ANG: American Needlepoint Guild

Project : Computer Bug

This computer bug won’t harm any of your software, but will keep you company by sitting on your monitor, or a shelf or dresser in your room.

And for an enlargement of the needlepoint part of the project . . .

Materials:
1 piece of 14 count white canvas cut to 9" x 9" size
2 pairs of 9" stretcher bars
brass thumb tacks or staple gun

1 skein DMC #3 Perle cotton #blanc (white)
1 skein DMC #3 Perle cotton #310 (black)
1 skein DMC #3 Perle cotton #743 (yellow)

9" x 9" piece of white felt
1 cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels
2 black pipe cleaners
1 piece 32-gauge white cloth wrapped wire
2 small black buttons or beads (for the eyes)
glue

#18 tapestry needle
black fine point permanent marker
small scissors

Note: Any type of thread can be used, not necessarily Perle cotton.

Directions

Step 1
If your computer is a PC, click here to print a pattern to trace.
If your computer is a Mac, click here to print a pattern to trace.

The pattern should print out approximately 5.5" wide by 5" high. If not, please adjust the scale of your printer software and print again.

After you've printed the pattern, carefully trace the outline of the bee onto the canvas using a very light touch with the marker. Color in the black areas with a black permanent marker. The better that you get the canvas colored, the less white will show through in the black striped areas of the bee. Tape the edges of the canvas with masking tape to prevent fraying. Using a staple gun, or brass thumb tacks, attach the canvas to the stretcher bars.

Step 2
You will begin stitching the eyes and mouth of the bee. Cut a 9" length of black thread. Thread the needle with one of the cut ends of the thread and pull the thread through the needle's eye so that there is about a one inch length of the thread on one side of the needle's eye. Tie a knot in the longer end of the thread. Begin with a waste knot placed at the far left side of your canvas near the head of the bee (but not inside the head of the bee).

The first type of stitch you will be doing is called the continental stitch. This is a stitch that goes diagonally on the canvas.

This is one complete continental stitch, and that’s all you need to do for each eye. With the mouth you will do more, following the outline of the mouth you drew on the canvas.

Remember to go up in the hole marked 1 and down in the hole marked 2. Go up in the hole marked 3 and go down in the hole marked 4. The hole for 1 and 4 is the same hole, so the thread will share that hole. Continue on in the same way until you have completed the mouth. If you have trouble, place your needle in the hole above the hole you came up in and then move over to the right one hole, and put your needle down in that hole.

Step 3
Now you will stitch the head of the bee. Cut an 18" length of yellow thread. Thread the needle as you did before and begin with a waste knot at the far left side of your canvas, again near the head of the bee. You will now have 2 knots over there, that’s OK. When you have covered the thread from the waste knot as much as you can with your stitching on the head, then you will cut away the extra thread.

You will again be doing the continental stitch, but in long rows.

When you get to the holes where the mouth and eyes are already stitched, you will skip over that hole (it already is covered with black thread) and go to the next hole that is empty. Continue until you have stitched the whole head.

Step 4
Now you will stitch the first stripe on the bee’s body. The stitch that you will use is called the Parisian stitch. All yellow stripes on the bee’s body use this stitch.

Cut an 18" length of yellow thread. Thread the needle as you did before and begin with a waste knot at the far left side of your canvas, again near the stripe of the bee you will be stitching.

Fill in all the stripes that are yellow with this stitch. Be sure to cover all of the outlines of the bee’s body with your stitches.

Step 5
Now you will stitch the black stripes on the bee’s body. The stitch that you will use is called the Gobelin stitch. All black stripes on the bee’s body use this stitch.

Cut an 18" length of black thread. Thread the needle as you did before and begin with a waste knot at the far left side of your canvas, again near the stripe of the bee you will be stitching. Fill in all the stripes that are black with this stitch. Be sure to cover all of the outlines of the bees body with your stitches.

Step 6
Now you will stitch the bee’s wings with the white thread. The stitch that you will use is called a Bargello pattern.

Think of this stitch like stair steps that get wider the higher up the stairs you go. The first step at the bottom is only 1 stitch wide. Then next step is up 1 hole and is 2 stitches wide. The third step is 3 stitches wide and is up 1 hole. The top step, the fourth step, is 4 stitches wide and is up 1 hole from the previous step. Now you start down the steps, and each step is 1 stitch less than the previous step. When you get to the last step of the pattern, which is 2 steps wide, you need to start the pattern all over again, and this will be 1 step down and 1 stitch wide. And now you are going up the stairs again.

Step 7
The bee’s antenna is made from the cloth wrapped wire. If you can’t find this type of wire, then use another black pipe cleaner. Fold the cloth wrapped wire in half and with the black marker color the wire black. Cut the wire to make 2 antennae.

Push the wire through the canvas at the top of the bee’s head, leaving about an inch of wire on the back of the head. Glue the wire to the back of the bee’s head. Cut to a length you like and curl the ends of the wire, as shown in the picture at the top of the page. Allow glue to dry before going onto the next step.

Step 8
Glue the two buttons or beads to the face of the bee where the eyes are stitched with the black thread. If you can’t find the buttons or beads, the black thread can be used for the eyes as they are already stitched. Let dry before continuing onto the next step.

Step 9
Now for the arms and legs. Take the pipe cleaners and cut them each in half. Two will be used for the arms and two for the legs. Place the arms in the middle of the top black stripe on the body, and place the legs at the bottom of the bottom black stripe of the body. Push the pipe cleaner through the canvas to the back, with about an inch of the pipe cleaner on the back of the canvas, glue the pipe cleaners to the back of the bee’s body to keep them in place. Adjust the length of the arms and legs to your liking by cutting the pipe cleaner. Curls the ends of the pipe cleaners to make the hands and feet. Bend the knees so that the been looks like he’s sitting. Allow glue to dry before going onto the next step.

Step 10
Glue the felt to the back of the bee. Make sure that the felt is glued to all parts of the stitching on the back. When the glue is dry, carefully cut out the bee from the canvas. Cut the cardboard tube so that it is about 4 inches long. Glue to the back of the bee, so that it will prop the bee up and he can sit on a flat surface. Now your bee can keep you company when you use your computer.