Punch Needle Embroidery
 

Geez, as if I don't have enough to do........but using a Russian punch
needle is a technique I've been wanting to try for many years and
finally after seeing finished samples here and there and talking to my
fellow designer friend Pam Kellogg who has been "playing" with her set
of needles, I purchased a set of these punch needles.

My set came from a company known as the original Russian Punch Needle
company that spells the name as IGOLOCHKOY.

I got the whole set of three needles for $45.99....well made with sturdy
brass handles with a five year guarantee.
Each needle handles different number of floss "strands" or weight of
threads. There's a single strand needle, a three strand needle and a six
strand needle......can be used with other threads besides floss.

The punch needle technique makes a nice plushy looped or tufted surface
stitch, you work from the back of the embroidery......designs for this
technique will often come reversed.......some patterns are iron-ons you
can apply to the backside to follow the embroidery so it looks perfect
on the top or front of the fabric afterwards.

It's a great technique to be able to vary the surface textures on the
artsy applique collage ideas I like experimenting with.

The craft of old fashioned hooked rugs come to mind comparing punch
needle technique to the finished dense tufted surface of the rugs as
well as the similar folk art "primtive" style of the patterns available
at The Stitching Post in MD where the country style is popular and where
I purchased the needle set.

Naturally, the Wooly Dreams sheep mascots, are natural candidates for
punch needle tufts as well as many other animals. Just about any
subject, motifs can be used for punch needle techniques.

Then, there are hairstyles! Unusual hairstyles perfect for those over
the top characters, the ladies with attitudes, ha, even Queenie's royal
flyaway hair can be tamed with a punch.....needle that is.....the
options for punch needle are endless!

Even better, the punch needle works fast to cover the design surface and
uses floss by the "pound".......in my case, the punch needle will use up
some of the "extra" floss lying around here.......we used to do kits of
my charts for catalogs such as the old Stitchery catalog and ended up
with quite a few cones of DMC floss.

Overall, I'm looking forward to experimenting with the punch needle
using a combination of other embroidery techniques, different textured
threads, yarns and embellishments hoping to give all my projects that
"unique" look whether used on clothing or in decorative design.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

I love punchneedle embroidery! I took a class a few years ago and was
instantly hooked. I don't use it as much as I'd like, but I love the fact
that it goes quickly & creates some really lovely designs. Play around with
shading and overdyes a bit - you'll be pleasantly surprised!

--
Jacqueline
Carmichaels PA
"lula" wrote in message
...
Geez, as if I don't have enough to do........but using a Russian punch
needle is a technique I've been wanting to try for many years and
finally after seeing finished samples here and there and talking to my
fellow designer friend Pam Kellogg who has been "playing" with her set
of needles, I purchased a set of these punch needles.

My set came from a company known as the original Russian Punch Needle
company that spells the name as IGOLOCHKOY.

I got the whole set of three needles for $45.99....well made with sturdy
brass handles with a five year guarantee.
Each needle handles different number of floss "strands" or weight of
threads. There's a single strand needle, a three strand needle and a six
strand needle......can be used with other threads besides floss.

The punch needle technique makes a nice plushy looped or tufted surface
stitch, you work from the back of the embroidery......designs for this
technique will often come reversed.......some patterns are iron-ons you
can apply to the backside to follow the embroidery so it looks perfect
on the top or front of the fabric afterwards.

It's a great technique to be able to vary the surface textures on the
artsy applique collage ideas I like experimenting with.

The craft of old fashioned hooked rugs come to mind comparing punch
needle technique to the finished dense tufted surface of the rugs as
well as the similar folk art "primtive" style of the patterns available
at The Stitching Post in MD where the country style is popular and where
I purchased the needle set.

Naturally, the Wooly Dreams sheep mascots, are natural candidates for
punch needle tufts as well as many other animals. Just about any
subject, motifs can be used for punch needle techniques.

Then, there are hairstyles! Unusual hairstyles perfect for those over
the top characters, the ladies with attitudes, ha, even Queenie's royal
flyaway hair can be tamed with a punch.....needle that is.....the
options for punch needle are endless!

Even better, the punch needle works fast to cover the design surface and
uses floss by the "pound".......in my case, the punch needle will use up
some of the "extra" floss lying around here.......we used to do kits of
my charts for catalogs such as the old Stitchery catalog and ended up
with quite a few cones of DMC floss.

Overall, I'm looking forward to experimenting with the punch needle
using a combination of other embroidery techniques, different textured
threads, yarns and embellishments hoping to give all my projects that
"unique" look whether used on clothing or in decorative design.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

lula said
Geez, as if I don't have enough to do........but using a Russian punch
needle is a technique I've been wanting to try for many years and
finally after seeing finished samples here and there and talking to my
fellow designer friend Pam Kellogg who has been "playing" with her set
of needles, I purchased a set of these punch needles.

My set came from a company known as the original Russian Punch Needle
company that spells the name as IGOLOCHKOY.

I got the whole set of three needles for $45.99....well made with sturdy
brass handles with a five year guarantee.

Darn you, Lula. I promised myself that I wasn't going to buy any more stuff
until I finished a few things but I'm sorely tempted to get some of those
needles as I dearly love three dimensional effects.

Has anyone purchased from http://punchneedlemarketplace.com/?

--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply

Haven't seen these designs before. They're pretty nice if you're into
"cute". It's a bit harder to find much else, so I usually adapt designs
from other sources. Fortunately, that's easy to do with punchneedle.

--
Jacqueline
Carmichaels PA
"anne" wrote in message
ews.com...
lula said
Geez, as if I don't have enough to do........but using a Russian punch
needle is a technique I've been wanting to try for many years and
finally after seeing finished samples here and there and talking to my
fellow designer friend Pam Kellogg who has been "playing" with her set
of needles, I purchased a set of these punch needles.

My set came from a company known as the original Russian Punch Needle
company that spells the name as IGOLOCHKOY.

I got the whole set of three needles for $45.99....well made with sturdy
brass handles with a five year guarantee.

Darn you, Lula. I promised myself that I wasn't going to buy any more
stuff
until I finished a few things but I'm sorely tempted to get some of those
needles as I dearly love three dimensional effects.

Has anyone purchased from http://punchneedlemarketplace.com/?

--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply

lula wrote:

Geez, as if I don't have enough to do........but using a Russian punch
needle is a technique I've been wanting to try for many years and
finally after seeing finished samples here and there and talking to my
fellow designer friend Pam Kellogg who has been "playing" with her set
of needles, I purchased a set of these punch needles.

My set came from a company known as the original Russian Punch Needle
company that spells the name as IGOLOCHKOY.

*snip*

Overall, I'm looking forward to experimenting with the punch needle
using a combination of other embroidery techniques, different textured
threads, yarns and embellishments hoping to give all my projects that
"unique" look whether used on clothing or in decorative design.

Lula, isn't this just tooooo addictive. I resisted for a while, but at the
shop one of the owner's friends designs specifically punchneedle projects,
and distributes for Igolochkov (if you've been to Nashville, might've met
Ellen). Anyhow, she teaches a class at the store a couple of times a year,
and they shamed me into it a couple of years ago. Theory being - it's so
much fun, requires less concentration, etc - and is darn fast.

Some of her designs have been adorable little micro-mini purses, brooches,
bands for pillows. We've done some with various threads - silk/wool blend
even, and it's awesome for overdyed floss. One of the tricks we learned was
to actually trim the little sleeves to different lengths which would then
change the depth of the loop. Just cut'em with a razor. I have my whole
little kit in a nice wooden needle box - they fit exactly. I've done most
of mine on quilters cotton (high quality - some on hand-dyes), and it's the
only time I use a hoop - drum tight.

I bet your designs look fantastic. SamSarah/Just Another Button Company
sent some designs for punchneedle to the shop - which we did, and
embellished them of course with their buttons.

Have fun - in case you weren't busy enough. We should get you to come on
one of the Metro DC outings (Stitching Post in Baltimore next Tuesday) !

Ellice

lula wrote:

Then, there are hairstyles! Unusual hairstyles perfect for those over
the top characters, the ladies with attitudes, ha, even Queenie's royal
flyaway hair can be tamed with a punch.....needle that is.....
Speaking of Her Royal Self, do you have any new pictures of the Queen?
It's been quite awhile since Her Royal Subjects have seen her! Or is
she hiding from us???? :)

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

Hello Jacqueline,

Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking about too, the different
overdyes and other specialty threads to "play" with......can almost
imagine how wonderful the effects can be! Good to know about your
experiences!
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

Jacqueline wrote:

I love punchneedle embroidery! I took a class a few years ago and was
instantly hooked. I don't use it as much as I'd like, but I love the fact
that it goes quickly & creates some really lovely designs. Play around with
shading and overdyes a bit - you'll be pleasantly surprised!

--
Jacqueline
Carmichaels PA

Hi Anne,

The punch needle technique would definitely add that extra cool looking
dimension to your embroidered pictures! Just wish I had more time to
"play" with my needles right away, but have to put them down for a
couple of months to work on a "trunk" show.

I'm looking forward to whole new world of options using the punch
needles........such as the example of using overdye and other specialty
threads as posted by Jacqueline.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

anne wrote:

Darn you, Lula. I promised myself that I wasn't going to buy any more stuff
until I finished a few things but I'm sorely tempted to get some of those
needles as I dearly love three dimensional effects.

Has anyone purchased from http://punchneedlemarketplace.com/?


lula said
Geez, as if I don't have enough to do........but using a Russian punch
needle is a technique I've been wanting to try for many years and
finally after seeing finished samples here and there and talking to my
fellow designer friend Pam Kellogg who has been "playing" with her set
of needles, I purchased a set of these punch needles.

My set came from a company known as the original Russian Punch Needle
company that spells the name as IGOLOCHKOY.

I got the whole set of three needles for $45.99....well made with sturdy
brass handles with a five year guarantee.

Hello Joan,

Boy, QUEENIE would sure like you......you royal "climber" you.....if
Queenie knew you were asking about her......

The REAL truth is.....I had to put Queenie and Co. aside for the moment
to work on a "trunk" show as I'll be visiting a shop in Houston soon.

About pics, haven't had time to do one of the finished
"Queenie".....heheh....you should hear the faint rackety thumps and
bangs going on in the pile where I "dumped" or rather placed
Queenie..........geez, no wonder.......that's probably why that "pile"
of stuff keeps falling down on the floor??!!!

BUT.....inbetween required work, I "sneak" a little time to work on
Madame La Zora......this time I'm actually cutting out a "pattern" of
sorts out of freezer paper to do a little pre-planning on this
design........as you recall, I did THE QUEEN totally freehand and
learned a few things from that experience!

Since I want to use more fabrics in Madame, figured it might help to
actually draw a basic line pattern to place different elements.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

Joan Erickson wrote:

lula wrote:

Then, there are hairstyles! Unusual hairstyles perfect for those over
the top characters, the ladies with attitudes, ha, even Queenie's royal
flyaway hair can be tamed with a punch.....needle that is.....

Speaking of Her Royal Self, do you have any new pictures of the Queen?
It's been quite awhile since Her Royal Subjects have seen her! Or is
she hiding from us???? :)

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

Hi Ellice,

I've seen some interesting punch needle projects such as a heart pin one
of the ladies at The Stitching Post was wearing.
It was done in a contemporary graphic style and really cool looking!

Just imagine using metallic threads on a decorative brooch or anything
else one can wear or use as an accessory to an outfit! The results will
definitely be a unique item!

So far, I've used the punch needle on one of the subtle monochromatic
color quilt cotton prints stretched into one of those fine German hoops
that I have a whole set of......but don't think the larger hoops will
work that well overall for me as the stretched fabric will loosen up
being worked on and be harder to deal with on a larger hoop.

So, depending on the project and ease of use, plan to use a table scroll
frame so I can use two hands to help stitch and able to stretch the
fabric even more taut with less chance of loosening up for the results I
want.
Plus the scroll frame will allow for a larger design area without chance
of crushing any loops.

You're so right about the endless options one can do with this
technique.....it took me over 20 years to finally buy a set of these
needles to "play" with. But, I plan to make up for lost time......as
soon as my schedule opens up a little.

I got caught up doing an unexpected "trunk show" for a friend's
needlepoint shop in Houston as I'll be going to the International Quilt
Market at the end of Oct......since I'll be staying with my friend and
spending at least one day helping out in the shop, Frances thought it
would be a good idea to bring new designs.

So, I won't be available to go on that nice day of shopping and
lunch.....but you all will have a lovely time at The Stitching
Post......it's one of the most well stocked shops I've ever been to with
something for all stitcher's.

I've always thought what a great marketing idea it was to have a
needlework shop, a quilting shop and a knitting shop all located next
door to each other......and even more amazing considering these shops
are "hidden" in a small industrial type park area, off the main street,
most dedicated stitchers know where these great shops
are......definitely a real destination place where one can spend hours
doing our favorite pastime.......

After shopping The Stitching Post, spent a small fortune at the Quilt
shop......too hard to resist the range of gorgeous color fabrics and
quilt mags from AU.....some for half price too!

The knitting shop is full of the best yarns.......love the multicolors
of the many types available.

I recall you mentioning Manos yarn in another post......that is
wonderful hand spun yarn.......I have quite a collection of colors that
I couldn't resist!

Now that you're into knitting, next year, you ought to consider visiting
the MD Wool and Sheep Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds, the
first weekend in May.........there you'll find many artisan hand dyed
and hand spun yarns among everything else for knitters and weavers.

One year I bought a hand made yarn or skein winder from a woodworker
made of polished cherry wood. It's a beautiful sculpture on its
own......along with the large wooden Swedish yarn swifts.......at one
time I even thought of buying my own spinning wheel but had to resist
that urge due to lack of space and time......but....as a knitter, this
festival is worth making time to visit!

As for lunch.....I've been to the Candlelight Inn a few years ago.....a
real charming place.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures

Ellice wrote:

lula wrote:

Geez, as if I don't have enough to do........but using a Russian punch
needle is a technique I've been wanting to try for many years and
finally after seeing finished samples here and there and talking to my
fellow designer friend Pam Kellogg who has been "playing" with her set
of needles, I purchased a set of these punch needles.

My set came from a company known as the original Russian Punch Needle
company that spells the name as IGOLOCHKOY.

*snip*

Overall, I'm looking forward to experimenting with the punch needle
using a combination of other embroidery techniques, different textured
threads, yarns and embellishments hoping to give all my projects that
"unique" look whether used on clothing or in decorative design.

Lula, isn't this just tooooo addictive. I resisted for a while, but at the
shop one of the owner's friends designs specifically punchneedle projects,
and distributes for Igolochkov (if you've been to Nashville, might've met
Ellen). Anyhow, she teaches a class at the store a couple of times a year,
and they shamed me into it a couple of years ago. Theory being - it's so
much fun, requires less concentration, etc - and is darn fast.

Some of her designs have been adorable little micro-mini purses, brooches,
bands for pillows. We've done some with various threads - silk/wool blend
even, and it's awesome for overdyed floss. One of the tricks we learned was
to actually trim the little sleeves to different lengths which would then
change the depth of the loop. Just cut'em with a razor. I have my whole
little kit in a nice wooden needle box - they fit exactly. I've done most
of mine on quilters cotton (high quality - some on hand-dyes), and it's the
only time I use a hoop - drum tight.

I bet your designs look fantastic. SamSarah/Just Another Button Company
sent some designs for punchneedle to the shop - which we did, and
embellished them of course with their buttons.

Have fun - in case you weren't busy enough. We should get you to come on
one of the Metro DC outings (Stitching Post in Baltimore next Tuesday) !

Ellice