A needlepoint finishing class at KC Needlepoint last month.
Photo courtesy of Hillary Fisk.
Whether it’s due to social media influencers or a general shift toward “analog” hobbies, needlepoint is booming. With the increased popularity comes pressure on suppliers in the industry to provide the materials stitchers are looking for, especially the canvas used as the substrate for needlepoint stitching.
The Fabric Foundation
Needlepointers overwhelmingly rely on one manufacturer, Zweigart, based in Germany, for premium canvas. The canvas is known as Royal Canvas Mono Deluxe because of its single round thread construction. “It’s constructed in an open weave that is extremely square,” says Lauren Venell of Maydel, a Chicago retailer that sells threads, blank canvases and other needlework supplies. “It’s not a widely manufactured product, and Zweigart is known for making theirs extremely square. Like if you’re working with a 13-count canvas, it will always be exactly 13 squares per inch, both vertically and horizontally, which is really hard for most manufacturers to achieve.”
That uniformity is important for designers and crafters alike, who want assurance that their designs will faithfully reproduce when worked on the canvas.
Xxxx.
Photo courtesy of Xxx
With limited machinery to make the canvas and demand for the product almost tripling over the last three years, Zweigart is feeling the pinch. In a recent letter, the company acknowledged the situation and explained its response. “The Royal Canvas Mono Deluxe Art 9281 is the premium of our canvases, and its production is very complex,” the letter says. The company has increased production capacity with an additional work shift to reduce backorders.
Procuring raw materials for the canvas is not an issue, says Marion Braun, sales director for Zweigart. “Our real issue is capacity. However, we have responded by doubling our production capacity through an additional shift to work through the order backlog. We have doubled our weaving machine input, switching from other articles. Also, we have increased staff working at the machines.”
Adding to the strain is the necessary pre-treatment of the cotton yarn that makes up the canvas that designers either print or paint their designs on. “For hand-painting, it is essential that the finished surface is smooth and completely free of fine fuzz,” Braun explains. In addition, running machines longer leads to increased maintenance that can eat into production time.
The Ripple Effect
Delays in canvas manufacturing are rippling out into the needlepoint universe. Maydel has placed order limits on their Zweigart Mono Deluxe canvas to three yards or less. Buyers of this material tend to be designers who will paint or print their designs on the canvas to sell to consumers. “Everyone who’s buying the blank canvas from us is essentially another small business that’s then painting and selling canvases,” Venell says, “usually online through an Etsy shop.”
The U.S. distributors for Zweigart are limiting purchases as well. Based in Ames, Iowa, Yarn Tree’s website currently shows 14-count Mono Needlepoint Canvas in 50+-meter rolls as temporarily out of stock and encourages buyers to call to add their names to a waiting list for the product.
Stephanie Rzonca of Spellbound Stitchery, left, and one of the company’s needlepoint kits, right.
For their part, Zweigart is quick to explain that American distributors like Yarn Tree and Fleur de Paris are not bottlenecking supply. “We would like to emphasize that the long delivery time is not the fault of our distribution partner and is not due to reduced machinery or capacity,” the company wrote in a recent letter. “We have received and still receive many orders from our distribution partners, but can only ship them gradually one after the other, following the order intake.”
Independent needlepoint designers and those who sell directly to consumers are raising concerns as well. Stephanie Rzonca of Spellbound Stitchery explained in a Substack post that orders for her production partners are running behind. “Painting and printing services are swamped with orders,” she writes. “Hopefully, this is a temporary 2026 issue.”
Wider Shortages
It’s not just canvas that’s in demand. “There’s a shortage of a lot of needlepoint supplies,” Venell explains. “The canvas in particular, but also stretcher bars have been really difficult for people to get their hands on.”
When a centuries-old craft suddenly takes hold with a new generation searching for off-screen activities, there are bound to be hiccups. So will the popularity and pressure on supplies hold steady or decline? Braun says Zweigart distributors, designers, hand painters, and printers foresee continued interest. Venell agrees to an extent: “I think it will probably reach saturation pretty soon, and the people who love it will continue doing it, and the people who were just on a trend bandwagon will fall off.”
In the meantime, Zweigart reports a long waiting list. “We constantly ship merchandise to our customers. But the waiting list has still increased,” Braun says. “We are working on further increasing capacity, but this cannot be implemented in the short term.”
Her advice to those looking for the canvas is to remain patient, order well in advance, and plan for a lead time of several months.
Designer and retailer Rzonca is heeding that advice by designing Halloween canvases in early spring, in hopes of having them in time to display at the industry’s Autumn Needlepoint Reunion in October.
She’s also taking the long view on the current situation, writing on Substack, “The good news about needlepoint is that it is a slow, intentional hobby. This moment in time is a great opportunity for me, as a designer, and for you, as a stitcher, to take a pause as the industry gets caught up… I know we will come out on the other side of these shortages with a better appreciation for the hobby.”
Janice Brewster-Weiser
Contributor
Janice Brewster Weiser is a writer, editor, book shepherd and serial crafter who publishes the newsletter Slow Stitching Circle on Substack. Connect with Janice on LinkedIn.
