Kit Guides: Punch Needle

Punch needle is a ﬁber art that creates loops of yarn on fabric, resulting in a rich, raised texture. The stitches are sturdy and don’t need glue or reinforcement to stay put—the monk’s cloth holds them securely with just tension (it’s kinda magic!). Punch needle is a relaxing, meditative craft that is as easy and low-stakes as coloring in a coloring book, with results that look like a woven tapestry. It creates interesting, textured patterns that will add unique style to your home décor. It’s also super forgiving, so you can easily ﬁx mistakes, making it a truly stress-free activity to enjoy on your own or with kids—generally best for ages 8 and up with adult supervision, given the pointy punch needle tool. Let’s get started!

For a full overview of punch needling, you can watch the video above, and below are detailed instructions of each element.

General - Getting Started

Threading the Punch Needle:

You’re essentially using the threader to pull the yarn through the center of the punch needle from the bottom, and then through the hole at the top.

Step 1: Feed the threader through the hole in the back of the needle, and down through the center of the needle until it comes out the wooden end.
Step 2: Insert the yarn into the threader loop.
Step 3: Pull the threader back up to bring the yarn through the needle’s center and out of the hole in the back of the needle.

Threading the punch needle video instruction:

Stitching Tutorial:

Punch needling is as simple as pushing the threaded needle all the way through the monk’s cloth fabric, pulling it back up, and repeating. On your first stitch, push the needle through your fabric and from the back of your work, pull the tail of the yarn all the way through. It is now hanging out of the back of your work (you can trim this later). Pull your needle back up through the fabric, move the tip of the needle forward along the front side of the fabric with the opening of the needle facing the direction you are stitching, and then punch into the fabric again. Try not to lift the needle tip too far away from your fabric, and try to keep your stitches consistent in size.

Stitch Types:

There are two stitch types you’ll see in most punch needle work—loop stitch and ﬂat stitch. These are actually the same stitch, just made from different sides of the fabric.

Flat Stitch: The needle is punching through the front side of the fabric. The pattern provided in this kit was designed with ﬂat stitch in mind—this makes the direction of the stitches more visible and creates beautiful movement within the shapes.

Loop Stitch: The needle is punching through the back side of the fabric. Feel free to combine both loop and ﬂat stitches as you like to make your piece look unique and just how you want it.

Punch needle stitching video instruction:

General - Troubleshooting

Tips for Success:

Consistent Stitch size: Aim for about three monk’s cloth squares per stitch. (Or don’t! It’s your art!)
Stagger your stitches: Place each stitch centered under the one above for a more organic, handmade look.
Keep a long lead of yarn: Even a very small pressure on the yarn (say it’s caught on the corner of the canvas, or even under your thumb) will make your stitches come out as you are punching them. To avoid this, keep a long lead of yarn as you work.
If you make a mistake, just pull out that stitch and try again! If taking one or more stitches out results in larger holes within the monk’s cloth, you can scratch the cloth with your ﬁngernail to smooth the fabric out. It’s typically very forgiving and easy to work over the same space several times as needed.

If your stitches aren't staying in:

Make sure you have a lot of slack yarn and nothing snagging the yarn in any way (see above—even a light snag will prevent the stitches from staying in).
If you’re still having trouble, you can place a ﬁnger on the previous stitch as you are punching the next stitch, to hold it in place. This is helpful especially on the edges of the canvas where the cloth meets the wood frame, or in areas where you may have undone and redone your work.

'Rudia' Design

Punch each square individually. Cut the yarn after completing each square, in order to get the stitch definition of the squares.
There is enough yarn to use either color as the main or accent color.

'Squared' Design

There is enough yarn to use any color in any section.
Punch each square’s shape in concentric paths (continuously working along the inner perimeter of the shape). For the middle square, work each section as outlined in order to get the dimensional depth in the example.

'Mind Meld' Design

There is enough yarn to use either color in either section.

'Fluid' Design

There is enough yarn to use either color in either section.

'Pebbles I' Design

There is enough yarn to use any color in any section.
Draw your own squiggle with the accent color. You can cut a piece of yarn and lay it on the canvas in the shape you want, and then punch along that path. Retrace the path 3 times to achieve the look in the example.

'Pebbles II' Design

There is enough yarn to use any color in any section.
Draw your own squiggle with the accent color. You can cut a piece of yarn and lay it on the canvas in the shape you want, and then punch along that path. Retrace the path 3 times to achieve the look in the example.

'Pebbles III' Tips

Pebbles III Tips

You have enough yarn to place any color in any section, but the image below suggests a color arrangement that highlights the overlapping effect. The design creates the illusion of overlapping objects, with darker shades in those areas. To maintain sharp lines and borders, start with the two internal shapes (which have no canvas edges), then move outward (see suggested order below).

'Endless Color' Tips

There is enough yarn to use any color in any section.