Needlepoint Thread Guide: Wool, Silk Blends, Cotton and Metallics

By Lauren McCarter

Needlepoint thread is usually wool, a silk and wool blend, cotton, or a speciality fibre such as velvet or metallic braid. The right one is thick enough to cover your canvas without being forced through the holes.

On 13 mesh, start with a thread such as tapestry wool or Silk & Ivory. On 18 mesh, try a finer thread such as Perle cotton size 5. The table below includes more options and strand counts. Test a few stitches to check the coverage.

When I started stitching, getting the threads I wanted meant another expensive order from the US each time. Finding threads that suited the canvas was a little tricky here, and that's a big part of why I started bringing Silk & Ivory in. This guide covers the other threads too, including a few I've stitched with myself, so you can choose what suits your canvas.

How to choose needlepoint thread

Three questions narrow it down quickly.

1. What mesh is your canvas? Mesh, or count, is the number of holes per inch (2.54 cm). The higher the number, the smaller the holes and the stitches. Thicker threads suit lower counts such as 12 or 13, and finer threads suit 18. The listing will usually tell you, or you can count the holes across one inch.
2. What will the piece do? A keyring, belt or bag strap gets handled every day, so shops often suggest hard-wearing wool or cotton for those. A framed picture or an ornament can take more delicate threads.
3. What look do you want? Soft Cotton is matte and wool has a soft, natural lustre. Perle cotton and silk blends have more sheen. Velvet adds a soft, raised texture, and metallics catch the light.

Once you have a thread in mind, work a few stitches in the margin of the canvas. Aim for even coverage, with the thread passing through the holes without you tugging it. If the canvas shows through, try a thicker thread, or add a strand if you're using stranded cotton or crewel wool. If the thread drags and looks flattened, go finer. Your tension changes coverage too, so it's worth testing with the stitch you'll actually use.

If you're new to tent stitch, our how to needlepoint guide starts with the basics.

What thread to use on 13 and 18 mesh

Here's where common needlepoint threads sit on 13 and 18 mesh, two common sizes for hand-painted canvases. Our kits and cameo canvases are 13 mesh, on Zweigart mono deluxe canvas.

The table combines makers' published guidance with advice from needlepoint shops. Makers' sources: DMC, Appletons, Brown Paper Packages, Rainbow Gallery and Kreinik. The Perle cotton, stranded cotton and crewel wool mesh pairings, and Soft Cotton's mesh range, are what needlepoint shops usually suggest. Tension and stitch change coverage, so try a few stitches in the margin first.

Wool needlepoint thread

Wool is the traditional needlepoint thread. It's hard-wearing, has plenty of give, and a single strand of tapestry-weight wool fills 10 to 14 mesh canvas well. Because it stands up to handling, shops often suggest it for cushions, belts and bag straps. Merino wools feel softer in the hand.

For its Tapestry Wool, DMC suggests working lengths of no more than about 45 to 50 cm (18 to 20 inches).

I once picked up a variegated three-ply wool with a metallic fleck in a Lincraft sale and stitched a little test patch with it. A small patch lets you see how a new thread behaves before you give it a whole canvas.

Traditional tapestry wools

In Australia and the UK, tapestry wool is the everyday name for needlepoint wool, and tapestry is often what people call needlepoint itself. My nana did a lot of tapestry, which is the same canvas-stitching technique. If the names have ever confused you, our tapestry vs needlepoint guide untangles them.

There are two traditional weights:

• Tapestry wool is the thicker one. DMC Tapestry Wool is a gently twisted 4-ply in 100% wool, usually worked on canvas of about 10 to 14 holes per inch. Appletons Tapestry Wool is also 4-ply. One strand in the needle is the usual approach.
• Crewel wool is finer. Appletons Crewel Wool is 2-ply, and stitchers combine several strands for canvas work (on 18 mesh, shops usually suggest two). Separate strands also let you put two shades in one needle to blend colours. Appletons makes its wool in 430 colours.

Printed tapestry kits sold in Australia and the UK often come with wool. One of Appletons' own kits, for example, pairs its British tapestry wool with a printed canvas of 12 holes per inch. It's a traditional and very enjoyable way to stitch.

