DIY Self Finishing Needlepoint Napkin Rings

My interest in needlepoint started during the pandemic, but it was not my first exposure to the hobby. Growing up my mom was often stitching some sort of canvas or needlepoint project and my grandmother has a collection of things she has stitched too. My mom recently was looking for something in what we call “the sewing barn” at my grandparent’s house and even came across boxes of organized floss and threads from my grandmother’s friend’s needlepoint store. For high school graduation, my mom stitched and self-finished needlepoint key fobs for all of my friends and we are still sad that that Etsy shop doesn’t sell them anymore. All that to say, I’m sure my mom found it entertaining when I decided to take up the hobby.

Last year, we both learned to self-finish our own ornaments and even tried our hand at painting our own canvases too. All of that inspired her to figure out a project she could self finish and use in a different way than the standard ornaments, key fobs/belts, and pillows that are so familiar in the needlepoint industry. I’m not positive how she landed on needlepoint napkin rings as the project she chose to take on, but I’m so glad she did. And it seems as though I’m not alone since after sharing about her bringing me a set of my own as a hostess gift for staying with me (on Instagram and Tik Tok) in Birmingham y’all had lots of questions on how she tackled the project.

I had her give me a tutorial over Thanksgiving and finally had a chance to complete my own trial run (which I knew would be helpful) before sharing what I know with y’all. I’ll do my best to be comprehensive with this tutorial, but should you have any additional questions please post them here or on the corresponding Instagram Reel or Tik Tok post and I’ll do my best to answer them within this post to help everyone out.

Supplies:

This needlepoint project is a bit different than many since instead of using a mesh canvas, plastic canvas is necessary for this DIY. My mom found that 14-mesh plastic canvas worked well for the project and it comes in both white and clear. If you are planning to stitch your napkin rings with a white background I’d recommend using the white canvas. Otherwise, the clear would work well and hopefully show through a bit less than the white.

A 26 blunt tip needle works well with the plastic 14-mesh canvas without feeling like it will get stuck as some other needles we tried can.

Fibers/Threads/Floss – I’ve included some suggestions below since I know this can come down to personal preference

Napkin Rings. I’ve linked the exact ones my mom and I both used to complete this tutorial which is what our measurements for cutting your canvas are based on. Should you want to try a different style of napkin ring you’ll have to play around with those dimensions.

Scissors

Helpful but not required: Printable needlepoint charts (lots of suggestions included below), acrylic markers for drawing your design on your canvas, printable grid paper 

I’ve included links to these supplies below for you to easily shop!

Design Ideas and Helpful Charts:

My mom knew when she started this project that my last name initial would be an easy motif to include on her first set of napkin rings, and I think they turned out great! I also stitched one with a B and also tried my hand at drawing a Christmas tree to stitch, which worked out well too. This is where the printable grid paper is really helpful since you can map out how much space you have for each design. In the collection of links above I’ve included some free and purchasable charts that could be used and adjusted slightly to fit the amount of room you have to design on the canvas.

Thread Suggestions:

My mom initially stitched her set of napkin rings with DMC 6 Strand Embroidery Floss. For the letters she used 6 strands and for the background she used 4 strands and felt that the coverage was sufficient with that many strands.

Personally, I hate separating strands and knew I’d like to find a different fiber for when I stitched my napkin ring. My local needlepoint store suggested that I use Pepper Pot when I showed them what I was working on and ultimately that’s what I went with. That was my first time stitching with Pepper Pot and I was pleased with the coverage and way it turned out. I do wish I had kept my first couple of stitches a bit tighter when WIP stitching the top of the canvas but suggestions like that are why I knew I wanted to do a trial run before sharing a tutorial with y’all.

With most canvases my preference is Silk and Ivory, but I started one napkin ring using that and felt like the thread was getting pretty fuzzy both on the top and on the background and am not sure I’d recommend using that with this plastic canvas.

With the canvas I did the Christmas Tree design on I did try a single stitch of Silk Lame and think it did fine with the plastic canvas but it is known to be a finicky thread to work with, so I’d only do smaller details with this as opposed to an entire background in that thread.

How-To

Cutting The Canvas

These dimensions are assuming that you purchased 14-mesh plastic canvas and the exact same napkin rings I suggested otherwise you’ll need to tailor them to what supplies you’re using.

You will want to cut your canvas into strips that are 85 holes long and 10 hole tall. To make sure I was cutting the right side I counted with a needle tapping each of the holes to make sure that they wouldn’t turn out wrong after taking the time to stitch them. Even with these dimensions I recommend wrapping each canvas around the napkin ring to make sure it’s the right size prior to stitching.

