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| KNOW-HOW |
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Before you can put your design in a frame you need to stretch it out over a piece of card or mount board. It's ok to use glue or double-sided tape for a small design, but lacing is a much better method for a large project that's taken you a long time to stitch, for example, an heirloom project.
Lacing doesn't take long and allows you to remove the cross stitch for cleaning in the future. Many of the gorgeous old embroideries in stately homes have been damaged by sunlight and moisture - these make colours fade and brown water marks or mould form. However, the real villain is acid. This comes from card and sticky tape and seeps into the fabric and threads over time eventually making them rot. So always buy acid-free or conservation-grade mount board.
1. Tack two guidelines across the centre of the stitching as shown. Press the stitching on the back. Now measure the back of the frame from rebate to rebate and subtract 5mm from each measurement. Cut your mount board this size and mark two guidelines on the white side to match those on the stitching.
2. Lay the stitching face up over the mount board and match the tacked lines to the guidelines on the board. Insert a pin in the mount board at the top centre mark and then - stretching the fabric slightly and following a straight thread - insert a pin in the centre of the opposite (bottom) side. Working out from the centre top, insert pins every 2 or 3cm. Repeat along the bottom edge and again with the two sides.
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3. Turn the board over and fold in the top and bottom of the fabric. Thread a tapestry needle with a long length of strong thread and secure it in the top right corner. Take the thread down and make a small stitch directly below, 1cm from the edge of the bottom flap and begin lacing from top to bottom but travelling from right to left.
4. Continue lacing to the other side and leave the thread end loose. Join a new piece of thread with an overhand knot where required. Then starting at the beginning, pull each lacing thread up one at a time to take out the slack. The overhand knots should slip through the fabric as you go. Attach the thread end by sewing it securely into the fabric. Fold the two sides in neatly and stitch together in the same way. Remove the pins when the lacing is complete.
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Overhand Knot
Place the two thread ends together to make an overhand knot as shown.
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Finding The Best Position
Questions to ask yourself when you are working out what size frame and mount board to use: Do you want the frame to touch the edge of the cross stitch or do you prefer an unstitched border around your design when framed? Is your design square or rectangular? A square design looks best with the same size border all round it, but a rectangular design looks better if you add a little extra (say, 10%) to the bottom measurement. When using a ready-made frame, position it over the finished stitching and decide whether it looks better in the middle or closer to the top.
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