Knitting yarn can look similar, but tapestry wool is made to be pulled through canvas again and again. DMC points out that knitting yarn tends to stretch and fray when it's used this way, so it's worth sticking with wool made for stitching.

Silk and wool blends

A silk and wool blend gives you a bit of both: sheen from the silk, and fullness and give from the wool. It covers the canvas nicely and feels soft to stitch with.

Silk & Ivory is the blend our kits come with. It's 50% silk and 50% merino wool, made in Switzerland and supplied by Brown Paper Packages in the US. You use it as a single strand straight from the skein, with no separating, and the maker lists it for 13, 14, 16 and 18 mesh canvas.

My Howdy canvas is stitched entirely in Silk & Ivory: a soufflé stitch background in Really Red, with the rope in Straw and Mocha. It moves through the canvas nicely. Since I started stocking it on my own site, orders have gone all over Australia and New Zealand.

If you're looking for Silk & Ivory in Australia, we have over 100 colours in our threads collection, and you can look through the shades on our Silk & Ivory colour chart.

Pure silk

Pure silk threads have a beautiful lustre. Some are twisted and used as one strand, such as Pepper Pot. Others are plied: several fine strands that you separate and lay back together, much like stranded cotton. Splendor and Soie d'Alger are plied silks. Plied silks take a little more care to lie flat, and a laying tool can help. For a piece that will be handled every day, check the thread maker's guidance on suitability and care.

Cotton

Cotton threads are easy to find, come in big colour ranges and suit pieces that get handled. There are three main types for needlepoint.

Perle cotton

Perle (or pearl) cotton is a twisted thread with a soft sheen, used as it comes rather than split into strands. DMC makes it in sizes 3, 5, 8 and 12, and the lower the number, the thicker the thread. Size 3 suits 13 mesh and size 5 suits 18 mesh.

DMC Soft Cotton

DMC Soft Cotton (also sold as Retors Mat) is a 5-ply, 100% cotton that isn't mercerised, so it has a matte finish. It's slightly finer than DMC Tapestry Wool, and shops put it at 12 to 14 mesh. On an Easter bunny by Stitching with Stacey, I used DMC Soft Cotton for the flowers and Very Velvet for the bunny.

Stranded cotton (embroidery floss): how many strands?

Yes, you can use embroidery floss for needlepoint. Stranded cotton comes as six fine strands loosely twisted together, and you choose how many to stitch with. Shops usually suggest all six strands on 13 or 14 mesh and three or four on 18 mesh. There's no fixed rule, so stitch a few and check the coverage.

Floss lies flatter if you strip it first:

1. Cut a working length of about 50 cm.
2. Pull the strands out one at a time.
3. Lay them back together side by side, line up the ends, and thread your needle.

I've stitched a little canvas scrap entirely in DMC stranded cotton, with turkey work.

Our cameo canvas listings suggest DMC Perle 3, DMC Soft Cotton or DMC Stranded Cotton, so you can stitch those canvases in whichever you prefer. If you're in Australia, New Zealand, the UK or Canada, you can browse our needlepoint canvases and choose your own threads.

Velvet and other textured threads

Very Velvet, from Rainbow Gallery, is a 100% nylon thread with a soft, plush pile. The regular version is made for 13 to 18 mesh needlepoint canvas. Petite Very Velvet is finer, for 14 to 18 mesh. Its colours match the regular range: V201 in Very Velvet is V601 in Petite.

Besides that Easter bunny, I've used Very Velvet for lettering. It sits up a little from the surrounding stitches, which suits fur and letters you want to stand out.

There are also fuzzy, ribbon and other textured threads for things like fur, snow and hair. You can use them for small details where you'd like a different texture, trying a few stitches in the margin first.

Metallic threads

Metallic threads add sparkle to stars, crowns, buckles and borders. They're usually used for highlights rather than whole backgrounds.

Kreinik sizes its braids by number. Its selection guide puts Medium #16 and Canvas #24 on 13 mesh, and Tapestry #12 and Fine #8 on 18 mesh, with #12 the one Kreinik made for full coverage.

Metallics can be slippery, so use shorter lengths and stitch a little more slowly than you would with wool or cotton.

In my own stitching, metallics turn up on the Nutcracker stocking below, and as the fleck spun through that Lincraft wool.

