What Is Punch Needle and How Is It Different to Other Embroidery Styles?

Embroiderer Laura Ameba tells the origins and characteristics of punch needle

Laura Ameba (@lauraameba) is an embroiderer who started out in traditional embroidery and haute couture in Barcelona, Paris, and Kyoto. Her love for punch needle and embroidery has taken her and her art to exhibitions around the world.

Here, she shares what punch needle is: a technique that allows you to create beautiful three-dimensional effects and rich textures.

Where did it begin?

Today, there is a great variety of punch needle styles, but they actually all come from the same principle and model. No one can be certain of exactly where it came from.

One of the most traditional, and possibly the first, iterations is done by hand using a wire. It comes from Russia and is smaller than a finger. This miniature needle is part of a great embroidery tradition in the south of Siberia.

How many types are there?

Through considerable research, Laura Ameba discovered that the original punch needle comes from a Russian community of old believers or raskólniki, a conservative religious group. Migration brought this craft to various countries who, in turn, adapted it.

There are numerous types of needle that vary according to the country they evolve in, generally made from metallic materials.

Some models incorporate plastic and wooden handles. Laura's collection includes needles from Russia, Japan, India, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uzbekistan, and the US.

The Japanese brand Clover offers interchangeable needles. In Argentina, they are known as Chinese or Russian embroidery needles. Brazilians also call it Russian embroidery and there is a wide selection of needles there due to a large Russian immigrant community. In Mexico, they’re known as agujas maravillosas or wonderful needles. Everywhere else, they’re called punch needles.

How does it work?

All kinds of punch needles are called such as they pierce or perforate the fabric.

They are hollow needles, with a hole through which the thread passes. Regardless of the model, you thread the thread through the inside of the needle, passing through its handle. Subsequently, the point of the needle pierces the fabric, making the embroidery stitch. Different needles give different control of the length of threads, creating different volumes and sizes of stitch.

How does it differ from traditional embroidery?

In punch needle embroidery, instead of taking the thread and needle out of the fabric at each stitch, small holes are made on the fabric, and the thread remains on the surface to form the stitches. You will see that different finishes are achieved, whether the embroidery is used on the front or on the back. The main feature is undoubtedly the volume of the embroidery.

What kind of projects can you do?

There are countless possibilities in punch needle. You can make many sorts of stitch by combining materials and creating different textures.

You can create embroidery for accessories, clothing, decorative pieces, and anything else that might occur to you. In this article, you will find a collection of punch needle artists to inspire you.

If you want to learn this technique, sign up to Laura’s course, Introduction to Punch Needle Embroidery, and achieve incredible compositions full of volume and texture.

English version by @harry_davies.

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