13 mesh or 18? Here's how to decide.
Mesh is how many holes per inch your canvas has. It decides how much thread you need, how much detail the design can hold, and how long the piece will take.
13 mesh
The most common mesh in the shop, and the one we hand most beginners.
Bigger holes mean thicker thread and faster coverage. A design that would take you six months on 18 will take three or four on 13. It is kinder to your eyes in evening light, and it suits bold designs, strong color, and anything you want finished this year.
What it will not do is hold very fine detail. A face with individual features, or small lettering, will read softer on 13 than on 18.
18 mesh
Finer, denser, and capable of detail 13 cannot reach.
An 18 mesh canvas holds expression in a face, texture in a feather, and lettering that stays crisp. The trade is time. You are stitching roughly twice as many stitches over the same area, and you will want good light.
Choose 18 when the design depends on detail. Choose it deliberately, not by accident.
What size needle for each mesh
A tapestry needle is blunt. It slips between the canvas threads rather than splitting them, which is why an ordinary sewing needle is the wrong tool.
13 mesh: size 22. 18 mesh: size 24. If a needle passes through the hole without forcing and without rattling, it is right.
Too large and you distort the canvas with every stitch. Too small and the eye of the needle shreds the thread as you pull it through.
How mesh changes the thread you buy
This is the part that catches people, and it is the reason to ask before buying rather than after.
The same silk that covers beautifully on 18 mesh will look starved on 13, because the holes are bigger and there is more canvas to hide. You will use more strands, and you will use more thread overall.
So a canvas and its threads are one decision, not two. Bring the canvas in and we will work it out with you.
