project // plastic canvas bargello pixel art

Plastic canvas crafting is underrated and today's project will hopefully help fix that. Because we're making pixel art with large bagello-stytle stitches! This style of stitching is fast and easy to learn, and it makes a little kawaii rainbow to hang on your wall, so what more could we ask for?

I first started thinking about making a stitched piece like this while I was researching a needlepoint project. I saw some fun kits that used all vertical stitches, which reminded me of pixel art, but also bargello embroidery. Bargello is a type of needlework that uses long stitches to make gorgeous designs. Hello Bargello is pretty much the spot to find modern patterns and kits, but I was going for something different with mine.

With pixel art in mind, I thought of this more like I would plan a cross stitch pattern and then figured out the stitches from there. Making a rainbow was pretty much a no-brainer.



The finished piece is about 4-1/2 inches square, and because it's small, it's a quick project. It also is perfect for hanging on your wall along with a few other either larger or smaller pieces of art, embroidery, or a quilting. AND older kids will be able to catch on quickly to make one.

Now, let's pause and talk about tapestry wool for a moment.

Fist, many thanks to Benzie Design for providing the wool for this project. They are my favorite felt source, and the fact that they carry tapestry wool too is amazing. When doing projects like this, you can use regular yarn, but tapestry wool is just so nice to work with. And it's a good way to have small amounts of lots of colors.

By the way, Benzie is currently transitioning from carrying Anchor to now DMC. Both work and they have similar colors so you can use what you like!



You will need:
Scissors
Large tapestry needle
10-count/mesh plastic canvas trimmed to 45 wide x 46 high
Tapestry wool or similar weight yarn

DMC tapestry wool colors used:
7005
7762
7431
7548
7711
7958
NOIR
BLANC

DOWNLOAD THE RAINBOW BARGELLO PIXEL ART PATTERN



When you start, leave a short tail on the back and stitch over it to secure the yarn. A knot won't work here!

Each stitch comes up through one hole, skips two holes, then goes down. I like to work each stitch from bottom to top. On the pattern, each square is actually going to be three stitches, so this block of three stitches counts as one.



Always work in the same direction with your stitches. If you're working bottom to top like I did, do that for every stitch. On the back you can see how the stitches are almost as solid on the back as they are on the front. This uses more tapestry wool that stitching other ways, but it gives a much better result

Use this technique to stitch the entire filled in design. When you end a length of yarn, weave it through the back of stitches, preferably behind the same color yarn.



When it comes to the face, stitch the eyes just like the other squares in the pattern. Then, add the smile with back stitch. You'll need to stitch through holes that you already filled in, but these lines will still show up and just be next to the other stitching.



Here's how it looks all stitched! You could stop here, but let's finish those edges and make them pretty...and add a hanger!



Start a piece of tapestry wool in the same color as the background and weave it through the back of a few stitches. Next, whip stitch around the edge of the square. Start in a lower corner and work toward the top.



When you reach the first top corner, skip the whole top and go through the second top corner leaving a section of tapestry wool that will be the hanger. Secure it with a whipstitch or two at that corner.



Weave the end of the yarn through the back of the stitches.



Start a new piece of yarn and whip stitch the top of the square, then continue around the other sides. Be sure to keep the hanger out of the way as you stitch!



And that's all there is to finishing this off! If you want you can also cover the back with a square of felt, but I personally love having the work show on the back. It's part of the process!





If you like this design and want to make more, I have three more designs available to those who support me at Ko-Fi. There's a bee, a flower, and chick in an egg. Because spring!

DOWNLOAD BONUS PATTERNS AT KO-FI

Would you be interested in more designs and projects using this style? Tell me in the comments! I for one had so much fun working on this that I'll be looking to add more plastic canvas stitching into my crafting!