The bulk of the time you are exposed to woven or knit fibers. Despite the fact that the fibers used are much thinner, this technology is even employed to create the bulk of your shirts. If you pay close attention, you could spot a very subtle grid pattern on the outfit you are wearing.
But a substantial part of the fabric that we often come into touch with is referred to as “nonwovens.” As the name suggests, multilayer felt is made by connecting fibers other than by weaving, such as by tangling the strands in a needle or by using pressure, heat, or dampness to hold them together.
You’ll need a solid foundation fabric whether you attach your punch needle with thread or embroidery floss. This fabric must be strong and able to sustain its weave since fiber art, as the name indicates, depends on the repetition of fairly forceful action.
Learn More: What is needlepunch?
What Purposes Does Needle Punch Felt Serve?
Needle punch felt serves a variety of purposes outside of craft projects, frequently in more technical ones. Among the most popular applications are:
- Acoustic panels and baffles
- Synthetic soil growing media
- Under-carpet
- High-performance thermal insulation
- Equestrian saddle pads
- Soundproofing
- Filtration
- Vibration isolators
- Mattress pads
- Gasketing
- Padding for vehicle sun visors
- Molded automobile headliners and trunk liners
- Office and desk dividers
The fabrics you can use for needlepunch
The most common fabric for traditional punch needle rug hooking is monk’s cloth, but you may also use classic linen. However, the weave tightness needs to match the thickness of your punch needle. Making the improper backing choice might lead to patterns that are haphazardly bunched or loops that unintentionally slip out.
Making the improper backing choice might lead to patterns that are haphazardly bunched or loops that unintentionally slip out. Here are some ideas of fabrics you can use for needlepunch-
1. Linen and primitive linen
Punch needle foundation fabrics look stunning and last a long time when made of linen. To give your design a new texture, you can leave some of the linen backings visible.
You may relax knowing that your punch needle creations might become treasures that are handed down through the years because of the exceptional quality of linen.
Similar to linen, but more affordable and basic, is primitive linen. It has a lovely rustic appearance.
2. Monks cloth
Monks’ clothing is occasionally confused for Aida. As Aida often contains too few holes per inch, your stitches won’t remain in place because they’ll be spaced out too widely. In general, cross stitch is done on a stiffer fabric. Monk cloth, which is originally meant to be used with a punch needle or rug hook, provides a great foundation fabric.
The most often used fabric for the bigger punch needles is monk’s cloth. After punching it, you may stitch it into pillows or handbags, and it works well. Monk’s clothing comes in two different varieties. One is ideal for a punch needle, while the other is the opposite.
The proper monk’s fabric will be of a natural hue with white stripes crossing through it around every two inches and having 12 holes per inch.
3. Rug warp
A sturdy cotton foundation fabric known as rug warp is widely used to make rugs. It is composed entirely of polyester and is both heavier and stiffer than monk’s cloth.
This fabric is excellent to use if your punch needle item will be put through a lot of punishment, and it is clearly ideal for carpets! Actually, it’s designed for rug tufting using a tufting gun, which is tougher on the backing fabric than hand punching. This thing is quite durable.
Fabrics that won’t be of help in needlepunch
Aida cloth
Cross stitch and other needlecrafts are done on Aida fabric. Punch needlework is doable on Aida cloth in 16 or 18, but it’s not recommended.
When you’re just starting out, the last thing you want is a difficult experience, and Aida Cloth’s fibers don’t hold the yarn in the same way as textiles like Monk’s cloth do. Save this material for your cross-stitch projects; it will serve you better.
Burlap
Burlap is another foundation material that isn’t generally advised but can be used in specific circumstances. Burlap has various benefits, including being affordable, readily available, and coming in a variety of colors. Burlap is often available, while Monk’s cloth and rustic linen are more difficult to get in some places.
Its shortcomings include its scratchiness, erratic weaving, and deterioration with use. Although there are some burlap varieties that are of greater quality than others, I would recommend avoiding them if at all possible and only using them as a last choice.
Now comes the question of which are the fabrics for embroidery punch needles. Here are some options-
Cotton Fabric
With patterns and beautiful backdrops you may add to your project, this opens up a whole new universe of possibilities. Having trouble punching backgrounds? This is a fantastic alternative; all you need to do is locate some cotton fabric with a lovely design, and you’re ready to go!
One thing to keep in mind is that cotton fabric fibers can rip or shred if you repeatedly remove your punch needle loops and punch.
Weaver’s cloth
Weaver cloth is a popular fabric for punch needle embroidery since it is a cotton/poly combination. This is actually your best option if you’re just starting off with punch needle embroidery. You’ll receive excellent results and it’s trustworthy!
Boao linen
In addition, linen is a great choice for a base cloth, especially if you want to create heirloom-quality items. The texture is more refined, which is helpful if your pattern asks for a lot of exposed parts. The woven strength is comparable to that of weavers’ cloth. This premium choice is appealing to us since it comes with six pieces of fresh, unprocessed linen, each with sealed ends to avoid visible tearing.
B.J Geo Textiles supplies nonwoven fabrics for needle punching as well. They are one of the best brands in the market right now for these types of things. So you should switch to non-woven needle-punched fabric very soon.
