SCK Tries…3D Needlepoint Kit

It’s another edition of SCK Tries where we try out a DIY to see how it works in real life and whether we’d recommend you give it a go. This time it’s a 3D needlepoint kit of a kawaii vending machine.

The Original DIY

Having finished my Zelda tapestry, I was keen to do more needlepoint. I was looking for patterns but I found this adorable kawaii vending machine kit at Studiopaca that uses plastic canvas to make it into a 3D shape and couldn’t resist buying it with my long-hoarded Etsy gift card balance.

Kit Contents & Materials

The kit includes everything required to make the vending machine – plastic canvas, coloured cotton thread, needle, printed pattern and instructions. All you need to add is a pair of scissors. I really appreciated the large size pattern and the generous amounts of thread that are pre-cut to size.

Process

This is exactly the same as normal needlepoint/tapestry but using a thick thread instead of wool and on plastic canvas instead of fabric. The thicker plastic and larger holes makes it even easier and faster to stitch – if you’ve ever struggled with cross stitch aida, you should give plastic canvas a try for a nice break! The instructions and pattern were also really easy to follow and I had to make myself slow down or I would have been finished in a couple of days.

Once I’d finished stitching all 6 sides of the vending machine, I had to cut them into separate pieces. This was was a little bit nerve-wracking as accidentally cutting the wrong line would have ruined everything. I even had enough extra pink thread to cover the bottom, which was left blank in the pattern.

Joining the pieces was a little bit fiddly but it all went together easily enough. I didn’t have enough blue thread to match the bottom edges, which was a bit of shame but I’m sure no one else would notice. It’s possible I had messed up the pattern somewhere and threw away too much unpicked thread that didn’t look nice enough to reuse.

The End Result

It turned out so cute! I love the design and the stitched texture makes it look extra fun. It’s a good size for display without taking up too much room. I really enjoyed this kit and would love to make more.

I have a pile of plastic canvas pieces that I’ve never known what to do with so I have my eye on some of the smaller magnet designs and will probably design something myself too. I’d recommend this to anyone who wants to try needlepoint or plastic canvas, or just to get more practice with stitching if you’re new to crafts.

This kit is no longer available but you can buy the vending machine pattern from Studiopaca and there may be more kits available through Patreon in future. They also have lots more kawaii patterns for both needlepoint and cross stitch.