Canvas work is the technique of forming stitches on a special open-weave fabric known as canvas. Canvas is constructed if vertical and horizontal threads that are woven together to produce precisely spaced holes between threads. The points at which these threads intersect are known as meshes. All canvas work stitches are worked to make use of the grid-like structure of the canvas.

Basically, any canvas work stitch can only go in two directions either diagonally across or parallel to the canvas threads and meshes. The direction of the thread takes is dictated by the kind of stitch that is being worked. Several canvas work stitches only fall in one direction; others require threads to be laid in several directions or even to be crossed over each other.

The size of a stitch depends upon two things. One of these is the character of the stitch. Certain of the stitches span only one canvas thread or mesh; other stitches span two or more. Stitch size also depends on the gauge of the canvas that is being used. (The gauge of the canvas is the number of meshes to each one-inch or 2.5 cm of that canvas).

The more meshes per one-inch a canvas has, the smaller the stitches worked on it can be. Canvas is available in many gauges; this wide range generally falls into one of two categories Petitpoint (16 or more meshes) or grospoint (fewer than 16 meshes). In general, the smaller the mesh, the more time it will take to complete. However, the smaller stitches are more durable.