Thi is my most recent finish, the March project for the Quilty Needlepoint Club (available here). It took me about 12-16 hours to stitch.
I’m bringing that up because it took me over 20 to chart it. Filling in the pixels to make the complete chart gave me plenty of time to think. And I thought about the costs of needlepoint.
Let’s keep things simple be assuming all three projects use the same amount of the same threads. Being equal we don’t consider them in our costs.
If you stitch a charted project you’ve bought, the time you’ll have invested in it is the time it takes to stitch. Most charts have exact directions that you don’t change. Your cost for the project is chart + canvas. Your cost in time is stitching time. This makes charted canvas the least expensive option for you as a stitcher.
But perhaps your tastes don’t match charted canvas. If you trace an outline, it’s slightly more expensive in time because of the time to transfer. But it’s still a very affordable option.
I would say that for the stitcher the middle option is painted canvas. Yes the canvas is more expensive. And it may take more time because you need to chose stitches. Your cost is just canvas. Your cost in time can rise significantly because it’s now planning + stitching.
Finally we come to the original project. If you are stitching for yourself, canvas is your material cost. But you need to add designing time to the time to stitch. Sometimes, as was the case with Jonquil, I see my inspiration and know immediately how it will be stitched. But even so, I spent lots of time looking for the “right” quilt to adapt. Then I had to plan the stitches to use and the size I wanted it to be. Sometimes this can take awhile. The time for original projects is designing + planning + stitching.
Stitching should be something that gladdens your heart. It shouldn’t be wearying.Pick the project that best suits the time and energy you have. If you don’t you might just be making the UFO pile bigger. I know I have a chest full of them.
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
Leave a Reply