First project: a small painted-canvas kit
A small kit on 10 to 13 mesh, stitched on stretcher bars and blocked flat.
Step by step
- Choose a small kit on 10, 12 or 13 mesh with the yarn included.
- Tape the raw edges and keep at least 2 in (5 cm) of unstitched margin.
- Tack the canvas to stretcher bars: centres of each side first, then outwards, about 1 in (2.5 cm) apart.
- Stitch shapes and outlines in continental.
- Fill the background in basketweave, starting top right.
- End each thread by weaving under about 1 in (2.5 cm) of stitches on the back. Vary where you end so tails do not form ridges.
- Block it: dampen, pin it square on a board, and let it dry fully.
Watch
How to do TENT STITCH in needlepoint / canvaswork / cross stitch embroidery (6:20)
By Sarah Homfray Embroidery · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 6-minute video from Sarah Homfray Embroidery on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
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Sources
All checked November 1, 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.