When I teach hand stitching to kids I always start them on plastic canvas because it’s stable and sturdy, there’s no question where your needle should go because the holes are big and obvious, and you don’t need a hoop to do it (and you can even use yarn instead of embroidery floss, which is great for little hands).
But plastic canvas doesn’t have to just be for practice or when you’re learning or teaching kids how to cross stitch. There are a lot of reasons you might want to use it for projects.
Notorious Needle has a great post all about the pros and cons of using plastic canvas for cross stitch, as well as the difference between perforated plastic and plastic canvas. It has great advice on choosing from the different colors of plastic canvas, getting ready to stitch and how to actually work with plastic canvas to make your project.
There are even tips for joining pieces of plastic canvas together to make a project (like those classic stitched plastic canvas tissue boxes) and how to finish the edges for a smooth look.
I have always liked the idea of using plastic canvas for things like magnets, keychains and backpack charms, but once you start playing with it I imagine you’ll come up with lots of potential uses for it.
If you sign up for email updates you can get a free pattern for a lovely monarch butterfly stitches on plastic canvas, which is shown here.
Check out the blog post at Notorious Needle for all the details and great tips to get you started on your plastic canvas journey.
Have you ever worked cross stitch on plastic canvas before? I’d love to hear what you made and if you have any tips to help others!
[Photo: Notorious Needle]
