PVC (Plastic) 18 Count Canvas by Mill Hill - 9/22/26

September 22, 2026--With Zweigart 18 count mono canvas being so difficult to acquire these days, I thought I'd try Mill Hill's new 18 count PVC (plastic) canvas.   It comes in 9" x 12" sheets in color white only.  A colorfast marker worked well and I'll next try acrylic paints on it.  Mill Hll recommends using size 24 or 26 tapestry needles and they aren't kidding.  This limits the type of threads to strandable floss or smaller metallics (e.g., 2 strands of Kreinik size 8).  Ribbon type threads won't work.  They require needles that are too large.

Note:  After perusing Wichelt's website, it appears that 18 count perforated paper is no longer available (only 14 count can still be purchased).

I did try stitching with a metallic ribbon using a size 24 needle and found I had to pull the needle through the PVC canvas with plyers.  It was nearly impossible to go from a "clean" (empty) hole into a "dirty" (used) hole.  A lot of pulling was involved.  After working up a few bargello rows, I noticed the plastic canvas began to buckle and stretch.  The holes, however, barely budged.   So, I removed the stitches to see how bad the plastic fared, and the pictures are below (front and back) show the distortion.  

Distortion Caused by Too Large Needle and Thread

Closeup Front of Canvas Showing Distortion

Closeback Back of Canvas Showing Distortion

I now wondered if the canvas was ruined or could it be salvaged for a different project.  The answer is YES, it can be salvaged.  I applied some hot air using my hair dryer for a few seconds and the plastic "shrunk" to its original size (for the most part).  You can see in the below photos how smooth the plastic became after applying heat.  Some of the holes look a little wonky, so I'll stitch up another project over the repaired area and see how it looks.

Back of Canvas with Distortion Removed by Heat

Front of Canvas with Distortion Removed by Heat

So now I'm wondering if I had left the heavy metallic stitches in place then applied heat, would the canvas shrink back to it's original form.  Would the threads lie flat or would the tension look uneven?  This will be my next experiment--stay tuned.