Should you be using a different mesh size canvas or napkin ring, you can determine the size to cut the strips by laying the canvas on top of the napkin ring to determine height and wrapping it around the napkin ring to determine the overall length of the strip.

Draw on the Design

If you’ve never drawn your own needlepoint canvas either with your own design or from a chart I do recommend practicing on the grid paper linked. Keep in mind that your design needs to drawn on the intersections of the canvas holes since that is how it would be stitched. The charts in the link collection above will be a great resource for anyone not wanting to create their own designs.

Since the canvas will wrap around your napkin ring the easiest way to determine the middle of the canvas where the design should be drawn was by folding the canvas in half and then using markers to mark your design. If it’s not perfectly centered it shouldn’t be noticeable since the connection point of the canvas will be hidden on the back of the ring.

Stitch The Design

I would recommend starting your stitching by stitching the design of your canvas. This video will be really helpful for anchoring your thread if this isn’t the method you already use when stitching. Be sure to cut enough thread so that you can stitch your design entirely without having to re-anchor it within itself.

Ignore the First and Last Vertical Rows of Canvas

This is crucial in order to connect both sides of the canvas to the napkin ring! You do not want to stitch the first or or last vertical rows of holes of the canvas. This will be your connection point of the canvas to your napkin ring. Keep this in mind when reading the steps below!!

Whip Stitch the Top of the Canvas

Next, you will want to stitch the top of the canvas. For me, this was the part where I had to focus the most. In order to make the stitches along the top to match a tent stitch used to stitch the background the grooves where the strip has been cut will be helpful. You will want to anchor your stitches within those grooves at an angle to mimic the typical Arizona to New York direction (bottom left to top right) of a continental stitch. If you’re confused by reading this I was sure to film how I did this in the videos I shared on Instagram and Tik Tok. Go ahead and stitch the entire top row of the canvas before moving on to the background. If this sounds familiar, it’s essentially a whip stitch that you’d do when sewing.

Stitch The Canvas Background

Now that your design and top row of the canvas are stitched now you’ll go ahead and do the entire background. I opted to use a continental stitch to do this, but I suspect basketweave would work really well too. The only caution I’d give with basketweave or a decorative stitch is that it may add a bit of bulk to the back side of your canvas which could make it not lay as flat against the napkin ring.

Whip Stitch the Bottom of the Canvas

After your background has been stitched (aside from the first and last vertical row and bottom horizontal row) you are then ready to whip stitch the bottom row of the canvas in a similar way that you did the top. Now the grooves will be on the opposite side, so be sure that your stitches are still going in the Arizona to New York direction. Anchor that thread as normal.

Connect the Canvas to the Napkin Ring

I would recommend waiting to connect your canvas to your napkin rings once you have all of them complete since once you get the hang of this it comes pretty quickly but does take a little more focus than a regular needlepoint stitch (at least for me, personally). If you’re worried about whether or not you cut your canvas the right size then maybe confirm with your first napkin ring and then wait to do the rest at once after that.

Thread your needle with the same thread you used for the background (this ensures it will blend in) and take both your napkin ring and stitched canvas. In your non dominant hand position the stitched canvas on the napkin ring with the design facing away from you and the two ends of the canvas facing toward you. Using your fingers, grip to hold the canvas in place, anchor your thread starting at the top left hand side of the canvas and begin loosely stitching from left to right. You will not be angling these stitches! Think of this as a stitch similar to lacing your shoes for the first time and keep these stitches somewhat loose and tighten occasionally as you move from the top to the bottom. Again, this is a time I’d recommend referencing the videos I filmed since it may show better than I can tell. I pulled those stitches tight as I moved down using my needle. Once you get to the bottom and everything is snug and your canvas feels tight and secure against the napkin ring take your needle and anchor it vertically as best you can behind the stitches you have just done. Now that your needle is at the top do the exact same thing for added insurance taking the needle down the back of those stitches to anchor once more before cutting the additional thread. I suppose you could do some sort of knot, but I suspect that would remain visible which I know most of us want to avoid.

At this point you should have a designed, stitched, and self finished needlepoint to enjoy! I really hope this tutorial was helpful and made sense. As mentioned previously, please leave comments below and I will do my best to address and questions and add them to this post accordingly. If anything seems really off I will try to convince my mom to get on camera with me to make note of additional pointers or strategies she has used since she’s now stitching her second set of 12.

I’ve had quite a few people message saying they plan to make these as gifts, which I love. If you do end up making your own I would love nothing more than being sent pictures to show my mom since she deserves the credit for coming up with this idea and allowing me to share it with you!