How to Make a Punch Needle Portrait

Carbon paper

Iron

Scissors

Cellotape

Brown fabric for the skin tone

Peach fabric for her top

Print out the 2 page template and use a heat transfer pen to trace over the lines of the whole image. Once complete, line your image up and attached the 2 pages together with some cello tape by attaching a small piece to each end of the join.

Cut a piece of Binca cloth using your 12in embroidery hoop as a guide. You want the size to be an inch or two bigger than your hoop. Place the whole image face down onto the centre of the Binca cloth, then iron the paper to transfer the image onto the fabric.

Cut out her body and face from the paper template including the top she wears. Use the stencil to draw around and cut out some brown fabric for her skin. Use the carbon paper to transfer the face details to the brown fabric (brows, chin and lips). To this brown fabric you need to attach some Fusible web to the back.

Repeat Step 3 but this time for the top she wears. Cut the top out of paper by removing arms and head, and use that template to cut a piece of peach fabric. Attach Fusible web to the back of this too. Keep the 2 appliqué fabric pieces for later.

Now set your Binca cloth into the embroidery hoop ready to start stitching.

Thread your punch needle with Hayfield Bonus Chunky yarn in Colour Light Natural and adjust to stitch C. You're going to stitch flat stitches into the image starting with the background area. Try to keep stitches about 0.5cm in length and find a rhythm of direction to work in. Sometimes I like to work in a circular direction.

Move onto the next area and continue with flat stitches now using West Yorkshire Spinners Chunky Roving yarn in colour Mellow, and work stitches to fill the sun area. Sometimes, I move onto another colour before completing the previous one just because I can't wait to see the image develop!

Switch colours again, turning attention to the big leaves. Use Hayfield Bonus Chunky yarn in Colour Petrol to stitch flat stitches into the centre line of each leaf. Change colour to West Yorkshire Spinners Chunky Roving yarn in colour Serene and now complete each leaf by filling the area.

Trim all the visible hanging threads left behind from punch needling and tidy up the design.

We now want to attach the appliqué body to the design. Position it and use your iron to secure it to the fabric.

It is now time to add the big textured hair. Switch colours yarn to Hayfield Bonus Chunky in Colour Black. Keep your punch needle at stitch C. We will now be working from the back of our hoop so we have looped stitches showing on the right side of our design. Use the outline left by the previous stitches to guide you along the outline of the hair, and stitch in the same way keeping an eye on the right side of the hoop. Once you've gone around the whole hair shape, adjust your punch needle again to stitch B. This will give you larger loops and a bigger afro.

Now get your embroidery needle and thread 1 strand of DMC colour 3371 to complete the brows using small stitches to mimic brow hair. Use the same colour and 1 strand with a split stitch to stitch the chin. With the same colour and 2 strands of thread; create the top lip using a satin stitch. When complete Switch threads to DMC colour 3031 using 2 strands and complete the bottom lip in the same way using a satin stitch.

For the full leaves we are using a fishbone stitch. Thread your needle with 2 strands of DMC colour 905. For the Curled leaves you will stitch the top halves using the same colour but this time using a satin stitch.

Curled parts of the leaves are done using a satin stitch and DMC thread colour 369. Finally finish off the full leaves by adding detail using the same colour 369 and a split stitch.

Carefully position and iron the final appliqué top to the body.

Flip the hoop over to the wrong side. Get any embroidery thread and stitch a running stitch all the way around the hoop. Trim off excess fabric leaving a couple centimetres from the running stitch. Pull the thread to gather the fabric into the back of the hoop so it's neatly tucked away. Knot the thread to secure and the embroidery is now complete, ready to display!