Art Therapy | Punch Needle

1. Introduction : Today we are diving into the relaxing world of punch needle. It's a simple and satisfying technique that involves punching yarn through a fabric to create beautiful designs. Hi, I'm Sana Asad. I'm an artist, art educator, and holistic Art Therapy practitioner. Whether you are a seasoned crafter or a complete Pigna, this class is for you. We will cover everything from choosing the right materials to mastering the basic stitches. The repetitive motion of punching the needle can have a calming effect on the mind. It's a perfect source of art therapy. Let's begin the class. 2. Material : Before we get started, let's gather our material. In this video, I will show you the different punch needle, fabric we use for punch needle, glue, scissor, hot glue gun, what fabric we can use for the backing and the embroidery frame or hoop. Type of needles. There are many different type of punch needles available, but we will be using the adjustable needles with screw. This type of needle allow you to change the size of the hole according to the yarn you have. Choosing yarn. The type of yarn you use will depend on the effect you want to achieve. If you want fine small loops, then definitely the thin yarn will be the perfect choice. If you want a fluffy or more soft effect, then you can use the thick or any fluffy yarn. Now on the screen, you can see there's a small mini chart where you can find the approximate thickness of your yarn. Choosing fabric, monk cloth, ada cloth or burlaps are all good choices for punch needle projects. Monkcloth is a tightly woven fabric that is perfect for small details. Ada cloth is a more loosely woven fabric that is good for larger designs and burlap is a coarse fabric that is perfect for the rustic looking project. I prefer using burlap when I am doing some abstract or maybe a Bohemian theme projects. I am using burlap for today's class project. Cutting your fabric. Once you have chosen your fabric, you will need to cut it to the desired size. Make sure to leave a few inches of extra fabric. Hop or frame. You can use any hoop or any frame, whatever is available. Just make sure it is tightly screwed, or you can also use any canvas and remove the canvas sheet and just staple your cloth on the frame. This way, you don't need to invest in expensive frames as the starter and once you get master in this skill, you can definitely invest in the better quality of the material. In next video, I will show you how to design and how to transfer your design on your fabric. See you in the next class. 3. Class project : Hey, everyone. In this video, I will share how you can use the class resources to practice and mind map your ideas. You will be able to see two different PDF. One will be the basic punch needle materialist and guide in which you will have all the materials you need to use for punch needle. In other PDF, you will be able to get the templates of designs and just the empty shapes to make your own design. You can print out, take your time, do your mind map, plan your color scheme, and for color scheme, you can always take help from Pentra. You can write down the colors of your choice and according to that, Pintrs will be able to give you the references and different color schemes to choose from. Once you have all these things ready, start with your punch needle. I can't wait to see your projects. Don't forget to share as soon as you finish your projects. See you in the next class. 4. Lets Design : Welcome back to the lesson, and in this video, I will show you how to transfer or how to design on the fabric. I have some printout of the design and I just use simple carbon paper using the pencil and giving a heart pressure so the design can be transferred on my fabric. But for this lesson, I'm not doing this because I want to come up with a completely intuitional design. I don't have any reference. I'm using a small notebook and I think I should do it a small square design. I will use few colors and just going to make some patterns. As a beginner, you should start with one color or two color, and then you can add more colors because the more colors you will add, you might get a little confused of where to start and where to stop. Here you can see I'm just adding random wavy lines in the box. And then let's see where this design will take me. I have something in my mind that I might go with a little earthy tones or a natural tones of brown and beige, but let's see how it goes. One more thing I want to tell you, I transfer my design on the back of the hoop instead of doing the front side because I will be mainly working from the back and then my main side will be on the front. Now I will see you in the next video where I will show you how to thread your needle. 5. How to thread yarn ?: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the lesson. In this video, I will show you how to thread your yarn according to the size of the needle hole and your yarn. Start by selecting a needle that matches the thickness of your yarn. I'm using the adjustable needle, which can be easily changeable with the different sizes of the hole, and then I can change the yarn size as well. A larger hole needle is best suited for thicker yarns while a smaller needle works well with fineer yards. This ensures smooth stitching and preventing any snags. Here you can see I can also adjust the sizes of my loop. So if I need the long loops, I can definitely make the needle as high as I can. And if I need the smaller loops, I can just make it and reduce the size. Make sure if you have this needle, then make sure you are using the flier and tight the screw thoroughly. Otherwise, you might have different sizes of the loop. Let's begin to thread our needle. I'm using the threader and I'm using the back of my needle. As you can see, the backside is all the way along with a pointy edge and the other side have the opening. As you can see on the screen that I'm just inserting and you can see, I started this from the back of my needle, as you can see the white flap. Make sure you will insert from the back and go all the way straight. Right now I'm using the medium size yarn. That's the reason the hole is also not very big. Just pull it. It might take a little extra effort, but just keep calm, relax, and don't forget to breathe. Once you are done with your threader and threading your needle, you can practice this for several time and if you have the same needle with adjustable needle sizes, then definitely you can try different needle size and different yarns, how it works. Make sure you practice because in case if you did not thread properly, your loops will not be form. Practice, pause the video, replay the video as many times as you can. If you have any question, don't forget to comment and I will be happy to explain. I will be using different sizes of my needle and different sizes of the thread, so you can always keep looking at the video till the end. And I will put a little music so you will be having more calming effect while you are doing this. 6. How to stretch your Fabric : Hey, everyone. In this video, we are learning how to properly stretch your fabric to ensure perfect loops every time. Stretching your fabric is crucial. If it's not tight enough, your loop won't form correctly and might even unravel. Start by placing your fabric over the hoop or frame. Make sure it's centered and smooth out any wrinkles you have. Begin tightening the fabric evenly around the edges. Always double check that your fabric is tight and secure. Once satisfied, you are ready to start punching beautiful loops with ease. With these simple steps, your punch needle project will be a success. See you in the next lesson. 