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CONTENTS
Epigraph
Foreword by Amy Bunger
Preface
A Word of Thanks
PART ONE: GETTING STARTED
1. Basic Information
2. Basic Procedures
PART TWO: INTERPRETING THE PAINTED CANVAS
3. Choosing a Design
4. Choosing Colors
5. Choosing Stitch Techniques
6. Choosing Fibers and Threads
7. Choosing Stitches
8. Choosing Background Treatments
9. Choosing Embellishments
10. Putting It All Together
PART THREE: BLOCKING AND FINISHING
11. Blocking
12. Finishing
PART FOUR: THE STITCHES
13. Straight Stitches
14. Diagonal Stitches
16. Cross Stitches
17. Tied Stitches
18. Eyelet Stitches
19. Leaf Stitches
20. Line Stitches
21. Decorative Stitches
22. Ribbon Stitches
23. Open Stitches
Appendix
Plates
About Jo Ippolito Christensen
Bibliography
General Index
Stitch Index
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
Perry Rosenthal, M.D., ophthalmologist,
Founder, Boston Foundation for Sight
For his gift of vision
PERRY ROSENTHAL, M.D., is the award-winning founder and former director of the Boston
Foundation for Sight, Inc. He is also an assistant clinical professor of Ophthalmology at
Harvard Medical School. His career has been devoted to the study of contact lenses and
corneal diseases that rob patients of vision. Dr. Rosenthal invented the plastic now used to
make rigid gas permeable contact lenses. In so doing, he co-founded Polymer Technology
Corporation, now a subsidiary of Bausch & Lomb.
Dr. Rosenthal developed the ocular surface prosthesis at the Boston Foundation for Sight;
it restores vision to those suffering from a range of debilitating corneal conditions, such as
keratoconus, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, graft-versus-host disease, extreme dry eye, failed
Lasik surgery, and others. While I was at the foundation’s offices one summer, a woman
came in for treatment, unable to even see light. Within two hours of being fitted for the
device, she was seeing 20/40, and she left two days later with 20/20 vision.
The only laboratory in the world that makes the ocular surface prosthesis is located on site,
in the Boston area. There, two special lathes that cost nearly a million dollars apiece produce
these miracle appliances. The lathes were generously donated by Bausch & Lomb. The
Boston Foundation for Sight, a nonprofit organization founded in 1992, relies on tax-
deductible donations to treat everyone, including those unable to pay the high cost of the
device.
I was diagnosed with keratoconus in 1972, while I was doing the research for The
Needlepoint Book. I have had four corneal transplants since. In 1982, my third corneal graft
took the close vision that I need for stitching. By 2007, the disease in my corneas had
advanced to the point where contact lenses would no longer reliably stay on my lumpy
corneas; the contacts popped out regularly, sometimes irretrievably. Without them, I was
legally blind. In spite of the fact that my eye condition continues to decline, my vision with
Dr. Rosenthal’s ocular surface prosthesis is now 20/20 in both eyes! Truly a miracle!
Though no longer seeing patients, Dr. Perry Rosenthal continues his research into eye
pain through Boston Eye Pain Foundation, also nonprofit.
Canvassing Cuties! Life-sized soft sculpture. Designed and stitched by Elaine Warner.
THE HUSBAND’S COMPLAINT
I’ve heard of wives too musical—too talkative—too quiet
Of scolding and of gaming wives and those too fond of riot;
But yet of all the errors I know, which to the women fall;
For ever doing fancy work, I think exceeds them all.
The other day when I went home no dinner was for me,
I asked my wife the reason; she answered, “One, two, three.”
I told her I was hungry and stamped upon the floor.
She never even looked at me, but murmured “One green more.”
If any lady comes to tea, her bag is first surveyed,
And if the pattern pleases her, a copy there is made.
She stares too at the gentlemen, and when I ask her why,
’Tis, “Oh my love, the pattern of his waistcoat struck my eye.”
Ah? The misery of a working wife, with fancy work run wild;
And hands that never do aught else for husband or for child;
Our clothes are rent, our bills unpaid; my house is in disorder;
And all because my lady wife has taken to embroider.
—M. T. MORRALL, A History of Needlemaking, 1852
FOREWORD
Amy Bunger
I was once asked, “If you could have only three needlepoint books, which would you choose?”
Wow, that was a tall order, sort of like asking someone his favorite color. On what: a flower,
clothing, the sky, a car, food . . . hmmmm? So I sat and thought about it while looking at my
shelves. There are needlepoint how-to books (for the beginner to beginner-intermediate),
enhancement suggestion books (where to use it), stitch discipline books (Bargello, etc.), stitch shape
books, even coffee table books filled with beautiful color plates of artwork. How could I choose just
three to be satisfied, inspired, and entertained?
From the moment you step outside the Tent Stitch box with your stitching, you will look for
the perfect needlepoint book. There isn’t one, of course, nor would we want there to be just one
perfect needlepoint book. We needlepointers are collectors above all else. We collect canvas
designs, threads, scissors, laying tools, magnets, scissor fobs, and more—including books. The
bookshelves at my shop, as well as the bookshelves in my home office, groan with the weight of my
books. I have books on specific techniques such as beading, Stumpwork, and ribbon embroidery. I
have books filled with the antics of composite stitches. I have books on stitch applications with
suggestions on where to put the stitches once you understand them. I even have stitch books I have
written myself.
One title that has always graced both of my needlepoint libraries is The Needlepoint Book by Jo
Ippolito Christensen, in both of its previous editions. I can’t wait to get my hands on this new
edition—not to replace the others, but to stand proudly with its predecessors. It will not take long
before it has the dog-eared appearance of well-loved status. I may need to purchase two—one to
abuse with my enthusiasm and one to preserve in pristine condition.
I am a shop owner and have been for thirty-five years. I have never found a more satisfying
book to place into the hands of a budding needlepoint enthusiast. This revised edition has a wealth
of information to help the novice along his or her new path of discovery while also assisting the
experienced stitcher choose, learn, and use the 400+ stitches captured on its pages. When a student
trots out the door with Jo’s book, I rarely see the confused customer return to ask, “How do I turn
the corner?” or “How do I know what a stitch looks like before I take the time to stitch it?” If I am
ever again asked, “If you could only have three needlepoint books . . .” my answer will include, just
as it did the first time, The Needlepoint Book.
