How to Transfer a Drawing to Canvas to Make your own Design
line drawing for needlepoint, public domain source
Needlepoint creation frees you to make any design you like. By learning how to transfer line drawings to canvas, you can accomplish this with ease.
The most difficult thing is finding a picture you like which has clear outlines and not too much detail. Once you have that, the whole process takes about 15 minutes.
- Pick out or draw a design you like, line drawings (like a coloring book) are best.
- If it is not the size you want for your stitching, enlarge it at a copy shop in black and white.
- Tape the edges of your canvas.
- Find a permanent, waterproof marker made for fabrics (SC-UF, Pigma Microns, FabricMate, and Zig are good) or use a hard (4H) drawing pencil.
- Make sure the main lines of the design stand out. You may want to go over them with a black pen.
- Lay the design on a table in a well-lighted room.
- Place the canvas over it and line up the canvas threads straight with the side of the drawing.
- Begin to trace all the main lines of the design using your pencil or marker.
- Once all lines are traced, let dry overnight. You are ready to stitch.
copyright Napa Needlepoint
This design is an original one. The platypus was done using this method.
Tips
Make straight lines straight with the canvas, not with the drawing.
You can tape the design and the canvas to a window to trace if you need more light.
Now you have begun an original needlepoint creation where you picked the design, creating something unique.