The Easy Way to Learn Punch Needle
Learn punch needle with these beautiful and easy to follow punch needle kits from The Happy Planner! Special thank you to The Happy Planner for sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% my own.
Want to learn punch needle in an hour? And make something beautiful and ready-to-hang? Then allow me introduce you to these Punch Needle Kits from The Happy Planner.
And yes, you read that right. The Happy Planner — the mother-daughter duo company that makes those fabulous planners, calendars and other desk accessories — now make Craft Kits and Wallpaper! Yay!
I can’t tell you how excited I was to try one of their punch needle kits. Learning punch needle has been on my to-do list for the last two years but I never got around to actually making it happen. But now, I can cross that off my bucket list. And, did I mention I’m addicted to punch needle now?
I chose this beautiful abstract punch needle design but they have more to choose from which I’ll highlight below.
Learn Punch Needle
The Happy Planner Punch Needle Craft Kits come with everything you need to fully complete a punch needle project. You get the framed canvas, the punch needle, the yarn and a set of instructions. They have several cute designs to choose from which I’ll highlight here. Any of these pictures below will take you to the info page!
With their punch needle craft kits, I was able to learn how to thread the punch needle, follow a design and actually punch needle it to completion. And then, I could immediately hang it on the wall!
Threading your Punch Needle
The first thing you will need to do is thread your punch needle. The punch needle comes with a little threader; one end is a loop and the other end has a white sticker around it.
You want to insert the looped end of the threader through the needle until it comes out the bottom. Then, place the end of your yarn through the loop, grab the white sticker end of the threader at the top and pull it through the yarn through your punch needle. Then, take your threader again and put the loop through the tiny hole in the needle. Place your yarn through the loop, and pull it through the hole in the needle. Now you are ready to punch needle!
Punch Needling your Design
It’s recommended that you start with the smaller areas of your design first, then finish the larger areas. You will see a design printed on the BACK of the framed canvas. This is the side you will be working on so it should always be facing you.
Take your punch needle and punch it all the way through the cloth. Pull the yarn through the cloth to the front side of the canvas (don’t worry – we will snip these loose threads off at the end and you won’t be able to see them at all).
Now, lift your punch needle out, but only raise it where the needle is still touching the fabric. Then slightly moving to the right or left (depending on which direction you are going in), punch down again and bring it back up. Keep doing this to create a row of punch needles.
A few important tips
You really can’t mess this up. If you are a perfectionist like me, you will want to keep doing and redoing until it looks perfect in your eye. Here’s a few tips to get you there:
- Always face the beveled end of the needle in the direction you are punch needling. If you are moving to the right, the beveled part of the needle should face right. If you are moving to the left, the beveled part should face left. I found it easier to always punch to the right as I am right-handed. I just rotated my canvas each time to accomodate this.
- When you punch down, ensure you punch ALL THE WAY until the handle of the punch needle hits the cloth. This will ensure even stitches each and every time.
- Don’t lift your punch needle out too high, keep the needle in contact with the surface of the fabric to ensure you don’t pull your stitches too tight or completely out.
- Keep the tension on your yarn loose – if it is too tight you can pull the stitches out.
- THERE ARE NO KNOTS. I felt it was important to spell that out because the whole time you will be thinking – how does this stay together? It’s such an enigma to me. However, punch needle works with the tension of the stitches and cloth holding it all together. So, yes, there are no knots! Just punches of stitches.
- Did you mess up? No worries! Punch needle is very forgiving. At any time, you can pull out your stitches, rub the cloth until the holes reset and start over- which I did – many, many times until I really mastered the art of punch needling.
And with that – I learned punch needle in about an hour. And have a beautiful punch needle piece of art to show for it! I’m already eyeing up my next punch needle craft kit. But while you are there you should check out their other kits; they have bracelet making, tie dye, scratchboard and paint by number kits.
Whether you are new to punch needle or a pro – you will love the convenience of these craft kits and having everything at the ready. These would make a great gift for someone special too!
Special thank you to The Happy Planner for sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% my own.
Xo Karen