Editing Needlepoint (section)

==Terminology==
<gallery class="center" widths="225px" heights="170px" caption="Differences between needlepoint and other types of embroidery">
File:Fig. 254. Half cross stitch.jpg|Needlepoint is worked upon specialized types of stiff canvas that have openings at regular intervals.
File:Borduurring.jpg|Embroidery that is not needlepoint often uses soft cloth and requires an [[Embroidery hoops and frames|embroidery hoop]].
</gallery>

When referring to handcrafted [[textile arts]] which a speaker is unable to identify, the appropriate generalized term is "[[needlework]]". The first recorded use of the term needlepoint is in 1869, as a synonym for point-lace.<ref>{{cite book |title=Shorter Oxford English Dictionary |date= 1973 |publisher= Oxford University Press}}</ref> [[Mrs Beeton]]'s ''Beeton's Book of Needlework'' (1870) does not use the term "needlework", but rather describes "every kind of stitch which is made upon canvas with wool, silk or beads" as [[Berlin wool work|Berlin Work]] (also spelled Berlinwork). Berlin Work refers to a subset of needlepoint, popular in the mid-19th century that was stitched in brightly colored wool on needlepoint canvas from hand-colored charts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Berlin-woolwork |title=Berlin woolwork {{!}} art |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en |access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref>

"Needlepoint" refers to a particular set of stitching techniques worked upon stiff openwork canvas.<ref>{{cite book |author=Fasset, Kaffe |title=Glorious Needlepoint\date= 1987 |year = 1989 |location= London |publisher= Century Hutchinson |isbn= 0-7126-3041-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Lazarus, Carole |author2=Berman, Jennifer |title=Glorafilia - The Ultimate Needlepoint Collection|date= 1996 |location= London |publisher= Elbury Press |isbn= 0-09-180976-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Russell, Beth |title=Traditional Needlepoint |date= 1992 |publisher= Devon, David & Charles |isbn=0-7153-9984-5}}</ref>
However, "needlepoint" is not synonymous with all types of embroidery. Because it is stitched on a fabric that is an open grid, needlepoint is not embellishing a fabric, as is the case with most other types of embroidery, but literally the making of a new fabric. It is for this reason that many needlepoint stitches must be of sturdier construction than other embroidery stitches.

Needlepoint is often referred to as "[[tapestry]]"<ref>{{cite book |author= Gordon, Jill |title=Jill Gordon's Tapestry Collection|date= 1997 |location= London |publisher= Merehurst |isbn=1-85391-636-6}}</ref> in the United Kingdom and sometimes as "canvas work". However, needlepoint—which is stitched on canvas mesh—differs from true tapestry—which is woven on a vertical loom. When worked on fine weave canvas in tent stitch, it is also known as "''petit point''". Additionally, "needlepoint lace" is also an older term for [[needle lace]], an historic lace-making technique.