7. Lesson Part-1 : Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the lesson. Now let's start with our final project. Thread your yarn through the eye of the needle, ensuring it's loose enough to move smoothly. When you ensure it's loose enough to move smoothly, this prevent breakage and allow your loop to form perfectly. Hold your punch needle like a pen with a slanted edge facing the direction you are punching. This ensure the loop stays secure in the fabric. I prefer to start with the outlining of the design, but it's completely up to you. As a bigner, I would suggest you to do your outlining, keep checking your loops from the backside and make sure that loops are all even, not small and long, long and short. Otherwise, it will look very untidy once you are done with the project and it will be very difficult for you to go back again to fix it. Keep checking in case if you made any mistake, you will be able to fix it. After completing the outlining, gently pull a needle away from the fabric, leaving a small loop or just a half inch of the thread. Take a sharp scissor, cut the edge, and you can restart. Oh begin from the new line and follow the pattern, filling in or outlining as needed and repeat the process of securing and cutting the yarn as required. By handling the yarn carefully and securing each section, your punch needle project will stay intact and maintain its beautiful texture. For me, sitting in my cozy corner every night watching my favorite show or listening to the podcast is something I feel very therapeutic. In this sacred space, worries lose their grip replaced by the vibrant colors and texture under my fingertip. Here I am the architect of my world, crafting beauty from simplicity, finding joy and peace. Sometimes it's more than just a pastime. It's a sanctuary. Art is something I can do whenever I have time, or most of the time I take out time to do art. Beside my lesson planning, I make sure that I will do something for myself, whether it's painting, crafting, or currently it's punch needle. So here you can see I'm done with my outlining and this looks beautiful. Now it's time to check the loops, make sure all the loops are at the same size, and then you can start filling inside. I prefer to do it with one color at a time, but it's completely up to you. See you in the next video. 8. Lesson Part-2 : Hey, everyone. Welcome back to part two of our main design. Let's fill the empty spaces. As I begin this piece, I'll be working with the fine gold yarn to add a touch of elegance and sparkle to the design. In each segment, I'll start by outlining with this shimmering thread, creating a guiding path for the colors to follow. I will be using a fine nib, I have two punch needles in front of me. One is filled with gold color, which is a fine thread. You can see the size of the eye hole is very small. Now let's begin with the gold outlining. The gold act like a beacon directing the eye and settling the stage for a vibrant hue to come. While I'm doing this gold outlining, please make sure you will pause the video or replay the video wherever you see, you don't understand anything. You can always contact me, comment below, and if you have any questions, I will be happy to explain. Let me share some tips for perfect punch needle project. First thing is definitely choosing the right yarn. Whatever is available or whatever your design is, choosing the right yarn will make your punch needle project stunning. Tension is key. Make sure your fabric is stretched in the hoop or frame to ensure your stitches stay secure and even. Mind your punch depth. For more texture, vary the depth of your punch. Deeper punches create loops on the reverse side, adding dimension. Plan your color palette. Before you begin, lay out your yarns to see how the colors interact. As mentioned, you can always take some help or inspiration from Pinterest. The most important practice patients. Punch needle art is as much about the process as the result. Take your time, enjoy each punch and let your creativity guide you. Experiment and explore. Don't be afraid to try new techniques or pattern. Now, as I'm done with my punching the design, let's begin the cleaning. All the extra loops, what you see, which are long loops while we were punching, we were also punching some of the loops which came out. I'm just going to take a sharp scissor, just cut them and make it all even. As the course come to the end and I just want to share flips, few pictures of my recent art therapy session, which we did in a rehab and the beneficiaries were really happy. They never did this before, but the calming effect and repetition of punching back and forth was something very soothing for them. Now as in the starting of this course, I already told you that this piece is a completely intuitional design. I did not plan anything. I just want to do as an art therapy and record this for you and share my skills, what I learn and how I do punch needle. Now it's all about how I'm going to present this. Whether I will make just a coaster. But I have some other idea. I'm planning to make a small mini Bohemian frame. I'll see you in the next video with the final touches and giving the finishing and adding the frame. See you in the next class. 9. Finishing & Framing : Hey, everyone. Welcome back to our last video of this course. Here I'm in the studio and my piece is ready to be framed. I'm using a simple canvas and I will wrap around with the glue gun. Otherwise, if you just want to make a coaster or you can do the packing and all. But for this project, I'm just going to use glue gun and wrap this around my canvas. When I'm in the studio, I always find something interesting. Here I have this rope, which I feel I I'll add this around the corners like a border, it might give a very nice Bohemian theme effect. Let's see how this final piece will turn out. And you can do it according to your choice, you can use a simple photo frame and you can frame it. If you have some kind of a canvas, you can definitely try doing the same thing. But the main idea was how to do the punch needle. After that, there is a lot of variation how you want to present your punch needle piece. After completing this, I feel still this is very small. I wrap another canvas with a burlap to make a double framing effect. First, I thought, let me give this to the professional framing people and they can do their job. But then I thought, why not? I can try. I'm really happy that I gave a try and this is exactly what I was thinking of this piece. And here I'm done with my punch needle wall hanging project, and I'm really, really, really waiting for your projects to be submitted, and I can see what other variations you are coming up with your own ideas. Looking forward to see your projects. 10. Final Thought- Thank You for joining. : This class come to the end, and I really enjoy teaching you this technique because for me, my new festive art project is ready. I hope this can be a new edition for your home decor this season. Don't forget to share your comments and your projects. Looking forward to see you very soon with a new art therapy exercise and projects. Take care, everyone.