BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Connecting community members to their creativity, Paper Dolls Needlepoint is offering premium supplies for locals who are looking for a new hobby and those who have been stitching for years.
A veteran fiber artist who previously taught knitting in Birmingham, Owner Katie Cagle said she comes from a family of stitchers, with both of her grandmothers enjoying the hobby, but she only began needlepointing two years ago.
“Once I started needlepointing, and my husband and I were traveling out of town every weekend to go to different needlepoint stores, because at that time, there wasn’t a good selection of threads or canvases in the area, so I decided to open the store,” she said. “We made the decision to open in early January [of this year], and we opened the store in March.”
Cagle said needlepointing canvases are painted with the design pattern to guide stitchers to apply the correct colors in the correct location, and before opening her store, her talent was already recognized in the stitching industry.
“I started painting canvases, and I actually had a collective pick up my line, and ask if they could license my stuff wholesale,” she said. “So that kind of taught me about the back end of the business.”
Since opening, Cagle said she is excited and encouraged by the community support she has received.
“The support has been amazing, I could not believe it,” she said. “On our opening day, I just could not believe how many people showed up, even from out of town. It’s been really wonderful, and I’ve had people travel to come to the store. People have been so supportive and so wonderful, and most people are just begging us to open a bigger store.”
With needlepointing believed to have originated in the 16th and 17th centuries, the fiber art is seeing a comeback on social media, and Cagle said she is excited to see the growth of stitching and a new generation reviving the art that has survived millennias.
“I’m honored to be a part of this generation that is taking something that’s been around for thousands of years, and making it popular again,” she said. “For a while, cross-stitch has been more popular, and now needlepoint is having its own boom, and it’s just so special to be able to not only be a part of the generation that’s making it popular, but also modernize it a little bit. [I love] doing all the little things like cheeky phrases and fun things that make the college girls stitch.”
Along with stitching fun phrases and trendy graphics, Cagle said many of her customers have expressed excitement in a hobby that will keep their hands moving and off of technology.
“So many people tell me that they just want to be off their phones, and they want something to do that’s going to keep them from doom scrolling,” she said. “That’s what so many college girls and moms tell me, they’re like, ‘I just don’t want to be on my phone all the time, I want something to do with my hands late in the evening that’s kind of mindless.’”
With natural fibers often inaccessible at big box stores, Cagle said she enjoys offering quality materials and threads for her customers that they would otherwise have to drive to a much larger city to find.
“I do think people who have been needlepointing for a long time really do care about the fibers that they stitch with, and they do want something that is made up of better quality material,” she said. “So it is great when people come in, and they want to stitch with something a little nicer than what you can get from your average store. Also, a lot of my new stitchers come in, and they want to stitch with better silk and wool threads, rather than just cotton, which is what they would get from a big box store.”
For those interested in trying needlepoint, Cagle said only scissors, a needle, a canvas and thread are needed to start a project.
“I think a lot of people are intimidated by needlepoint, but the basic stitch does become very mindless, and it’s something you’re just doing over and over again,” she said. “A lot of people say it’s like paint-by-numbers but with thread. The design is already there, and it’s painted; it’s not like you’re having to follow a pattern on a separate sheet, you’re just tracing over the painting with thread.”
After finishing a canvas, Cagle said needlepoint projects must be finished and turned into the item of the crafter’s desire, like a bag charm, keychain or an ornament. At Paper Dolls Needlepoint, finishing services and self-finishing projects, like purses, are available.
“I have two local finishers that I work with here in Auburn so that I do not have to ship things off,” she said. “I wanted to be very mindful about doing that, and I like supporting local people.”
For a fun summer craft and another generation of needlepoint stitchers, Cagle said she also offers a kit that guides young children through the hobby.
“We have something that we carry in the store called Stitchin’ Littles, and it is a beginner kit for children,” she said. “My daughter is only two right now, but by the time she turns three or four, I’m already going to be teaching her. I think it is something that’s so special, and it’s great being able to make something that makes you feel so accomplished once you complete it. I hope needlepoint continues to grow. It is something that I hope to be able to pass to her, and she could pass it to her children and so on.”
Paper Dolls Needlepoint is located at 165 1st St., Unit G, Auburn. For more information, follow Paper Dolls Needlepoint on Instagram.
