If you've followed Stitch Style for a while, you may have noticed, I use a lot of "open" needlepoint stitches. These are stitches where a portion of the background is intentionally left exposed, meaning, you will still see the canvas threads through the stitches. Read on to learn why I love this look for my needlepoint projects.
When you're tackling a new needlepoint canvas, one of the most daunting parts for stitchers seems to be the background! Often times the open space can feel intimidating.
If you've followed Stitch Style for a while, you may have noticed, I use a lot of "open" needlepoint stitches. These are stitches where a portion of the background is intentionally left exposed, meaning, you will still see the canvas threads through the stitches.
Often times, the background on your canvas is not the portion of the design you want to draw attention to. It's far more important to make the foreground and main elements of the canvas pop! Using small open background stitches is an easy way to add a little interest to the background of your design, without distracting from the main elements, allowing it to recede away.
If you take a look at the example below of our 4th of July Fireworks Canvas, you will see that I used an open background stitch on the night sky. It's done in a thread that is just a touch lighter than the background itself. It adds a light texture, but allows the fireworks to really pop forward and stand out above the background. They are definitely the focal point of this design! (You'll get a full tutorial on the stitch I used below!)
Seen on the background of our 4th of July Fireworks Canvas.
It's a look I personally love! Although it's not as traditional looking as if I had done the whole piece in basketweave- but in my opinion, it really brings the canvas to life!
Below I'm sharing two open background stitches for you to try on your next project. Tag me on Instagram and share how they turned out!
Dots Stitch
Seen on the background of our Dog with Letter Needlepoint Canvas. 
If you need a fast background stitch- Dots Stitch is IT. I love this stitch in a Silk Lamé Braid on a painted background. It's one of my favorites. I think it looks like snowflakes.
Dots Stitch is stitched on alternating rows vertically. It is done in all Tent Stitch so the direction of our stitch never changes. It always angles from lower left to upper right. Dots Stitch is lined up like a grid, meaning, row after row, stitches fall directly below the stitch above.
T-Stitch
Seen on our Colorful Forest Needlepoint Canvas Background
The Colorful Forest is by far one of our most popular needlepoint canvases. It's basically a stitch sampler that teaches many of the decorative stitches you will want to familiarize yourself with- including T-Stitch.
T-Stitch is made up of alternating rows of Tent Stitches and Reverse Tent Stitches. In each row you will skip an intersection between stitches. Your rows will also be offset from each other. This is where the name comes from. See how your stitches make little diagonal "Ts" in the canvas?
This stitch looks great on just about any sky!
Give open stitches a try on your next project and tell me what you think!
-Jinny xo
