days.

Hanging out at Needlepoint Nation on Facebook, I have made many classic NP friends and suddenly realized that not only were there many more stitchers than I realized who are into classic needlepoint, they are a bit ashamed that that's what they like best.  Some are puzzled by what I do, some are repelled by it.  Most also wonder if they are like the reproduction sampler stitchers--a bit behind the times.

You guys should always remember that the repo sampler people are actually time travelers!  They are stitching like 17-19th Century stitchers to better understand them and their time period.

Thanks to Two Nerdy History Girls (yes, that's the name of their blog--it's great fun!) I have a video that encapsulates this view of historical stitching.  The video itself is about recreating a chocolate kitchen in Hampton Court but that's just the subject matter--the real theme is honoring the craftsmen who came before us and understanding them by making the things they did in the way they did.
http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-kings-chocolate-kitchen.html

So here is to traditional stitchers, whoever you are.  You are walking in the footsteps of our needlepoint ancestors, practicing their craft as a way of understanding them, and keeping it alive for our stitching descendants to admire, practice and enjoy!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 19, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Right Stitch

Mary Waldsmith of Owl Stitchery explains just why sometimes tent stitch (and its variations) are the perfect choice. 
http://owlstitchery.blogspot.com/2015/01/sometimes-tent-stitch-is-right-stitch.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 27, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

You Thought English Tapestry Was Boring Tent?

You thought English style tapestry was all tent stitches and boring?  You need to go visit Anna Pearson's blog. 
http://anna-pearson-needlepoint.blogspot.com/2014/08/gardens-and-floral-needlepoint.html

Visit Anna's website to see more of her designs, which are classic yet fun.  She specializes in geometrics and Bargello and rugs but recently she has started to branch out into fun things like her Cupcakes and Miniature Hydrangeas, which are still classic but lend themselves to more adventuresome stitches if you are in the mood.
http://www.needle-point.co.uk/index.htm

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 29, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Clever Touches to a Tent Stitched Piece UPDATED

If you only stitch with tent stitches but want to add a few special touches to that project you love and want to take to the next level, then you will be interested in Linda's Melissa Shirley piece, embellished with a few special touches with the aid of Amy Bunger.  http://splittheneedles.blogspot.com/2014/07/next-up.html

http://splittheneedles.blogspot.com/2014/07/flower-power.html

UPDATE:
http://splittheneedles.blogspot.com/2014/07/chinese-kite-flyers.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 17, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Cure for a Big Hot Mess

Barbara has found the cure for a big hot mess--tent stitches! 
http://createneedlepoint.typepad.com/create_needlepoint/2014/05/tent-stitch-needlepoint.html

I've got to remember this....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 21, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tent Stitch

Joni Stevenson has written a series of essays on tent stitches that you will want to read and re-read.   It's dense going, but if you want to improve how you make tent stitches, it's a Must Read.  Joni starts out with a look at the three different stitches in the tent stitch family.  You'll learn all about half cross, continental and basketweave, from their disadvantages to how best to end threads if you are basketweaving, and there are plenty of good photos to illustrate Joni's points.  If you've never understood how to use the weave of the canvas to do beautiful basketweave, read this.
http://creative-stitch.blogspot.com/2012/04/tent-stitch-part-1.html

Once you understand part one, settle down with Joni and read part two, which talks about basketweave in detail, particularly how to achieve a smooth look when you change colors, and also explains why stitching tent stitches on linen and on needlepoint canvas is different.
http://creative-stitch.blogspot.com/2012/04/tent-stitch-part-2.html

In part three, Joni talks in depth about starting and stopping threads when you are doing basketweave. Her technique will keep the starting point for a new thread from showing on the front as a hole.
http://creative-stitch.blogspot.com/2012/04/tent-stitch-part-3.html

The last tent stitch article talks about ending waste knots and about pin stitches, then goes on to analyze the best starting points for large areas of basketweave.
http://creative-stitch.blogspot.com/2012/04/tent-stitch-part-4.html

My favorite book  about basketweave (and the only one I've ever seen that treats basketweave in depth although Joni says Jane Zimmerman has also talked about basketweave) is Davie Hyman's The Diagonal Basket Weave.  This book is out of print but well worth hunting down.  There's nothing about basketweave that Davie didn't understand and explain well, including how to basketweave if you are left handed.  Here's a bit about the last (fourth?) edition of this wonderful book.
http://www.daviehyman.com/book.htm

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Tent Stitches Without Jagged Lines

Last week I got a nice note from Marj who has an alternate method of making a diagonal row of tent stitches look less jagged. She simply runs a thread underneath the row once she makes it. It's like doing trame except you put the underlying thread in after you do the top stitches.

Marj learned this technique from Marion Scoular's book "Advice is...." Apparently, Marion's mother taught her the technique. Always listen to Mom!

I don't own this book, having only seen it once and that copy was for display only. Guess I'll add it to my Christmas wish list.

http://www.needleartworks.com/dsgnr/mss/mss3.htm

Thank you, Marj!

By the way, anyone interested in learning more about stitching curves and circles on NP canvas might enjoy reading the late Mary Duckworth's article about this, reprinted on the ANG website from the 1978 Needle Pointers where it originally appeared.

http://www.needlepoint.org/Archives/Circles.php


Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Let's Talk Tent

Now that my ANG Auction project of the two little Asian girls is almost finished, let's talk about What's Next. I have some finishing to do and I'll post photographs of that, but my next project is going back to our roots in the 1940s-1960s when needlepoint was done for chair seats in all wool using the tent stitch family--basketweave, continential and tent stitches.

Even today if you plan to stitch a needlepoint rug, you will probably use wool and either something from the tent family of stitches or cross stitch or Victorian cross stitch. Wool in these stitches is very durable, perfect for rugs, upholstry or other similar NP that will get hard usage. But today's needlepointer tends to choose charts or painted canvas designs and tries to use all sorts of fancy threads and stitches. So why would I want to return to 1956?

Because good design will include something from the tent stitch family in almost every piece of needlepoint to allow the eye to rest. Tent stitches are perfect for that small area where you need coverage and for places where nothing else works. And tent stitches are the perfect stitch for practicing how to start/end off threads, how to choose the right size of needle, how to handle multiple colors and how to learn to control stitch tension. There are some really gorgeous designs available which won't look good with fancy stitches. If you aren't familiar with Kaffe Fassett, check out his website, then head over to Ehrman Tapestry to see the best of English design in regular old tent stitches. The photo above is a Kaffee Fassett design on the front of an old Ehrman Tapestry catalogue. Isn't it gorgeous?!

http://www.kaffefassett.com/needlepoint.htm

http://www.ehrmantapestry.com/

Ever go to an exhibit of needlepoint and see two identical renditions of the same design? Almost always one looks better than the other even if they are the same right down to the threads and colors chosen and even if they are in a similar frame. The reason one piece looks better is due to that stitcher having mastered starting/ending threads, switching colors and knowing how to keep their tension consistent.

I'd like to propose that we learn better stitching technique using Lani's Autumn Leaves piece with simple tent stitches. (You'll see the bare painted canvas under my Current Project listing on the right side of this page.) I'll gussy up the lessons by using some fancy new threads. Don't assume I know everything there is to know about tent stitches, by the way. We'll be learning the best way to do some things together. I'll tell you what I've learned about basic needlepoint techniques and you will share your tips with me and everyone else.

So stay tuned as we talk tent!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow