Needlework is a broad term for the handicraft

Handicraft

Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...

s of decorative sewing

Sewing

Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era...

 and textile art

Textile art

Textile art may refer to:*Any one of the textile arts, those arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects*Fiber art, the creation of fine art using textile arts techniques and materials...

s. Anything that uses a needle

Sewing needle

A sewing needle is a long slender tool with a pointed tip. The first needles were made of bone or wood; modern ones are manufactured from high carbon steel wire, nickel- or 18K gold plated for corrosion resistance. The highest quality embroidery needles are plated with two-thirds platinum and...

 for construction can be called needlework. The definition may expand to include related textile crafts such as a crochet hook

Crochet hook

A crochet hook is a type of needle with a hook at one end used to draw thread through knotted loops. Only one crochet hook is needed to make crochet stitches. The crochet hook's earliest use appears to have been in the late 18th century or early 19th century.Typical materials for crochet hooks...

 or tatting

Tatting

Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch,...

 shuttles.

Similar abilities often transfer well between different varieties of needlework, such as fine motor skill

Fine motor skill

Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements which occur e.g., in the fingers, usually in coordination with the eyes. In application to motor skills of hands the term dexterity is commonly used....

 and a knowledge of textile

Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 fibers. Some of the same tools may be used in several different varieties of needlework. For instance, a needle threader

Needle threader

A needle threader is a small device for helping put the thread through the eye of small needles. Still popukar today is the needle threader of Victorian design, consisting of a small tinned plate stamped with the Queen's head and with a diamond-shaped steel wire attached....

 is useful in nearly all needlecrafts.

Types of needlework

• Needle lace
  Needle lace
  Needle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to stitch up hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself....
  
  
• Quilting
  Quilting
  Quilting is a sewing method done to join two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded material. A quilter is the name given to someone who works at quilting. Quilting can be done by hand, by sewing machine, or by a specialist longarm quilting system.The process of quilting uses...
  
  
• Applique
  Applique
  In its broadest sense, an appliqué is a smaller ornament or device applied to another surface. In the context of ceramics, for example, an appliqué is a separate piece of clay added to the primary work, generally for the purpose of decoration...
  
  
• Embroidery
  Embroidery
  Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
  
  
• Crochet
  Crochet
  Crochet is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by...
  
  
• Knitting
  Knitting
  Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
  
  
• Tatting
  Tatting
  Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch,...
  
  
• Lucet
  Lucet
  A lucet is a tool used in cordmaking or braiding which is believed to date back to the Viking and Medieval periods, when it was utilized to create cords that were used on clothing, or to hang useful items from the belt. Lucet cord is square, strong, and slightly springy. It closely resembles...
  
  
• Braiding and Tassel
  Tassel
  A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe.-Etymology:...
  
   making
• Tapestry
  Tapestry
  Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
  
  

External links

• Needle Lace - Virtual Museum of Textile Arts