How to Choose Needlepoint Thread for Your Canvas

You found a needlepoint canvas you love—now you need thread! If you're new to needlepoint, choosing thread can honestly feel a little overwhelming. There are so many different fibers, brands, thicknesses, and colors that it can be hard to know where to start.

The good news is that there really isn't one "right" thread for every needlepoint canvas. What you choose depends on your canvas mesh, the amount of coverage you want, how you plan to finish your piece, and, of course, the look you love.

Here's what I look at when choosing thread for a needlepoint canvas.

Start With Your Needlepoint Canvas Mesh

Before you fall in love with a color or fiber, check the mesh size of your needlepoint canvas.

Mesh count simply refers to the number of canvas holes per inch. Two of the most common sizes you'll see are 13 mesh and 18 mesh needlepoint canvas.

Because the holes on 13 mesh canvas are larger, you'll generally need a thicker thread—or more strands of a strandable thread—to get good coverage. An 18 mesh canvas has smaller holes, so you'll typically use a finer thread or fewer strands.

Your goal is to find a thread that passes comfortably through the canvas while still giving you the amount of coverage you want.

And that brings us to something that's easy to overlook when you're first learning to needlepoint: coverage.

What Does Thread Coverage Mean in Needlepoint?

Thread coverage is essentially how well your stitches cover the painted canvas underneath.

If your thread is too thin for your canvas mesh, you may be able to see quite a bit of painted canvas between your stitches. If it's too thick, pulling the thread through the canvas can become difficult and your stitches may look bulky.

Ideally, you want your thread to sit nicely on top of the canvas and give you even coverage without having to fight to pull it through.

That doesn't necessarily mean zero canvas should ever show. Different fibers, colors, stitches, and personal preferences can all affect how much coverage you want. I tend to judge it by how the stitched area looks as a whole rather than obsessing over every tiny glimpse of canvas.

A good rule of thumb: stitch a small area and take a look at it from normal viewing distance. If you like the way it looks, you're probably just fine!

Types of Needlepoint Thread

This is where things get fun—and where the thread wall at your local needlepoint shop can start to feel a little intimidating.

There are seemingly endless types of needlepoint thread and fibers, but most fall into a few general categories.

Wool

Wool is one of the most traditional fibers used for needlepoint, and for good reason. It's durable, provides great coverage, and comes in beautiful colors.

It's especially worth considering for needlepoint pieces that will get some use, like pillows, rather than simply being displayed.

Cotton

Cotton is another wonderful option and one you'll see frequently in needlepoint shops. It has a smooth, more matte appearance and is available in a huge range of colors.

Some cotton threads are strandable, meaning you can separate the individual strands and use the number you need for your particular canvas mesh. That makes cotton incredibly versatile.

Silk

If you want a little more sheen, silk is beautiful. It has a soft, luxurious finish that catches the light differently than cotton or wool.

You can use silk throughout an entire canvas or mix it with other fibers to highlight certain parts of your design.

Metallic & Specialty Threads

Metallics and specialty fibers are where you can really have some fun.

Think sparkle for Christmas ornaments, fuzzy fibers for an animal, something shiny for a glass or metallic object, or a textured thread that makes one little detail stand out.

You certainly don't need specialty fibers to create a beautiful needlepoint piece, though. Sometimes a canvas stitched entirely in simple, classic fibers is exactly what it needs.

Can You Mix Different Needlepoint Threads?

Absolutely!

In fact, mixing fibers can be a beautiful way to add dimension to a needlepoint canvas.

You might use mostly cotton or wool and then bring in silk, metallic, or another specialty fiber for a few details. The subtle differences in sheen and texture can make those areas stand out without making the entire canvas feel busy.

I personally think the key is to be intentional. Not every section of a canvas needs its own special thread.

Choose a few places where a different texture or sheen adds something to the design and let the rest be simple.

How Do You Match Thread to a Hand-Painted Needlepoint Canvas?

If you're stitching a hand-painted needlepoint canvas, the painted colors give you a wonderful starting point.

Take your canvas with you when shopping for thread and hold different colors directly against it. You don't necessarily need an exact match—you just want the finished color to work beautifully with the design.

And remember: you can change the colors!

The painted canvas is your guide, but it's still your project.

If you want a softer blue, a brighter pink, or a different shade of green, go for it. That's one of my favorite things about needlepoint. Two people can stitch the exact same canvas and end up with pieces that feel completely different.

How Much Needlepoint Thread Do I Need?

This is probably one of the questions I get asked most often, and thankfully, there is a pretty simple way to get a good estimate.

Once you have your canvas picked out, grab a tape measure and measure the design area of the canvas. If you're shopping online, look for the design area dimensions in the product description.

Trigger warning: the following steps do require some basic math.

Multiply the width of your design area by the height to get the total number of square inches.

For example, let's say your needlepoint canvas has a design area of 9.25 inches × 7.25 inches:

9.25 × 7.25 = 67.06 square inches

Now take a look at the thread you're planning to use. Many needlepoint threads will give you an estimate of how many square inches one skein will cover.

For this example, let's use Silk & Ivory, which is commonly estimated to cover around 28 square inches per skein.

67.06 ÷ 28 = 2.4 skeins

Since we obviously can't buy 0.4 of a skein, I'd round up and purchase at least 3 skeins to stitch the entire background.

One important thing to remember: this is an estimate, not an exact science. Your stitch choice, stitching tension, canvas mesh, and the amount of thread left at the beginning and end of each strand can all affect how much thread you actually use. Decorative stitches may also use significantly more (or sometimes less) thread than a basic tent stitch.

When in doubt, I always buy a little extra—especially when stitching a large background or using a hand-dyed fiber where dye lots can vary. I'd much rather have an extra skein in my stash than get almost to the end of a background and realize I've run out!

Don't Forget About How You'll Finish Your Canvas

Before choosing your fibers, it's also helpful to think about what you eventually want your needlepoint to become.

A needlepoint pillow, key fob, belt, or other functional piece may be handled regularly, so durability matters.

For an ornament, framed needlepoint, or decorative piece, you may have more freedom to experiment with delicate or specialty fibers.

You don't need to have every finishing detail figured out before you start stitching, but having a general idea can help guide your thread choices.

When in Doubt, Visit Your Local Needlepoint Shop

One of the easiest ways to choose thread—especially for your first few canvases—is to bring your canvas into your local needlepoint shop (LNS).

Don't feel like you need to walk in knowing exactly what you want.

Tell them what you're stitching, how you'd like to finish it, and whether you want to keep things simple or play with different fibers. They can help you choose colors, determine which threads will provide good coverage for your canvas mesh, and estimate how much thread you'll need.

Eventually, you'll start developing your own favorite fibers and knowing what you like to stitch with.

The Most Important Part: Pick Something You Love

There are plenty of guidelines for choosing needlepoint thread, but there isn't one perfect fiber combination for every canvas.

Start with your mesh count. Make sure you're getting the coverage you want. Consider how your finished piece will be used. And from there?

Have fun with it.

Choose the colors and fibers you love, experiment with something new when you feel like it, and don't worry about making every decision "correct."

After all, you're going to spend quite a few hours stitching it—you might as well love the thread you're pulling through the canvas.