Piratical Needlepoint

This past weekend there was a pirate festival in my town. It got me thinking about needlepoint with a pirate theme.

Adults and kids love pirates, even though our idea of them is often far removed from reality. That makes them great subjects for needlepoint. If you’re making needlepoint for a son or grandson,he might outgrow teddy bears, but it’s unlikely that he will ever find pirates too childish. This makes it a theme you can use to make delightful presents for years.

So say “ARRRRRRGH!” and join me looking at some great pirate-themed needlepoint.

Raymond Crawford has a charming series of small pirate canvases that go beyond the usual to include a Jack o’Lantern pirate, mermaids, pirate drinks, and a sugar skull & cross bones, along with the more usual pirates and treasure chests.

The treasure chest and pirate pictured in this post are from Kathy Schenkel‘s. pirate series. The set includes two parrots, a pirate wench and a wonderful backdrop with both a ship and a treasure map.

Petei makes a Peter Pan series that will include pirates. A no-longer-produced Silver Needle series is based on the Disney Peter Pan movie. Since it’s Peter Pan you can add crocodiles and Indians to the series for even more fun.

If you are looking for single projects, I saw an adorable kit from The Stitching Shed on eBay that featured a boy dressed up in a pirate’s hat. Needlepoint for Fun carries the Crafty Dog series of kits from New Zealand and these include a great pirate. There is also a Painted Pony Pirate Angel.

Since pirates make great costumes for kids, I saw several pirates in Halloween series. These include canvases from Leigh, JulieMar, and Colors of Praise. JP Needlepoint has a large realistic pirate with a glorious parrot on his shoulder that is a real treasure. They also have in their newest designs two skull and crossbones canvases and a pirate ship.

If we want to go a bit further afield and add mermaids and parrots to our mix, several designers make great canvases of these. Both Eye Candy and Kelly Clark have great mermaid canvases. The Elizabeth Turner Collection just debuted some wonderful parrot pillows and Leigh has a glorious selection of exotically colored parrots.