Needle
arts make use of different fibers to create or decorate some sort of
surface. Some well known examples of these arts include crochet, cross-stitch,
embroidery, knitting and needlepoint. However, there are many more styles
and sub-styles to the area.
Crochet and knitting are examples of needle arts which involve the
creation of an article of fabric from scratch. Embroidery, on the other
hand, involves decorating something such as a fabric. This includes
stitching the surface or continually stitching through a canvas. Cross-stitch
and needlepoint may be considered as styles of embroidery, but they
are distinctive and large enough in and of themselves to be considered
their own types.
Needle arts commonly make use of many different accents in addition
to the yarn work. For instance, buttons and other fasteners are often
used in clothing. Such things as beads, bells and shells may be used
for other decorative embellishment needs.