Needlepoint attracts a new generation of crafters
The time-honored craft of needlepointing has found its time again.
Thank TikTok and Instagram for needlepoint’s latest moment, in which Gen Zers are discovering the soft art of needlepoint, which simply is using thread to create designs on cloth printed with a pattern. What seems like a task produces art.
For hundreds of years, needlepoint has been the meditative practice enjoyed by generations of women, often in a wealthy household. This time, whimsical designs featuring Taylor Swift quotes and pop culture memes are selling alongside those of elaborate Victorian-like floral tableaus.
As seen in the Netflix streaming series “Bridgerton,” needlepoint attracted a new generation of fans. Taylor Swift herself has made small pieces for friends such as singer Ed Sheeran. Celebrities like Kelly Ripa began displaying their works in progress. Luxury bag designer Fendi has sold one of its iconic Baguette purses with a canvas to decorate.
Some call them “Grandma hobbies.” Others would rather call them analog activities, luring them away from doomscrolling on their phones and tablets. And like knitting and other crafts, needlepoint resurged post-pandemic by women who wanted the soothing satisfaction of a handmade item that can be treasured forever.
Now it’s estimated as a market that’s worth more than $2 billion, with a projection to reach $3 billion by 2035. In the Midlands, a needlepoint store is helping a new generation of crafters.
Forest Acres Needlepoint, which opened in 2021, has a variety of patterns and an inventory of high-end threads and patterns that appeal to both beginners and veteran stitchers, as they’re called. Kenzie Newton, who has been doing needlepoint for the last 20 years, began earnestly thinking about a shop that helps customers personally, rather than randomly finding something online.
Business has been brisk since she opened the store on North Beltline Boulevard. “We’ve gotten so many young stitchers,” Newton said. “It’s just been incredible to see that so many people are wanting to learn.”
Forest Acres Needlepoint considers itself a full-service store, selling 20 lines of thread and canvases, and offering services to complete unfinished projects with the help of local stitchers. “The one-on-one interaction is huge in a craft,” Newton said. What the store doesn’t sell is kits. “We can help create a kit for you,” Newton said, by finding the right kind of thread, needles, gauging a good starter canvas, and specialized canvas holders and lights.
Canvases can be of all sorts of subjects, from holiday themes to landscapes, sayings, and even collegiate logos. Enjoy off-beat canvases with patterns such as a LaCroix beverage can, or a bunch of avocadoes, or even a jaunty gathering of witches. They can be used in pillows, ornaments, holiday stockings, or framed on a wall.
DeDe Ethridge of Lexington is one of the regulars at Forest Acres Needlecraft. Her obsession, like others, began with her mother. Ethridge grew up learning cross stitch but liked the way needlepoint items looked. So, she began learning and buying kits at The Needler, a store in Lexington that closed in 2017.
“I absolutely loved it,” she said. And after taking a break, in 2022 she found she needed to keep herself busy. She picked up the hobby once again, this time with the help of Newton and Forest Acres Needlepoint.
And as her children grew up and married, Ethridge would plan to make holiday stockings, even for future grandbabies. “I have one stocking in case somebody comes up pregnant with a little boy,” Ethridge said, laughing.
Now she meets with her friends regularly to work on stocking, pillows, and ornaments. “It is so therapeutic,” she said. “There’s something about the color change and the fun threads they have now.”
Like any hobby, it can cost a little or a lot. Some canvases can cost up to $100, along with different price points depending on the kind of thread. You can spend just a few hours a week or make it all-consuming. “It’s an addiction, because when I see something that I love, I’m like, ‘I want that,’” Ethridge said.
Right now, she’s making a Santa pillow.
Want to begin needlepointing?
Needlepoint involves using stitches to create a pattern covering a canvas. Needlepoint uses a tightly woven cloth, while cross stitch employs a looser weave. Embroidery is stitching found on clothes and accessories, and cross stitch often features designs with less coverage by stitches. The materials you need include a canvas with a pattern on it, tapestry needles, and instructions. Much of needlepoint depends on learning stitches, and the traditional tent stitch is a good place to start. Start small, with an ornament or a small piece. And give yourself time to learn and make mistakes.