If you’ve ever spent an evening drawing grid lines on aida fabric or double-checking where you are on a chart before you even put in your first stitch, you’re not alone.
Gridding and counting are a big part of counted cross-stitch and other charted projects. Some stitchers genuinely enjoy that puzzle-solving part, and that’s great! For others, there are days when your brain just says:
“I still want to stitch… I just don’t want to count tonight.”
This is where printed needlepoint can be a really nice addition to your stitching life, not a replacement. Cross-stitch and needlepoint each have their place; you’re absolutely allowed to enjoy both.
Let’s talk about why gridding and counting can feel tiring sometimes, and how printed needlepoint can give you a “break project” that still scratches the stitching itch.
When gridding and counting start to feel like homework
If your usual setup looks like:
- A blank piece of Aida or linen
- A detailed chart full of tiny symbols
- A water-soluble pen or marker to draw a grid
- A highlighter to track what you’ve already stitched
…you’re doing a lot of mental and visual juggling:
- Drawing grid lines before you ever make a stitch
- Counting “ten over, four up” (and re-counting to be sure)
- Checking the chart to see which symbol you’re on
- Realizing, sometimes after a whole section, that you miscounted
On days when you have lots of focus, this can be satisfying. On days when you’ve already made decisions all day, it can feel more like work than relaxation.
You don’t have to give up counted work to change that. You can just give yourself another option!
How printed needlepoint gives your brain a break
With printed needlepoint, instead of a blank fabric plus separate chart, you’re stitching on a needlepoint canvas where the design and colors are printed directly on the mesh.
That means:
- The picture you’re stitching is right in front of you on the canvas
- Areas of color are already mapped out
- You’re following the colors on the canvas, not translating symbols from paper to fabric
You still:
- Use a tapestry needle
- Stitch through a grid of holes
- Build up the design one stitch at a time
But your eyes and brain are working a little less hard. You’re not constantly bouncing between chart and fabric or wondering if you miscounted twenty stitches ago.
On “oatmeal brain” days, that difference is huge.
What printed needlepoint looks like at Ready Set Needlepoint
At Ready Set Needlepoint, our canvases are printed on Zweigart orange line mono canvas, a high-quality needlepoint canvas. We typically use:
- 13 mesh when we want a project to stitch more quickly and be easier to see
- 18 mesh when we want extra detail, especially for letters or smaller shapes
Our designs arrive with:
- Taped edges, so you don’t have to prep the canvas with tape yourself
- A tapestry needle, so you don’t have to guess which size to use
You choose your threads (we recommend DMC threads, which are easy to find at big craft stores like Michaels, and provide the exact colors to use alongside the designs on our website), and then you’re ready to put your needle in the canvas without gridding or transferring a design first.
You still get real needlepoint:
- Real canvas
- Real stitches
- Real texture and dimension
You’ve just removed some of the steps that can feel like homework at the end of a long day.
You don’t have to choose between cross-stitch and needlepoint
It’s worth saying clearly: this isn’t about quitting cross-stitch.
If you love your counted projects, keep them! There will still be days when:
- You’re excited to follow a chart
- You want the satisfaction of filling in tiny symbols
- You enjoy the feeling of “solving the puzzle” row by row
- You want to stitch a specific design from a specific artist
Printed needlepoint simply gives you another lane:
- A “no gridding tonight” project
- A “just follow the colors” option when you’re watching TV
- A way to keep stitching on nights when the chart feels like too much
You can pick up your cross-stitch on focused days, and reach for a printed needlepoint canvas on lower-energy days. Both are valid. Both are real stitching.
Good “break” projects to start with
If you’re curious to try printed needlepoint as a break from gridding and counting, start with something small and friendly.
Here are two easy options in our shop:
Quickies (our quick-finish mini canvases)
Quickies are smaller designs sized so you can realistically finish them in a weekend or a few evenings. They’re great if you want:
- A quick sense of accomplishment
- A travel or couch project
- A gift you can finish without a months-long timeline
Look for Quickies on 13 mesh with simple shapes or geometric patterns if you’re brand new.
Stash-friendly canvases
If you already have lots of thread, our stash-friendly designs are made to work with what you own.
Think of them as needlepoint coloring pages:
- The shapes and structure are printed on the canvas
- You bring your existing threads and pick colors that make you happy
- You get something new to stitch without needing to buy a whole new thread set
It’s a nice way to turn “I have too much leftover floss” into a finished piece.
Where to go next
If this sounds like the kind of stitching break you’ve been looking for, here are a few next steps:
-
Visit our main Beginner Hub welcome post.
It walks through picking a canvas, gathering supplies, and understanding basic stitches in more detail.
Read: Welcome to our Needlepoint Beginner Hub -
Choose a small printed canvas as your “no-counting” project.
A Quickie or stash-friendly design is a perfect place to start.
Ready to pick a “no-counting” project? Explore our Quickies (our quick-finish mini canvases) and Stashbusters collections and choose a printed needlepoint canvas that feels like a good “break” project for you.
However you stitch, we’re glad you’re here.
Ready Set Needlepoint
Needlepoint For Everyone™
Stitch more, count less.