Adapting Art to Needlepoint

I’m sure all of us have a quilt, a painting, a ceramic plate, etc. that we just love. And this favorite thing is exactly what you need to start adapting art to needlepoint.

First, study your favorite thing - What do you love about it? Study things like:

1.The color
2.The shape - round, geometric
3.The memories it brings to mind
4.The style - Art Deco, Asian, Elizabethan
5.The feeling it inspires - comfort, excitement

If you are already a needlepointer, many of these ideas pop up when you’re looking for something to stitch. There are certain styles (or designers) you love, colors that are your favorites, or maybe a new challenge with new threads or new stitches to learn.

This is where you start when you want to adapt something to needlepoint - a favorite thing or idea.

Then you have to do your research. This doesn’t have to be something intense like in school. (There are no papers to write.) But you need to learn more about the type of art you want to work on.

1.What colors are typical of the period or style
2.What materials were used (sometimes this determines the colors)
3.If it’s embroidered or woven, what type of threads were used
4.What elements or motifs do you like

When you start adapting an item, you will be able to change some of these things, but first you need to understand how the original item was made and what it represents to the original artist.

As an example, the Berbers of Morocco make their rugs and blankets from the wool of their goats and sheep. Some areas use mostly the natural colors of the wool, lots of off-white, brown, black. Other colors are created by dyeing the wool with natural elements. They used madder root for red, indigo for blue, almond leaves for yellow, etc. Their colors were limited by what was available to dye the wool yarn. You can see that they developed their color scheme by where they lived. The designs come from their mystical beliefs, things in nature around them, and motifs from other countries that they saw when they traded goods. When I adapt their art, I now know something about how it was created. I want to keep that feel and look, but I can make some changes as well.

Moroccan Tile

Celtic Frame

Navajo Rug