petit point

American  

[pet-ee] / ˈpɛt i /

noun

1. a small stitch used in embroidery.

2. embroidery done on a canvas backing and resembling woven tapestry.

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petit point British  

/ ˈpɛtɪ ˈpɔɪnt, pəti pwɛ̃ /

noun

1. Also called: tent stitch.  a small diagonal needlepoint stitch used for fine detail

2. work done with such stitches, esp fine tapestry

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Etymology

Origin of petit point

1880–85; < French: literally, small stitch

Example Sentences

John Thomas Paradiso stitches pansies on leather in what looks like petit point.

From New York Times • Feb. 21, 2014

A young Chicago couple stared glumly at their living room wall, where a petit point sampler proclaimed "God Bless Fairchild Camera."

From Time Magazine Archive

There’s a hard little cushion on it, with a petit point cover: faith, in square print, surrounded by a wreath of lilies. faith is a faded blue, the leaves of the lilies a dingy green.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Guenever was twenty-two as she sat at her petit point and thought of Lancelot She was not half-way to her coffin, not ill even, and she only had six senses.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

When I went into the sitting room she was already in her chair, her left foot on the footstool, with its petit point cushion, roses in a basket.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood