I remember having a base fabric that was roughly similar to canvas,
but much softer and more flexible than the stuff I see sold at the LNS
for needlepoint. Then you had a thread that was probably about the
size of perle 12 (if memory serves)

Are you thinking of lace net darning? I used to do this approximately 20 years
ago but haven't seen the material, threads or instruction booklets for many
years. It was fun to do and made pretty ornaments.

Eleanor the Elder