Punch Needle Kits

What is punch needle?

Instead of pulling thread through and back, you push a hollow needle down through fabric held tight in a hoop, then lift it, leaving a loop behind. Packed close, rows of loops build a soft, dense pile. That one movement is the whole technique, so it is quick to learn and covers ground fast.

Yarn kits or fine thread kits?

The DMC Mindful Making kits are the beginner ones. They use acrylic yarn on 6-count cotton Aida or canvas, finish at 15 × 15 cm, and the hoop doubles as the frame. Yarn runs from 31 m in the Mountain Meditation to 75 m in The Gentle Flowers, which gives the fullest pile. The Relaxed Rustic is worked on linen for a more textured background. Ladybird's Terry is also rated beginner.

The Nathalie W. designs (Tropics, Jungle and Hydrangea Petals) use a fine punch needle and DMC stranded cotton on pre-printed fabric. Fine thread gives more detail than yarn. They are rated intermediate for the number of color changes, though the stitch itself is the same.

What's in the box?

The DMC kits include the fabric, yarn or thread, a punch needle tool, a wooden hoop and instructions. Mindful Making kits add a cotton backing fabric and a needle for finishing. You will need your own small embroidery scissors. To punch your own designs afterwards, the DMC punch needle is the size 10 tool the Mindful Making kits are built around, and takes thick yarns up to about 4 mm.

Tips for a first project

• Keep the fabric drum-tight in the hoop. Punch needle only holds its loops in taut fabric.
• Keep the needle's open side facing the direction you are moving, for even loops.
• Keep the needle upright, and do not drag it across the surface between punches. That pulls out the loops you have just made.
• Outline each color area first, then fill inwards in rows.
• Linen has no grid of holes, so keep your punches close together for full coverage.