From our design to your canvas

How we paint our needlepoint canvases

We create all of our needlepoint designs and paint our canvases by hand.

We use our stitch chart to guide our painting process, counting along the way and checking the finished canvas against it.

Here’s a closer look at our process and how Corner Flower Shop took shape as we painted.

Start with the design
A hand holding a paintbrush against the cream stripes of the Corner Flower Shop awning
A brush at the awning of Corner Flower Shop.

01 / The design

The care begins before the paint

We design our needlepoint patterns by working within a stitch grid, shaping curves into a series of steps, and choosing how to suggest a flower’s petals with just a few stitches.

We settle the color placement and small details before painting, so each canvas follows the original design.

In Corner Flower Shop, those decisions shape the striped awning, the lamp post, and the little pots outside the door.

Digital preview of the Corner Flower Shop design on a stitch grid, with a green striped awning, a FLOWERS sign, and pots outside
The design preview from the Corner Flower Shop pattern package. This is a digital image, not a photograph of a painted canvas.

Needlepoint patterns for painting and stitching

We paint from the same chart included with the matching pattern, keeping the printed counting chart beside the digital design image for reference.

The Corner Flower Shop needlepoint pattern includes a counted chart, a color key with swatches, and transfer sheets for stitching from a chart or painting a blank canvas. Explore more designs in our needlepoint pattern collection. All patterns are sold separately from our painted canvases.

02 / The painting

A place for each stitch

Look closely at the canvas and you’ll see the intersections where its threads cross. Each square on the chart corresponds to an intersection on the canvas, showing where to paint or stitch each color.

We stitch-paint every canvas by hand rather than printing it. As we paint, we reference the chart to ensure that every detail matches the intent of the design.

We use high-quality canvases and paints to bring each design to life with clear colors and carefully painted details.

Small excerpt of the Corner Flower Shop counting chart showing lettered squares at the awning stripes and the blue window below
On the chart. In this small excerpt, the lettered squares show where each color belongs in part of the awning and window.
Close photograph of the painted Flower Shop awning above the FLOWERS sign, with the canvas threads and intersections visible
On the canvas. Here, we’ve painted the awning above the sign and flowers, following the mesh while leaving its weave visible.

03 / At the table

Flower Shop taking shape

Here’s how we painted a Corner Flower Shop canvas, from blank mesh to the finished design. We may work in a different order on another piece depending on its shapes and colors.

  1. Unpainted needlepoint mesh with the Flower Shop design faintly visible beneath it
    01Blank meshWe began with an unpainted canvas over the reference image beneath it.
  2. Corner Flower Shop with the striped awning and doorway painted while surrounding areas remain bare mesh
    02The first painted areasWe painted the awning and doorway, beginning to define the shopfront.
  3. Flower Shop canvas with the building, awning, lamp post, and plant pots painted, with the flower area and most sign lettering still unpainted
    03The shop takes shapeWith the building and pots painted, we still had to add the flowers across the bare mesh.
  4. Paintbrush touching a cream stripe of the Flower Shop awning, with painted flowers below
    04A closer look at the brushworkWorking on the awning after adding color to the flowers below.
  5. Finished painted Corner Flower Shop canvas with a striped green awning, FLOWERS sign, lamp post, and pink, purple, and white flowers
    05The painted designThe finished painted scene, including the sign and flowers, ready to stitch.
Watch how we painted this canvas from start to finish and take a closer look at each stage in the photographs above.

04 / Your turn

Ready for your thread

Each painted canvas includes a color key with swatches to help with thread selection. Thread is not included, leaving the choice of fibers and colors open.

A decorative stitch guide and the full downloadable pattern are not included with the canvas. Each listing gives the mesh, dimensions, current shipping information, and exact contents.

Explore the Corner Flower Shop painted canvas or browse our hand-painted needlepoint canvases to find your next project.

Questions about our painted canvases

Are your needlepoint canvases hand-painted or printed?

We design and hand-paint all of our needlepoint canvases. Our needlepoint kits may contain printed canvases, and each listing gives its contents.

Do you create your own needlepoint designs?

Yes. Our needlepoint canvases and patterns are original designs, with color placement worked out on a stitch grid before painting. Explore the designs available as needlepoint patterns for painting or stitching.

What does stitch-painted mean?

It means we place each color with the individual canvas intersections in mind, following the chart’s grid as we paint.

How do you check the painted design against its chart?

We keep the printed chart beside us and the design image open digitally, counting as we paint and comparing the finished canvas against the chart.

Can I buy the same design as a pattern?

Most of our painted designs are also available as a separately sold pattern. The Corner Flower Shop pattern includes the chart used to paint the canvas shown here.

What comes with a painted canvas?

A hand-painted canvas that includes color swatches to help with thread selection. Our canvases do not include thread, a stitch guide, or the full downloadable pattern. Every product page lists the exact contents included with that purchase.

Find a design you’d love to stitch

Explore painted canvasesBrowse needlepoint patterns