Needlepoint Shops in New York City

Two shops, both on the Upper East Side, eleven blocks apart.

New York's needlepoint is on the Upper East Side, and that is not an accident. Both shops sit within eleven blocks of each other on the same side of town, in the part of Manhattan where the craft never went out of fashion.

For a city this size, two shops is fewer than you would expect. Manhattan retail rents have thinned the trade the way they have thinned every specialist trade. What is left is good, and one of them has been there since 1973.

Upper East Side

Getting to them

Annie & Co. is on the southwest corner of 92nd Street and 2nd Avenue, over two floors, with the hand-painted canvases upstairs. The Q train to 96th Street puts you four blocks away.

Rita's is eleven blocks south on East 81st Street, between 1st and 2nd. The 6 train to 77th Street is the closest stop. The two are a fifteen-minute walk apart, so seeing both in a morning is straightforward and worth doing, because they are not alike.

Before you go

• Call Rita's first. They publish no hours online, and a small shop on East 81st is not somewhere to turn up hopefully.
• Annie & Co. is open seven days outside summer. They close Sundays in the summer months, so check if you are visiting between June and August.
• Do both in one trip. Fifteen minutes apart on foot, and different enough in character that the second stop is not a repeat.
• Bring the canvas if you have one. Thread and mesh have to be matched to the specific canvas, and nobody can do that from a photograph. See our thread guide for what that pairing involves.

FAQ

Is there a needlepoint shop downtown, in Brooklyn, or on the West Side?

Not one we have been able to confirm. Both Manhattan shops are on the Upper East Side, so anywhere else in the city means crossing town.

Which one should I go to first?

Annie & Co. if you want to browse a wide range across two floors, and it is the one with reliable published hours. Rita's if you want a small shop with a long memory and a particular line in belts and cases.

How old is Rita's?

It was founded in 1973 by Rita Klein, a Paris-trained artist and designer, and has been a fixture on the Upper East Side ever since. That makes it one of the older needlepoint shops in the country.

Does either do finishing?

Both offer it. Ask what is done in house and what is sent out, and read our finishing guide first, particularly the part about never trimming the canvas.

New to needlepoint?

If you are heading to one of these shops for the first time, it helps to know roughly what you are looking at before you walk in.

• How to start needlepoint, for what a first kit actually needs to contain.
• Mesh count explained, for the number on every canvas label.
• Thread types, for the wool, cotton, and silk question.
• Finishing, for what happens after the stitching is done and what it costs.

Shop details were checked in September 2026 against each shop's own listings. Hours change, so please call ahead. If something here is out of date, or your shop is missing, tell us and we will fix it.