Punch needle instruction

Letter Charm

Everything you need to know, from a square of cloth to a letter charm for your keys. Beginner friendly, six steps, about three to four hours for your first one.

Before you start

What you will need

Your kit covers the punch needle side of this list. The last two come from your own drawer.

  1. In your kit

    For the stitching

    Punch needle, set to the shortest length. Two threaders, the little wire loops. Monk's cloth ×2. Embroidery hoop. Cotton yarn in your chosen colours.

  2. In your kit

    For the charm

    Keychain hardware, ribbon, and your patterns.

  3. From home

    Two things to grab

    Scissors, and fabric glue or a hot glue gun.

Two sides, two names

Two words you will see a lot

Your cloth has a punching side and a loop side. Every step tells you which one you are on.

Cross-section of monk's cloth: the flat side where you punch, and the loop side everyone sees.
You punch on the flat side. The loops grow on the loop side, and that is the side everyone sees.

Start to finish

The six steps

Step one

Hoop your cloth

A drum tight hoop is the whole secret. If the cloth can shift, your loops will not stay put.

  1. Loosen the screw until the two rings come apart. No need to undo it fully.
  2. Put the inner ring on a flat surface, screw handle to the right. Lay the monk's cloth over it, right side up, weave straight.
  3. Press the outer ring down with both hands, then tighten. Tap it: a good hoop sounds like a little drum!
Hooping diagram: the cloth goes between the inner and outer ring, then the screw is tightened drum tight.
Cloth goes between the two rings, right side up. Press straight down, then tighten.

Step two

Draw your letter twice

The charm has two faces glued back to back, so you punch the same letter twice.

  1. Draw your letter straight onto the cloth with a pencil.
  2. Draw it again beside the first one, this time mirrored. That second piece becomes the back of the charm.
  3. Leave a small gap between the two. It makes cutting them out much easier later.
Drawing the letter in pencil on hooped cloth, then its mirror image a small gap apart.
Both versions side by side on the same hooped cloth, with room to cut between them.

Step three

Thread your needle

Fiddly the first time, easy forever after. There are two threaders in your kit for exactly this reason.

  1. Push the threader in from the sharp end, until the wire loop comes out of the handle.
  2. Pop your yarn through that wire loop.
  3. Pull the threader back out through the tip. The yarn comes with it, right through the needle.
  4. Now the eye: push the threader through the little hole near the tip, hook the yarn in, and pull it through.
Threading the punch needle: yarn in at the tip, up through the handle, then out through the eye.
The yarn goes in at the tip, up through the handle, then out through the eye.

Step four

Punch!

You punch on the flat side. The loops grow on the other side, and that is the side everyone will see.

  1. Down. Push straight down until it stops, eye facing the way you are going.
  2. Up. Lift only until the tip clears the cloth. Higher and the loop pulls back out.
  3. Slide. Skim across about one needle width, then punch again.
The punch stitch in three moves: down until it stops, up only until the tip clears, slide one needle width.
Down until it stops, up only until the tip clears, then slide one needle width.

Step five

Tidy your threads

Loose ends are the only thing standing between you and a charm that looks shop bought.

  1. Ending a colour. Push the needle through to the loop side, cut the yarn level with your loops, then lift the needle away.
  2. Tail too short? Hold it and pull gently while you watch the loop side. Find the loop that moves, ease it through, trim.
  3. Last of all, go over the loop side and trim any long strays down to the height of the rest.
Trimming a yarn tail level with the loops so the cut end disappears among them.
Every end gets cut at exactly the height of the loops, so it disappears among them.

Step six

Build your charm

Two flat letters go in, one finished charm comes out.

  1. Out of the hoop, cut both letters out leaving a small margin. Notch the curves and corners so the edges fold smoothly.
  2. Glue near the base of the loops and fold the edges inward, pressing gently.
  3. Cut the ribbon in half, thread it through the keychain hardware, glue and fold it, then glue it to the top of one letter.
  4. Run a thin line of glue along the middle and press the two letters back to back. Seal any gaps along the edge.
Building the charm: cut and notch, fold and glue, add the ribbon, press the two letters together.
Cut and notch, fold and glue, add the ribbon, press together.

Rather watch?

The making, without words

The same six steps, filmed in the studio. No voiceover, nothing to translate.

  • 1
    Hoop itCloth in the hoop, letter traced, drum tight.
  • 2
    OutlinePunch around the edge of the letter first.
  • 3
    Fill and dotFill the middle, then settle the polka dots.
  • 4
    Cut it outBoth letters cut and notched, ready to glue.
  • 5
    Ribbon and ringRibbon through the hardware, and it is yours.

You did it

Show us whatyou made.

@embroiderywithaycan