Mixing threads on one canvas

You can mix different threads on one canvas, and many stitchers do. A common approach is wool or a silk blend for the main areas and background, with velvet, metallic or textured threads where texture helps the design.

My Nutcracker stocking is a Plum Stitchery canvas (artwork by Riley Sheehey), kitted by KC Needlepoint, and it brings together Very Velvet, Silk & Ivory, metallic threads and more. I kept the main figures in continental and basketweave and added texture only where it would enhance the design. KC Needlepoint did a beautiful job colour-matching the threads for that canvas.

When you mix fibres, check that each thread covers the canvas on its own. A finer thread might need an extra strand to sit comfortably next to a thicker one.

Building a thread list for your canvas

If you've bought a canvas on its own, you'll need a thread list: one thread for each colour painted on the canvas. Here's a simple way to put one together.

1. List every colour painted on the canvas, including the background and small details such as eyes or outlines.
2. Choose one thread type for the main areas so the coverage looks even, then decide where you'd like a different texture.
3. Match each colour to a shade, and write the brand, shade name and number beside it.
4. For Silk & Ivory, use our Silk & Ivory colour chart to look up shade names and numbers. Colours can look different on a screen, so compare the actual thread with your canvas when you can.
5. If your thread has dye lots, buy enough of the background colour from one lot. Skeins from different lots can vary slightly, which can show across a large area. Silk & Ivory skeins have the lot number on the tag.

To work out how much to buy, look at the size of each colour area. Backgrounds and other large areas take the most thread, and basketweave uses a little more thread than continental. Many skein labels give the length of thread, so you can compare that with each area.

If you're using Silk & Ivory, our Silk & Ivory thread guide has the maker's coverage figures to help you work out how much of each colour to buy.

If you'd rather skip this step, a kit does it for you. For readers in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, our needlepoint and tapestry kits come with Silk & Ivory threads matched to the painted colours. The canvas-only versions leave the choice to you. Our guide to choosing a first kit walks through what to look for.

If you're weighing up what thread adds to a project's cost, why needlepoint costs what it does walks through it.

Once you start collecting threads, storing them becomes its own little project. Every time I reorganise mine, I promise myself this is the system I'll stick to, and then the unfinished projects start piling up again.

Browse Silk & Ivory threads: over 100 colours, with shade names on our Silk & Ivory colour chart. Free AU shipping over A$150 is handy when you're buying a full canvas's worth of colours, and we ship to Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada.

Explore threads

If you're in the US, you can find my designs through Oz Needle & Thread, in shops across the US including Le Fil Studio in Los Angeles and KC Needlepoint.

Quick answers

What thread is best for needlepoint?

There isn't one best thread. Wool, silk and wool blends, cotton and speciality threads all work well when the thickness suits your canvas mesh and the piece you're making. Our kits use Silk & Ivory, a 50% silk and 50% merino blend.

Can you use embroidery floss for needlepoint?

Yes. Stranded cotton, also called embroidery floss, works well on canvas. Shops usually suggest all six strands on 13 mesh and three or four strands on 18 mesh. Separate the strands and lay them back together before threading, then test a few stitches for coverage.

What size thread for 13 mesh needlepoint?

On 13 mesh, good starting points are one strand of tapestry wool or Silk & Ivory, Perle cotton size 3, one strand of DMC Soft Cotton, or all six strands of stranded cotton, with a size 20 tapestry needle. Test a few stitches to check the coverage.

Is needlepoint thread the same as embroidery thread?

Some embroidery threads, such as stranded cotton and Perle cotton, are used for needlepoint too. Threads sold for needlepoint are generally thicker, because they need to cover the canvas.

Can I use knitting wool or tapestry wool for needlepoint?

Tapestry wool, yes. It's made for stitching on canvas and is the traditional needlepoint wool in Australia and the UK. Knitting yarn is best avoided, as it tends to stretch and fray when it's pulled through canvas.

Can I mix different threads on one canvas?

Yes. Many stitchers use wool or a silk blend for the main areas and add velvet, metallic or textured threads for details. Check that each thread covers the canvas on its own.

Happy stitching,
Lauren x

Keep exploring

• Silk & Ivory colour chart
• Silk & Ivory thread guide
• Tapestry vs needlepoint
• Choosing a first needlepoint kit
• Needlepoint vs cross stitch
• How to needlepoint