How to frame your needlework...
I know some will scoff that the way I frame my needlework, but this is the way I was taught by my Mom, years ago. I have some of my Mother's work that is almost as old as I am and it is still as beautiful today as it was years ago. 
Material List: Finished needlework piece, Frame, Spacers, Masking Tape, Iron and Board, Cutting Mat and Rotary Cutter. 
Step 1: Clean and press your finished cross stitch piece. I wash mine by hand with a gently soap, lay it flat to dry on a couple of towels. Then press with iron. *If you have bead work, charms, etc. place a towel on needlework then press with iron. Also if you have used overdyed thread on your piece, I would not wash it, the dye could bleed in the material. 
Step 2: Clean the glass in the frame and measure the frame. Then place spacers on the frame, remove the paper from the spacer and stick directly to the glass, as close to the frame as possible. *I place a ruler in the frame and cut the mat board to the measurements. Step 3: Cut mounting board on cutting mat with rotary cutter and straight edge. *I place the cutting mat on the floor, the mounting board on the mat and the straight edge where I need to cut. One knee and one hand holds the mounting board and straight edge in place, while I use the other hand to cut the mounting board with a rotary cutter. Step 4: Pill off the paper from the mounting board and place piece directly on the sticky side of the board. When placing the needlework on the board, place it lightly. If it is not centered you and gently pick it up and reposition it on the board again. Once you have the needlework centered on the mounting board, start at the center of the needlework and press it down and out to the edges of the mounting board. *You can use the lines in the material to place it straight on the board; aida material makes this much easier. Step 5: Cut off extra material from the needlework. Leave an 1 to 1 1/2 sticking out from the mounting board. 
Step 6: Put small pieces of masking tape on the cross stitch piece, pull gently holding the tape and tape to the back side of the mounting board. Repeat until you have the sides down, but leave the corners open. 
*If you get a bubble in the material between the tape, just add a small piece of tape to the bubble and gently tape it to the mounting board. 
Step 7: Clip the corners of the material. This will keep your corners looking nice and clean. Then tape then down. 
Step 8: Place needlework and mounting board into the frame. 
Step 9: Cut paper of the back and tape along the paper and the frame. This will keep the dust out of your frame. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and please feel free to share it with other cross stitching friends.
3 comments:
Great tutorial - thanks :) I shall file this away for future.
Great tutorial . Really helpfull. Thank you and kindly regards from Spain
I am disappointed that Craft Gossip would feature this tutorial. I would never use a self-sticking mounting board. It is almost impossible to get the design straight, and very difficult to re-position the design. The residue will eventually ruin the stitched piece.
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