Updated May 4, 2018
Ages ago Jane Wood sent me a spreadsheet of great ideas she had collected from many people for ways to use needlepoint.
I’d like to share them with you.
If you have run out of space on your walls for needlepoint, why not frame it and display it on an easel? Easels are available in many sizes from small and plate holders to large floor models. You can also easily make your own (here and here).
If you have ornaments you love, why not keep them up all year long? They could dangle from doorknobs and cabinet knobs. They can decorate a bulletin board (I’ve had one of my favorites on my bulletin board for years. How about hanging small ones from the switch for a lamp? Or keeping a small branch in a decorative pot as a permanent display
Think about hanging finished ornaments that are flat from decorative push pins or picture hooks. They turn the utilitarian picture hanger into something worth exposing.
Another use for ornaments, or any small needlepoint is to mount them on sticks (I like them best painted) and put a bunch of them in a pot, like Cynthia Thomas did with these candy canes. Or among some plants, like Tish did with her ngarden series (now unavailable).
A framed needlepoint with a wide, relatively flat, frame can be a great base for a tray. Make sure the needlepoint has glass on it. Use clear silicone caulk to seal the edge between glass and frame. Add little feet to each corner in the back and use cabinet handles of the top sides for handles. In order to fit them, you need a wide frame. It’s the easiest and most distinctive tray you will ever make. You can also buy wonderful decorative trays from Deux Bijoux Bijoux.
You could even do this with a small frame which is more dimensional. Frame the needlepoint add small handles and use it to hold jewelry.
Add a ribbon from top corner to top corner of a small pillow and use it as a door hanger. Fill it with lavender and hand it in the closet as a sachet.
if, like me, you have piles of stitched but unfinished needlepoint, it’s worthwhile going through to see how you can use these ideas to finish of some things and send them on their way.
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
Jane/Chilly Hollow says
You know, I don’t even remember this! It must have been years ago!