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Needlepoint Starter Supplies: What to Buy

Our picks for getting started: canvas kits, thread, needles, stretcher bars, and small accessories, for whenever you would rather order online than wait for a shop trip.

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Our picks follow the five things our how to start needlepoint guide lists: canvas, thread, needle, scissors, and something to hold the canvas. After those come needle minders, project bags, blanks and trays for finishing and display, and two books.

Canvas and beginner kits

For a first order, look for a small, pre-printed or all-in-one kit at 13-mesh. It bundles most of what you need, usually with the thread and a needle chosen for the canvas. Hand-painted canvases, also listed below, can come after you have finished a kit or two. See our kit-buying guide for more on the difference.

The first kit below is 13-mesh. One caveat applies to the rest: every other kit and canvas on the list whose listing gives a mesh is 18-mesh, which is finer than the 13-mesh we have just recommended. The holes are smaller and the stitches more numerous. The two kids' kits give no mesh.

Thread

All-in-one and pre-printed kits usually include the thread you need, so this section is mainly for hand-painted canvases, which usually do not come with thread, or for restocking colors.

If you are choosing for yourself and it is still early days, start with wool. Needlepoint.Com, which has shops in Charleston and Raleigh, says wool tends to be more forgiving, while silk and metallics may need more even tension. By the yard, silk also costs more than wool or cotton. Our thread guide goes through how each behaves and how many strands you need for your mesh count.

Wool first below, then cotton, then silk.

Needles and threaders

Needle size follows your canvas mesh count, and a higher number means a finer needle. Needlepoint Joint's chart gives size 20 for 12 to 14-mesh, size 22 for 14 to 18-mesh, and size 24 for 18 to 22-mesh. The ranges overlap, so if in doubt, use NeedlepointTeacher.com's test: drop the needle into a hole in your canvas, and it should fall through until the eye stops it. A threader is optional: Needlepoint.Com threads a needle by folding the thread over it and pushing the fold through the eye, as our how to start guide describes.

Scissors

Any small, sharp scissors will do for trimming thread ends. Nothing specialized is needed for a first project. A compact or folding pair is for stitching away from home. If you fly, the TSA allows scissors in a carry-on only if they measure less than 4 inches from the pivot point, as the FAQ below explains.

Stretcher bars and frames

Stretcher bars hold the canvas taut while you stitch. KC Needlepoint in Kansas City says, in a post on stretcher bars, that they help keep a canvas from warping as you work and usually spare the finisher from blocking it. KC Needlepoint adds that the canvas threads are easier to count for decorative stitches, because the canvas stays stiff on the bars.

Bars are sold in pairs, and a frame takes two pairs. Measure the whole canvas, edge to edge, not just the design. Needlepoint.Com notes that the sizes it lists for its canvases are the painted design alone, without the 1 to 3 inches of blank canvas at the edges. A canvas 8 by 10 inches takes an 8-inch pair and a 10-inch pair, as Stitch Society in The Village, near Oklahoma City, puts it in its guide to stretcher bars. If a side falls between sizes, KC Needlepoint and Needlepoint.Com both say to choose the smaller.

At KC Needlepoint and Needlepoint.Com, bars come in two widths: mini bars, 1/2 inch wide, in lengths up to 18 inches; and regular bars, 1 inch wide, up to 28 inches. KC Needlepoint notes that the two widths cannot be mixed. Tack the canvas on with brass tacks or rustproof thumbtacks, starting at the middle of each side and working out to the corners. The canvas can go on top of the bars or underneath them. Mounting it underneath is called stitching "in the well", and KC Needlepoint says both ways are correct. For an oversized canvas, Needlepoint.Com suggests scroll bars, or moving the canvas along the stretcher bars as you stitch. Stitch Society suggests a lap stand or frame stand to free your hands.

Needle minders

A needle minder is a small magnet that holds your needle mid-project so it does not vanish between stitches. It is optional.

Project bags

A project bag keeps a canvas, its threads, and your tools together between sessions. Stitch Society suggests leaving a canvas on its stretcher bars when you are not stitching, to keep the tension, so choose a bag big enough for the bars.

Finishing and display

Books and reference

What pushes the cost up?

A beginner setup is short: a small pre-printed or all-in-one kit (which usually brings its own thread and needle), small scissors, and stretcher bars to hold the canvas. Needle minders, travel scissors, and project bags are extras.

Hand-painted canvases and professional finishing are what push the total higher, and neither is necessary until you are past your first project or two. Our finishing guide covers what finishing costs, and our guide to why needlepoint is so expensive has what canvases and thread cost, read from shops' own catalogs.

FAQ

Do these kits come with instructions?

Pre-printed and all-in-one kits usually include basic instructions. Hand-painted canvases usually do not; they are paired with a separate stitch guide, or with a shop's advice.

What size stretcher bars do I need?

Measure the whole canvas, edge to edge, and buy one pair of bars for the width and one pair for the height: a canvas 8 by 10 inches takes an 8-inch pair and a 10-inch pair. If a side falls between sizes, choose the smaller. The section on stretcher bars, above, has the widths and how to tack a canvas on.

What if I do not like the colors in a kit?

You can swap in different thread. Our thread guide gives the strand counts that cover the canvas at each mesh, and a spare piece of canvas is the place to try a new thread first.

Can I bring needlepoint on a plane?

Yes, within the TSA's rules for airports in the United States, which we checked in September 2026. The TSA's guidance says that, in general, needlepoint tools can go in carry-on or checked bags, but circular thread cutters and any other needlepoint tool with a blade have to go in checked bags. Scissors are the exception: they can go in a carry-on if they measure less than 4 inches from the pivot point, and two of the travel scissors above are sold as TSA-compliant. The TSA adds that the officer at the checkpoint makes the final decision.

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The stretcher bar advice comes from KC Needlepoint's post of October 2021, Stitch Society's guide of March 2025, and Needlepoint.Com's stretcher bar listing, all read on September 28, 2026, when the stretcher bar, scroll frame, tack, and project bag listings above were also read. The thread advice quotes Needlepoint.Com's post on mixing threads of July 2025, read the same day. The cost of silk and The Forest Needle's ply counts for Splendor come from the shop catalogs behind our cost guide, read the same day. The other listings above were read on September 29, 2026. Needlepoint Joint's needle chart and the TSA's guidance were read on September 28, 2026, and NeedlepointTeacher.com's needle test and its page on mounting canvas on stretcher bars in September 2026. The way to thread a needle is from Needlepoint.Com's beginner page, read in September 2026.

Next: Why Is Needlepoint So Expensive? →