Update: March 2, 2018
To hear it said by people outside North America, we, as stitchers, are far, far too concerned about our backsides. No, not those backsides, but the backsides of our needlepoint. Susan Battle, from The Point of It All, mused on this subject and how her backs look. Practically I’m with her, I rarely worry about my backs and generally they are on the messy side.
But, in all fairness, your backs do matter. The needlepoint police won’t come and snatch you away if your backs are messy but understanding why they are important can make your needlepoint look better. In needlepoint the thickness of the back of the stitching is important.
Most importantly, you’re making a fabric with needlepoint and this means there needs to be structure. Without the fuller backs on the stitch, the structure is not as strong. This is less important when you stitch on fabric because the fabric is its own support.
Your back becomes thick by starting each stitch on the same side. This makes the stresses go in the same direction, making a prettier stitch. Think about a Scotch Stitch. You start in the lower left corner. This means the stress goes from lower left to upper right. The next stitch starts above it on the left. Once again the stress is lower left to upper right. And it continues this way, all the stitches pulling in the same direction, like a well-trained set of carriage horses.
But let’s make that same stitch again and go back and forth instead of starting each stitch on the same side. The first stitch went from lower left to upper right and the stress is in the same direction. BUT the second stitch goes from upper right to lower left, as does its stress. One stitch pulls in one direction, the other stitch in the opposite direction. The result is an uneven square with sides that aren’t straight.
A thicker backside is also useful because it creates a layer of padding between the face of the needlepoint and the finishing. This is particularly important for things that get wear. It’s the back that wears not the front. Shortchange the back and the piece wears badly.
That layer of stitching comes in handy. It can be used, instead of the margins of the canvas to move from line to line in pattern darning. It can hide traveling threads when you go from one area to another. You can use it to begin and end threads.
Your backs don’t have to be beautiful to serve these purposes, but they are important.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
frontrangestitcher says
Thank you Janet for your insight on the backside of our stitching. I am very self conscience about my backside (including my own); I used to be horrified if someone turned my work over.
I was taught that your backside should be as beautiful as your frontside; something I’ve never ever been able to achieve; but I’ve seen plenty of fabulous stitchers that have. I personally don’t care that it looks “frenetic” on the back as long as it doesn’t affect the front in any obvious way. So thank you for reminding us that there is good in all things stitched.
Joyce Shannon says
So as long as I frame my pieces, I’m OK.
Elaine Oldberg says
I always sew a piece of muslin to the backside of my piece before finishing as a cushion or whatever. Covers the back, protects it, and gives me a line of plain stitching all the way around that I can follow for finishing seams.
Janet M Perry says
That’s a fantastic idea. Thanks.
Keep stitching,
Janet
Phyllis Hall says
Janet. Thank you so much for reminding us to check our backsides. My needlepoint backside is somewhat more structured that my personal backside most of the time. I still find myself thinking it should look a little neater but then I just give up and keep stitching and promise to do better next time.
Lisa Naro says
So I consider myself a novice needlepointer and am having trouble understanding your example above using the Scotch Stitch. Any chance you can make a graph to explain?? Also, would you give some more tips about how to have a fairly nice back? Thanks!!
Janet M Perry says
A Scotch stitch with good coverage will look on the back essentially the way it looks on the front, that is diagonal stitches in different lengths. A Scotch Stitch done without good coverage will not have thread on the back going across the middle of the stitch but instead will have little vertical or horizontal stitches along the sides where you moved from one stitch to the next on the same side.
I hope this helps!
Keep stitching,
Janet