Gobelin, tapestry and needlepoint: what each word means (and which one you need)

"I want to stitch a gobelin", "do you sell canvas for gobelin?", "I was given a Gobelin L kit". All three arrive at the haberdashery every week, and all three mean something different. The word comes from the same place, but today it names a tapestry, a stitch and a brand. Let's put them in order, because that decides what you take home.

Gobelin: the tapestry

The origin is the Gobelins Manufactory, the Paris workshop that wove tapestries for the French court. That's why, strictly speaking, a "gobelin" is a tapestry woven on a loom. In practice, when a stitcher says "a gobelin" she almost always means an embroidered picture on canvas that imitates that look: a surface completely covered in thread, with no canvas showing, like a small framed tapestry.

That picture is stitched at home with a needle, not on a loom. And the technique used is the next word.

Gobelin: the stitch

The "gobelin stitch" is a slanted stitch on canvas: one diagonal per square, always in the same direction. It is exactly what English stitchers call half cross stitch or, more generally, needlepoint, and what we call medio punto in Spain. If you have ever stitched a SEG or Margot de Paris kit, you already know the gobelin stitch: it's the same one.

There are longer variants (straight gobelin covers two or more threads vertically) used for backgrounds and quick fills, but for a printed-canvas picture the usual choice is plain half cross stitch. If you want to see how it differs from cross-stitch, we explain it in needlepoint vs cross-stitch.

Gobelin L: the brand

And then there is Gobelin L, a Greek maker of printed canvases and one of the oldest in Europe. Its designs are screen-printed in full colour on double-thread canvas at 10 stitches per inch, and the margin usually carries the "recipe": the DMC or Anchor thread colours you need and how many skeins of each. Many of its canvases are sold without threads, so that list is what you bring to the shop.

So if you were given "a gobelin" and it is a printed canvas with a list of numbers along the edge, what you are missing is the skeins. In our store you'll find DMC Retors Mat Art. 89 by the single skein, with a colour selector, which is the reference thread for covering canvas; if your list uses Anchor references, write to us and we'll help you find the equivalents.

So, what do I need to stitch a gobelin?

• Printed canvas with the design in colour. If you're starting out, a complete kit is easier: canvas, pre-selected threads and needle, nothing to hunt for. Our needlepoint kits are organised by brand and by theme.
• Thread that covers: cotton Retors Mat or tapestry wool. Six-strand mouliné does not cover canvas.
• A tapestry needle, blunt-tipped, so it doesn't split the canvas threads. Here's which needle to use for each project.
• A frame, optional but worth it on large pieces: half cross stitch pulls the canvas on the diagonal and a frame keeps it square.

And to choose a canvas if you buy yours separately, see our guide on what needlepoint canvas is and how to choose yours.