Travel Canvases to Commemorate Your Trip in Needlepoint
There’s something magical about travel—the sights, the food, and making memories. Whether it’s a weekend getaway, a dream vacation, or maybe a trip to mark a milestone, these experiences deserve to be remembered. What better way to preserve those memories than with a needlepoint canvas inspired by your adventures. Stitching is also a great vacation activity, so consider taking a canvas along on your trip! Ahead of summer travel, I’m sharing ideas of travel inspired needlepoint canvases to stitch, as well as ideas on where to source travel canvases. Even if you aren’t traveling, these canvases make great gifts (why not help your friends and family commemorate a special trip!).
Ideas for Travel-Themed Canvases
There are travel-themed canvases available to suit every style and destination. Here is a roundup of some popular needlepoint canvases, sorted by category, with links to help make shopping easy. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I’ve tried to provide some examples for each category to inspire your travel stitching. I’ll share ideas for personalizing travel canvases, as well as inspiring travel projects in a separate post.
Cityscapes - Great for commemorating iconic destinations, there are tons of lines of canvases highlighting cityscapes.
City Hearts series by SCT Designs | Travel Round series by Coco Frank | Location Round series by Doolittle Stitchery
Landmarks - While canvases are available featuring iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, or the Statue of Liberty, there are also a number of canvases on the market that capture local landmarks.
Nelson Atkins Museum by KC Needlepoint | Seaside Post Office by SCT Designs | Boston Public Gardens, Grand Central Station, and St Paul’s Cathedral by Stitch Style Needlepoint
Hotels - If traveling to an iconic hotel, consider stitching a canvas depicting the building or the logo.
Hotel rounds by Kathy Schenkel | Grand Hotel by Plum Design | Savoy Hotel | Hotel Monteleone by Needle Nola | Hotel matchboxes by Spruce Street Needlepoint
Food and drink - Eating is one of my favorite activities when I’m on vacation. Consider stitching a canvas to commemorate one of your favorite meals or snacks from the trip.
French Butter, Baguette, and Swiss Gruyere by Stitch Style Needlepoint | Restaurant matchboxes by Spruce Street Needlepoint | Lobster Roll by Morgan Julia | Street Cart by SilverStitch | Spritz Round by Green Heart Needlepoint | Maple Syrup by Alice and Blue | Garrett’s Popcorn by Safira | Edelweiss Pretzel by Blue Ridge Stitchery
Activity or memory - Travel usually includes sightseeing or other activities. Skiing, boating, swimming, reading, or taking a cooking or crafting class are just some of the activities you can commemorate in needlepoint.
Sandcastle by Stitch Style Needlepoint | Beach Cruiser | Book stacks by The Book Canvas | Fly Fishing | Skiing Santa by Anne Kaye | Vespa Girl by Melissa Prince | Happy Camper by Doolittle Stitchery
Souvenirs - Look for canvases that highlight local symbols like a lobster for Maine or cowboy boots for Texas as a souvenir from your trip.
Passport and Paris Metro Card by Stitch Style Needlepoint | I Heart NY Button by Bad Bitch Needlepoint | Lobster Round by Danji Designs | Scallop by Thorn Alexander | Cowboy Boot by Elm Tree Needlepoint
Flags - Consider stitching the flag of the country or state that you visit while traveling.
Flag Canvases - Several shops and local designers have flag canvases for their location. Try searching online for the specific country, city, or state you are looking for in hopes that a store might have a version.
Flag Charts - Many cross stitch charts are available online for flags and translate well for needlepoint canvas. Try searching Etsy for digital patterns like these flag charts.
People - Several needlepoint lines have canvases depicting people of the world. Consider stitching a person to represent your trip.
Stitch Its Angel - These small canvases are available in many different designs including those representing places and activities (like French, fishing, margarita, etc.). Bonus: they’re a great beginner project!
Petei Santas - These ornament-sized canvases come in several designs representing different countries.
Squatty Santas - These beloved Santas, the perfect size for a stand up, come in many styles representing locations, activities, and regions (like Texas, fishing, coastal, etc.).
Maps and Globes - Stylized world maps, state outlines, or country shapes could be an option to mark your trip.
Globes - To celebrate a milestone or celebrate general travel, consider a globe design like the ones available from Plum Design, Thorn Alexander, or Stitch Style Needlepoint.
Outline - There are cross stitch chart patterns available for state and country outlines that are a great option to translate to needlepoint. Try searching Etsy for digital patterns like these state charts.
State Designs - The Meredith Collection has a line of canvases with US state shapes in different themes i.e. Santa faces shaped as states, pumpkins, football, etc.
Airport tags/Stamps - There are lines of needlepoint canvases focused solely on commemorating destinations, including:
Retro Travel Tags - Hedgehog needlepoint offers travel tags for almost every airport you could think of, and is constantly adding more.
State Stamps - This line of postage stamps featuring US state birds and flowers is available from Wipstitch.
Passport Stamps - These simple designs by Audrey Wu are available in a variety of locations (including one for the North Pole!).
Or go custom! Many shops offer custom painting. Consider having a one of a kind canvas painted to commemorate a milestone trip (honeymoon, birthday, graduation), multi-city trip, or to turn a photo into stitchable art.
Ultimately, pick something meaningful to remind you of a special place, meal, or moment!
Sourcing Canvases
The intention of sharing these travel canvases was to help spark ideas of canvases to stitch to commemorate your trip. If you’re still on the hunt for the perfect canvas for your trip, try locating a design through one of these sources:
Online search - Trying using Google to search for the theme you’re looking for followed by “needlepoint canvas.” This helps look across many different designers and shops to find the perfect canvas to meet your theme.
Local needlepoint shops - Many stores have websites that make finding travel canvases easy. Search store websites or call to order the canvas for your trip. Make sure to visit or call the needlepoint store closest to your destination as they oftentimes will have a selection of local canvases that might be the perfect way to commemorate your trip. Some of these designs are exclusive to shops, so they won’t be available anywhere else. A curated canvas from a local store sounds like the perfect souvenir from a trip!
Special orders - If you find a canvas you like but are having trouble purchasing it, try reaching out to your local needlepoint shop and asking them to special order the canvas for you.
Final Thought: Have you stitched a travel canvas? Share your favorite destination-themed pieces in the comments or send to me via DM. I’d love to see what memories you’ve captured with your stitching.