Needlepoint Belts
I have a lot of dorky hobbies, and one of them is needlepointing. I love to stitch equestrian stuff, and although I’m good at finishing the stitching part I lack follow through on turning them into actual things. Example? I have five beautiful equestrian ornaments I finished last spring… and they’re all still in the canvas waiting to be turned into actual ornaments.
I’m hoping to break my “not finishing” streak this year, because I got a belt canvas for Christmas!
The canvases are hand painted, so mine looks a little different than the picture above. When I posted the below picture on Instagram, I got a lot of questions about needlepoint belts in general. Although I’m by no means an expert, here is how it works:
First, you pick out a canvas. Mine came from Po’s Point, which has tons and tons of equestrian designs. Canvases run from around $75-$100+ from what I’ve seen on different sites. They are designed by artists and (I believe) hand painted, hence the cost. Most of the time they do not include thread. Some people design their own canvases instead of purchasing a pre-made pattern. If you’re artsy, this will cut the cost down since the actual needlepoint canvas itself is no expensive. If/when I make another belt, I’m going to design a custom one I think!
So your next step, is picking thread! You can stick to the colors on your canvas, or branch out. With mine, I’m mostly following what’s on the canvas since it’s my first time doing a belt. I am going to do a few small custom things like switching a few of the horse blankets to my current barn and past barn colors, and I will add my initials to the middle.
Then you stitch and you stitch and you stitch some more. It’s easy, and something I love to do when watching TV. Start with detail colors and fill in bigger areas next, with the background for the end.
When the belt is done, you send it off to be “finished” aka turning it into an actual belt. There are lots of different places to get this done, and I’ve heard the cost range from $50 – $150. You can usually choose your leather color and buckle, as well as size of course.
Below is a finished belt that my barn friend’s aunt made her… it’s stunning!
So creating a needlepoint belt is a multi-step process for sure. It’s one of those “labor of love” projects that I wouldn’t start unless you already enjoy needlepointing or cross stitching or similar type hobbies. Just because it’s a DIY project, doesn’t mean it’s cheap either! Needlepoint belts are classic, often custom pieces that will likely last you a lifetime. Since I enjoy stitching and I enjoy customizing these, the cost doesn’t deter me when I think about a belt I will love and use for many years!
Any of you out there enjoy needlepointing as well?
28 thoughts on “Needlepoint Belts”
I’ve always loved cross stitch as a kid but yes, like you had an issue with actually finishing. I have my eye on a couple cross stitch projects this year so we’ll see if I can start and stop lol.
Cross stitch makes me go batty but for some reason needlepoint is very soothing. Probably because most cross stitch is counted!
Oh my, I want one, bad! So super cute!
You should try one! They are really fun to work on.
Hmm… you have opened my eyes to a new hobby! I tried cross-stitch once and never finished, part of the reason was the counting (& I’m a statistician in real life so go figure!). I may look into this little project. Would you suggest starting with something simple like ornaments?
Ornaments are great because they’re small, but they can be expensive to finish. I’m going to attempt to finish them (aka turn them into ornaments) myself, because my local needlepoint store quoted me $50 per ornament and that is outrageous.
You could also do a simple pillow and sew that yourself or frame it on the wall. I like this site for simplistic equestrian starter designs that are very inexpensive. http://designerneedlework.com/equestrian-designs.html
Thank you! I’m eyeing the mare and foal design, I think that would be great framed and I could probably make the horses the same color as my mare and her foal. Hubby is going to be SO excited when new crafty stuff starts showing up 🙂
I used to love doing needle point stuff but I never get a chance to sit down and do it… Or at least remember I like doing it. It’s been years. Those are GREAT!
I have never tried needlepoint before, but it looks beautiful! I can’t wait to see how yours turns out.
OMG I want to learn!!! That in phenomenal
So easy! You really only need to know two stitches to do a basic needlepoint and googling for 5 minutes will tell you 🙂
ahh don’t tempt me, I have too much stuff I should be doing for the rodeo, yet my hunter princess keeps emerging! lol
I love all your little craft projects! The needle point belts are awesome
I love it! I used to do cross stitch and needlepoint all the time growing up – my grandmother could do absolutely anything with fabric and/or thread and it was always our thing to do together. As an adult, I’ve settled into crocheting as my main fiber hobby. I typically do blankets, shawls, and scarfs – freeform things where sizing isn’t important, and the repetitive stitches give my brain a sort of white noise when I’m at home watching tv or whatever.
The white noise factor is why I like it too. Something to do with my hands (which usually will reach for my phone and stupid social media sites) while I relax.
Oooh, super cute! I love your customizations too. Can’t wait to see it finished!
Very cool!
Wow.. I want one but finding time to do that- ha!
I will live through you 🙂
I LOVE to needlepoint! I have the same finishing issue. I love the process of stitching; it’s soothing (until the fibers get knotted) and easy to carry with me to kill time. I’ve done stockings for most of my family, but none of them equestrian themed.
Oooh, yet another crafty thing to get hooked on…. I’m firstly a crochet addict but after I get my current orders done I may have to look into this.
I used to cross stitch when I was younger so I imagine I would really enjoy needle point. The belts look really cool. I would love to design my own!
Love the belts- so cute! I’ve tried knitting but can’t seem to go more than a few rows! Sigh- not crafty
BIRTHDAY PRESENT IDEA!!! I love it. It’s a good thing her birthday is a full year away because it will definitely take me that long to finish something like this.
I absolutely love these belts, my dad has one that someone gave him eons ago and he still wears it. If I’ve never needlepointed, are these as easy as anything else to learn on? Or should I try something more simple first?
They are very easy! The only thing to think about is the cost involved so that may or may not deter you from doing a belt as your first project.
I have heard its a good stress relieving hobby 🙂
Love the belts; they are neat! I will have to look into needlepointing as yet another hobby…
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