Whether you’re new to needlepoint or seasoned stitcher, selecting your next project can be daunting at times! Maybe you need a quick stitch for an upcoming vacation, or perhaps you’re working against a finishing deadline for the holidays. Sometimes it’s tough to know how challenging (and time consuming) a project will be just by looking at the design.
As you’re perusing the NEW Morgan Julia website you’ll notice we’ve assigned a Stitch Level to each of our canvases. The guidelines we use to categorize our canvases are specific to MJD based on our body of work, but these criteria can be applied to any potential project out there to help you evaluate the level of difficulty and/or time commitment.
When creating our Stitch Levels we considered 3 key elements of every canvas.
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Number of Colors: Some of our canvases stick to a small list of shades, while others involve as many as 10 different hues to bring the design to life.
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Level of Intricacy: Some designs involve large blocks of color while others require detailed stitching and color swapping.
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Canvas & Mesh Size: Both the size of your canvas and the size of your mesh* are important to consider when evaluating your next project.
With these 3 criteria in mind, we’ve categorized every item on our website to make your next stitch selection a cinch! Please keep in mind this scale is specific to MJD; almost all of our canvases are small - medium in size, and are designed to be accessible to beginner and proficient stitchers.
Level 1: 1-3 colors, bigger sections of colors, smaller canvas
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Example of Level 1 - Chill Pill Series: A classic canvas that only requires 2 colors and has very minimal detail work. This is great for beginners, or an excellent option if you're a seasoned stitcher looking for a quick project.
Level 2: 3-7 colors, small-medium sized canvas, more color changes in smaller areas
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Example of Level 2 - Ginger Jar: While this canvas only has 3 colors, the floral design requires some detailed stitching. This canvas is 18 mesh and one of our smaller designs which means that while it’s a bit more involved than a Level 1, it’s still an accessible design to beginners.
Level 3: 7+ colors, medium sized canvas, very detailed stitching required in small spaces of the canvas
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Example of Level 3 - Eras Bar Cart: This colorful canvas has over 20 different colors to bring the intricate details to life. Each motif requires color swapping in small areas of the canvas. These color variations give the design depth but can be more time consuming while stitching.
We hope that incorporating Stitch Level into the Morgan Julia Designs collection enhances your online shopping experience and helps guide you to the perfect piece!
XO,
Morgan
*Mesh size is a needlepoint term that refers to the size of the holes (or mesh) on your canvas. 18 mesh holes are smaller; it will take 18 stitches to cover 1 inch of the canvas. 13 mesh holes are larger; it will take 13 stitches to cover 1 inch of canvas.
