When you walk down the back hallway of my house, you’re greeted by vintage needlepoints. More than a couple. Kevin (my husband) might say they are like unwanted weeds that just keep growing. I’ll admit I’ve got an affinity for them. Whenever I’m out treasure hunting and come across a beautiful needlepoint I just can’t leave it there. I imagine the hours and hours of love and sweat that someone poured into this little piece of embroidered art, and I feel the twinge to rescue it. To make sure that it finds a loving home. Hand embroidery and other types of needlework faded in popularity once machine embroidery entered the picture. It truly became a lost art, which is what makes the vintage pieces so special. But needlepoint is making a comeback and I couldn’t be more excited!
The Lost Art
For a long time, needlepoint has been thought of as something your grandmother did. Part of a long-ago generation. It’s the reason they are so often found packed away in boxes of relatives that have passed on, by family members who don’t really have an interest in keeping them. The art skipped a few generations and then the appreciation for it did too. Skill with a needle and thread was once an essential part of a young woman’s education, especially among the upper classes. Needlework could be found often in fashion on beautiful clothing, and also on home items like curtains and pillows. And, they were often framed and given as gifts to treasured family and friends (they’re especially valuable to me if they have a gift inscription somewhere on the piece).
How to Decorate with it Today
There are lots of ways to incorporate vintage needlework into your home without making it look like the set of The Golden Girls. If you have a meaningful piece that was either passed down to you from a loved one, or that you scored at a recent trip to the flea market, put it somewhere you can enjoy it. Decorating should evoke emotion and happiness and using pieces you love gives you that feeling. Here are a few ideas for decorating with vintage needlepoint:
Gallery Wall: For me, gathering my vintage needlepoints and displaying them as a collection is the best option. It works because I have so many of them, and they are all worthy of display. For an eclectic look, try mixing them into a gallery wall filled with other art, like paintings or photos.
Pillows: Probably the easiest way to decorate with needlepoint is with throw pillows. It’s less of a commitment if you want to change things up every once in a while. And there are so many pretty, colorful options.
Hoop Frame: If you find a vintage needlepoint that is unframed, think about displaying it in an embroidery hoop. A hoop is the mechanism to make the piece, so it’s a fun, unstructured way to frame it. Mixing this in with regular frames also adds variety.
Serving Tray/Coasters: Make a custom serving tray by inserting an old needlepoint under a piece of acrylic. Or make them into coasters like this vintage group of them we found at an antique shop. These are great ways to honor special old pieces when entertaining.
Holiday Décor: Turn unframed pieces into Christmas stockings or ornaments.
The Comeback
As the TikTok famous trend of Grandmillennial style in home décor continues to rise, so does the resurgence in popularity of needlepoint – not only the vintage pieces, but people are taking up the hobby too. During the pandemic, people really sought nostalgic comforts and needed a steady stream of activities to keep busy. You started to see a ton of people on social media picking up needlepoint, cross stitch and embroidery. What’s the difference between the three?
Needlework Types
Needlepoint
Needlepoint is a surface embroidery technique that involves the creation of very detailed pictures or landscapes made with yarn. It has a higher level of difficulty than other types of needlework with more than a half dozen stitch types. It has historically been used in high fashion design.
Embroidery
Embroidery is a general term that encompasses needlepoint and cross stitch. It involves a variety of stitches and embellishments using needle and thread or yarn and sometimes pearls and beads. Hand embroidery is often seen as having an heirloom quality because of the time involved in its creation.
Cross Stitch
Cross-stitch follows a tiled pattern with basic x-shapes. The stitches form tiles that come together to create a pattern resulting in a boxy design. The process also leads the art to lay flatter than needlepoint, which is raised. Cross stitch is a much simpler process, making it good for beginners.
How to get Started
Now that my son has graduated high school, maybe I’ll have a little time to learn the craft myself. If you’re interested in trying it out, there are several great local businesses here in Michigan that offer starter kits, materials, tutorials and support. The Knotted Needle in Grosse Pointe Woods and Needleworks in Birmingham are two great options. Etsy is also one of my favorite places to support artisans and there are plenty of great small businesses there for needlepoint designs. Here are a few we recommend:
Etsy Small Businesses:
TAYLOR MADE NW – GIVEAWAY
Christa and Kelly at Taylor Made NW are offering to give away two of their Blush Buds kits to 2 lucky Treasure Hunters blog readers. To enter, follow us and them on Instagram and that counts as an entry. We will post the winners on our IG Story on July 17.
So, is needlepoint a lost art or is it making a comeback? We think it’s making a fabulous comeback! Let us know if you love it or plan to give it a try.
~ Jill