Book excerpt: Punch needle embroidery may be a type of embroidery. It's also associated with rug hooking. This system goes back many hundreds, or even perhaps thousands of years, but it's remained popular and takes on looks from primitive to modern, and there are such a large number of patterns and kits to choose from. Instead of sewing through the material, a punch needle pushes thread or yarn into the fabric whilst retaining the needle at the surface.