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The short answer is absolutely. I used glue as part of my finishing process while a student at the Royal School of Needlework. But glue may not be right for you depending on your style, the purpose of your ornaments, and your dreams for your needlepoint. We’ll dive into the pros and cons below.
I want to start off by saying that there is no right or wrong way to finish a needlepoint ornament. We stitch for the joy of it. The creative process is as important as the final product. This means that self finishing needs to be enjoyable. You may not love finishing as much as stitching and that’s ok, but it needs to work for you.Using glue is completely a matter of personal preference.
Second, there is no universal standard finishing process. Mostly because finishing information has been widely unavailable until about five years ago when I created my “how to finish a needlepoint ornament” video tutorial. At the time I learned from the single in print book that taught the process (Sandy’s finishing touches - a fabulous book!). The finishing process varies from one finisher to the next. There’s no “right way” and “wrong way” to finish your needlepoint.
You’ll find a whole spectrum of how needlepointers feel about glue. On one end are those who use a glue gun to assemble their project completely because they hate sewing. On the other end are women who dislike glue on their fingers and are way more comfortable with a needle and thread. And you have everyone in between. Again, wherever you land on that spectrum is a good place to be if it’s right for you.
Many needlepointers don’t use glue because they’re concerned about the archival quality of their resulting ornament. If that’s you, we’ll dive more into archival concerns below. However, lot of stitchers aren’t worrying about whether or not they’ll pass their ornament down to their children and grandchildren. If you fall in to this camp then don’t worry about the archival quality of your pieces! Use any glue that you like and enjoy this wonderful hobby, the community it brings, the joy of creativity, and do notfeel like there’s anything wrong with that!
Using glue is about ease of process and personal preference. Let’s dive in…
1. Because glue is messy it takes some extra care.
2. When wrapping your needlepoint around the ornament board to secure it, tacky glue takes a few minutes to set which can make the process longer. A lot of stitchers who are comfortable hand sewing find it easier and faster to lace their ornament. Lacing is the process of pulling the needlepoint around the board using a needle and thread.
3. Glue is more permanent than thread. If you “mess up” it’s harder to adjust or fix once the glue is dry. Because lacing uses just thread, it’s reversible. You can easily cut out your stitches and start over again.
4. Cording that’s been glued down will eventually fall off (after many years).
1. There are times when lacing an ornament is very difficult. If your ornament has a sharp point, whether that’s inward (like a heart) or outward (like a star) glue becomes the easiest option to successfully secure the canvas at the point tips.
2. Similarly, if your ornament has a highly detailed edge you’ll typically need to cut smaller tabs. Those tabs tend to be quite delicate and if laced they can simply pull apart. Glue is way easier to use in this situation.
3. Glueing on cording is way faster than stitching it on.
When finishing a simple round or square ornament I suggest trying both techniques and seeing which you prefer!
Like I mentioned, glue gets a bad rap for being unprofessional and not up to archival standards. That’s not really true. However, the type of glue you use and your process does impact the archival standard of your needlepoint. Let’s explore archival concerns…
1. If you use glue but want your ornament to be archival, make sure to use an archival quality glue. I personally use a PH neutral acid free adhesive that we sell here on the website. You can get archival quality tacky glue and hot glue sticks (the two most popular glues in ornament finishing).
Similarly, needlepointers tend to be afraid of insects such as silverfish or bookworms eating their needlepoint. Silverfish are attracted to and eat the dextrin and starch that is found in some adhesives. While they’ll sometimes eat cotton and natural fibers it’s the adhesive they prefer. I would’t recommend using a glue with starch for this reason. Lineco Archival Glue is starch free.
2. Glue will lose its bind. If you don’t reinforce the glue with stitching, eventually (think many years) you’ll need to glue your ornament back together. For example: my grandma bought me a gorgeous hand made Christmas ornament every year growing up. The beautiful victorian style silk flowers and ribbons that were originally hot glued to the ornament have started to fall off after 25 years so I have to glue them back on.
Personally, I don’t want to reapply glue in 25 years. So I typically glue the actual needlepoint to my ornament boards but then reinforce it with stitching (around the “ledge” or outside edge of the ornament). I also sew my cording down so in 25 years it won’t fall off.
3. Glue is fairly permanent. Once you turn your needlepoint into an ornament it’s hard to turn it into something else later. I’ve refrained from glueing pieces in the past because I thought I might want to turn my needlepoint into something else one day.
To take this a step further - glue will “alter” your needlepoint. Conservationists want to leave a piece as untouched and original as they can. While adhesives can be used to support a piece of art or historic textile that is damaged and keep it from eroding further, it’s my understanding that adhesives are used after other support methods are ruled out (such as reinforcing with stitching and fabric etc.).
A great example is the finishing process I learned while at the Royal School of Needlework called mounting. The process is taking a base piece of fabric and wrapping it around a foam board, then gluing that fabric down to the board. The stitched needlework is then wrapped around and sewn down to the fabric covered board. Finally, a third piece of fabric is stretched across the back and sewn down just to the needlework around the edge, pulling everything taut. One day the glue will lose its bind and the base fabric will fall off the board - when that happens, the backing fabric that’s stitched to the needlework will continue to keep everything snuggly in place. Now, because of the backing fabric, the piece would remain in place whether the needlework was glued to the board OR stitched to the base fabric that was glued to the board instead. But by not gluing the stitched needlework directly to the board, you’re keeping it in it’s original state. I hope that makes sense!
4. What about truly archival museum quality needlepoint?If you want your ornament to be in a museum in 200 years - don’t use glue. You’ll also want to consider your storage method (use archival quality tissue paper, boxes, and think about overall storage environment) along with the mat board you use inside your ornament (our boards are acid and lignin free but I’d suggest doing even more research).
The ODDY test is used by museums to discover if a material is safe to be used around artwork and valuable items. Lineco Neutral PH Adhesive is rated as “temporary” which means that it’s safe to use near museum artwork for up to six months. It shouldn’t come in contact with the artwork. Certain 3M Hot Melt Adhesives (hot glue) are rated as “suitable” which means they’re safe to use indefinitely near artwork but shouldn’t come in contact with the art (specifically 3M hot melt adhesive #3797, #3792, #3748q and a few others). Unfortunately the ODDY test didn’t rate this hot melt glue which looks really nice and one I’d probably recommend as archival. BUT if you’re goal is stitching fame a hundred years after you’re gone (and I say good for you!), skip the glue.
Personal preference and the purpose of your needlepoint piece are the deciding factor when deciding to use glue or not.
I specifically love how quickly you can glue down cording compared to stitching it down. So when finishing a piece that’s meant to be used like a luggage tag or scissor fob - I’ll absolutely use glue. It’s not going to last 25 years anyway. If I’ve made a gift and I’m crunched for time - maybe it’s for someone who will appreciate the ornament but won’t have visions of passing it along to their kids - I’ll use glue to save time. However, if I’ve created something for myself or my family and I’d love to give it to my kids one day, then I’ll sew down the cording (but probably use glue on the inside that’s been reinforced with stitching). This is my personal preference at the moment and the method I teach.
I hope you found this helpful! Thanks for letting me get nerdy and share my thoughts on glue with you. Comment below with your thoughts and questions!
Xo Abby
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Sharon Bradley
March 19, 2025
Thank you for presenting these options clearly and with rationale. It definitely helps me think about my approach for various items I might be finishing.