janedavisdesigns web store FAQ section

Needlepoint is a form of counted thread embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Most needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas.

The mesh count tells you how many horizontal and vertical threads are woven into one inch. An 18 mesh canvas will have 18 canvas threads in an inch. Zweigart is the best canvas you can buy.

Hand painted means that each canvas is painted one at a time by an artist with a paintbrush. These canvases cost more because the amount of time taken by the artist is more than it costs to mass produce by screen printing. The colors are usually more distinct and the details are exact with straight lines painted straight. Hand-painted designs are more sophisticated and come in a broader variety of subject matters. Think of it this way. You are buying a piece of art that you add to by your beautiful stitching and color choices.

Screen Printed canvases are mass produced via a screen printing process (similar to that used in some fine art prints and also t-shirts). Screen printed canvases can be beautiful when finished, but many of the very inexpensive ones have indistinct, muddy colors and poor alignment of lines on the threads of the canvas. This can make stitching them much more difficult and more frustrating than if you had a hand-painted canvas.

Stitch painting is a more exact and time consuming method of hand painting. A stitch painted canvas means that you get the accuracy of a counted design, without the counting. Color changes are clear, distince and perfectly fit the weave of the canvas. Stitch painted designs are more likely to be done by companies that produce smaller or simpler designs. Some companies always stitch paint their designs, some companies never do – and frequently you will find a canvas that is stitch-painted only in important areas such as when it contains stripes, squares, and other very geometric areas that need to fit perfectly on a canvas thread.