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Church kneeler

Suppliers & books

We have found these suppliers and books very useful in making & repairing kneelers.

Canvas, Wools, Shade Cards, Needles…

  • Appleton Wools – View site – (as used by William Morris) – For everything including helpful advice.
  • Lenham Needlecraft – View site
  • Sewexciting – View site
  • Spinning Jenny – View site

Chip Foam

Reconstituted chip foam can often be supplied by a local upholsterer but emphasise the need for it to be 10lb quality. This should last for 40-50 years. Some suppliers try to tell you that 6lb chip foam is suitable. It is not. It will collapse in less than 20 years and most people find it too squashy.

  • Safefoam – View site
  • Pentonville Rubber Company – View site

Sundries

You can almost certainly find local suppliers for hard-wearing cloth for the base of your kneelers, strong thread for making them up and nylon tape for hanging them, but if in difficulty try the following:

  • The Cloth Shop – View site – Heavy calico or similar
  • Macculloch and Wallis – View site – Tape and strong thread
  • Amazon – View site – Curtain rings & D rings – Also see your local hardware or haberdashery

Software

Software can be useful for giving stitchers a coloured design to work from – though most find graph paper, pencil and rubber much less fiddly. But why not be modern? Give it a go. PC Stitch has been used successfully by some congregations recorded on this website.

  • PC Stitch – View site

Books

Most of the best books below are, alas, out of print. Many can be found either first or second hand through Amazon.

  • A Picture Book for Kneeler Makers
    By Joan Edwards, Batsford Books, 1984. Still the best book on kneeler-making.
  • Historical Designs for Embroidery: Linen and Cross Stitch
    By Louisa Pesel, printed in 1956, for a vast variety of border and other designs.
  • The Embroidery Stitch Bible
    A comprehensive guide to all stitches used in canvaswork as well as in all other types of embroidery.
  • The New World of Needlepoint
    By Lisbeth Perrone, printed in 1972. For 101 rapidly-worked decorative stitches for the sides of the kneeler.
  • Rugs and Carpets of the World
    By Ian Bennett. An inexhaustible source of design ideas.
  • Books of Alphabets, Motifs and Borders
    By Brenda Keyes. Out of print and hard to find, but excellent.
  • Samplers from the Fitzwilliam Museum
    Many find ideas for figures, lettering, plants, etc, in samplers. This booklet is both excellent and – hooray – in print. – View site
  • Getting a grant
  • Designing a church kneeler
  • Suppliers & books
  • Repairing kneelers
  • Making up
  • Stitching
  • Organising a church kneeler project

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