Embroidery Definitions — definitions of embroidery techniques, stitches and needlework terms from Apparel Search
Canvas work is a type of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a canvas or other foundation fabric, and it is a form of counted-thread embroidery. Common types include needlepoint, petit point and bargello. The canvas is an open even-weave mesh — single thread or double thread — with spaces large enough to let heavy threads pass through without fraying, and it is measured by the number of squares per inch or centimetre.
Several types of embroidery canvas are available: single thread and double thread embroidery canvas are open even-weave meshes, with large spaces or holes to allow heavy threads to pass through without fraying. Aida cloth or Hardanger fabric can also be used for canvas work, and plastic canvas is used in craft projects.
Canvas is measured by the number of squares per inch or centimetre.
In canvas work the stitches may completely cover the canvas. Newer methods will use the canvas as part of the pattern.
For each type of canvas there is the correct type of yarn.
yarns vary from knitting yarns and tapestry wools to pure silk, synthetic, or metallic threads. Fine ribbons, plastic thread, raffia and string can also be used in canvas work.
Early canvas work or needlepoint used tent, continental or basketweave stitches, with each stitch covering one canvas intersection.
Bargello, first developed in Europe, uses colors and stitches across multiple canvas intersections to create motion and patterns. Modern methods have incorporated crewel and other embroidery stitches to add depth and differences not only by shading but by texture.
A famous example of a large carpet worked in canvas work is the Bradford carpet which is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
See: Needlepoint, Berlin wool work
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| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/canvas_work). 5/29/06 |
Canvas work is a matched system of grid and thread. The canvas count — squares per inch — fixes the size of every stitch, so the yarn must be thick enough to cover the mesh without straining it and fine enough to pass through the holes without fraying. That pairing is why the materials list runs from knitting yarns and tapestry wools to pure silk, synthetic and metallic threads, and even fine ribbons, plastic thread, raffia and string on coarse or plastic canvas: each count has a family of threads that cover it correctly. Worked too fine a thread on a coarse canvas and the mesh grins through; too heavy a thread distorts the grid and the finished piece will not lie flat or block square.
Early canvas work aimed at total, even coverage — a stitched surface as durable as upholstery, which is what pieces such as the Bradford carpet, the large canvas-work carpet on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, were built to be. Modern methods deliberately break that evenness: crewel and other surface stitches are incorporated on top of the canvas ground to add depth and texture differences that shading alone cannot give, and some contemporary work leaves canvas exposed as part of the pattern. Berlin wool work sits inside this history as canvas work's most famous episode — petit point in wool, charted and shaded until the canvas surface imitated a painting.
Canvas work distorts as it is stitched, because diagonal and tent stitches pull the open mesh out of square. Finished pieces are therefore blocked — dampened and pinned or laced back to true dimensions until dry — before they are made up into cushions, upholstery or hangings. The firmer the intended use, the more the construction matters: a canvas-work chair seat is stitched, blocked, backed and fitted as upholstery, not merely framed. Planning for blocking is part of canvas technique, and experienced workers stitch with the expected distortion in mind.
Single thread and double thread embroidery canvas are open even-weave meshes with large holes for heavy threads. Aida cloth or Hardanger fabric can also be used, and plastic canvas is used in craft projects. Canvas is measured by the number of squares per inch or centimetre, and each canvas has a correct type of yarn to match.
In traditional canvas work the stitches may completely cover the canvas, as in needlepoint worked in tent, continental or basketweave stitch, each covering one canvas intersection. Newer methods also use the canvas itself as part of the pattern, leaving areas of the grid to show as a design element.
Bargello, first developed in Europe, uses colors and stitches worked across multiple canvas intersections to create motion and patterns — flame-like waves built from straight stitches of varying length, rather than the single-intersection stitches of early canvas work.