Needlepoint: Stitching Long Diagonal Lines

by Sylvia Duke
(Hawkins, TX)

I have a needlepoint tapestry that I have been working on for *years* -- sailing boats at sunset in a harbour. The basic design is easy enough with bold splashes of colour in the sails and sunset BUT the cords/ropes on the sails do not line up with the diagonal and if I try to stitch half stitches, it looks poor. Should I stitch the background and then add these lines in later in backstitch? Any suggestions would be welcome!
:-)
Sylvia

Amy's Answer
I was always taught to do the background last in needlepoint embroidery. There are exceptions for special threads or small stitches that would become buried when they're surrounded. Doing them last means they're slightly on top of the surrounding ones. Usually you want the background to do that so it fills in any gaps around the main objects, and because it's easier to find the holes and do the stitches properly when there are less there to interfere.

I'm not sure which type of needlepoint stitch you're attempting. Depending on what you're doing, it could bes distorting the canvas on the diagonal. Could you share a photo?

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