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Cleaning and Framing Cross Stitch Tips
If you are
looking for information on fabrics, cottons, needles, stitching tools or
stitching instructions please visit out
cross stitch instructions page
here.
Cleaning
Framing your Cross Stitch
Finishing a Cross Stitch Card
Finishing a Cross Stitch
Bookmark
Cleaning
It is a good
idea to wash the completed project when you are finished to freshen the
colours, remove any dirt and skin oils from the fabric.
If you have
used DMC cottons, Anchor or Madeira these are colourfast up to 95 degrees
celsius. However if you have used cheaper cottons these can run. To test
before you wash, slightly dampen a paper towel and place onto your stitched
work. If colours come off than it would not be colourfast so it would be
best not to wash your cross stitch.
To wash your
finished work wash in lukewarm water with a little mild soap. Don't leave it
to soak but swish it through the water then rinse it well in warm, then cool
water.
Remove the excess water by placing the cross stitch onto a soft, clean towel
and then let it dry naturally.
When ironing to
avoid flattening the stitches place the work face down onto a clean fluffy
towel on your ironing board. Iron from the back on a medium setting. You can
also place a tea towel or
handkerchief over the back of the stitching to iron if you are worried about
marking the fabric.
Framing your Cross Stitch
I would highly
recommend for my large patterns to have them professionally framed when
finished. You have spent may hours stitching the patterns so you want them
to look their best. It is however the more expensive option so below are
some tips to framing your own cross stitch.
When purchasing
a frame choose a frame that compliments your design you want a frame that is
not to large that it distracts from your work. Generally the glass is not
used in frames for cross stitch. If you are concerned about staining you can
lightly spray scotchguard over your completed work.
First you will need to stretch and mount your
work before it is put into the frame.
It is best to have a padded mount to display
your work, if you are going to use glass in your frame you should not used a
padded mount though. Use foamcore board which you can purchase at an arts
and crafts shop or any mounting board that is easy to cut and pins can be
inserted into it. Make sure the mounting board is acid free.
Using a sharp
knife cut the mounting board to the size of your frame with the glass
removed. Cut a piece of wadding the same size as your mounting board and
place it on top then place your completed cross stitch over that and centre
it.
Using pins, pin your cross stitch down along the
edges of the board, start in the middle of each side and pin towards to
corners. Stretching the fabric as you go and making sure the work remains
centred.
Try to position the pins along the same line of
aida holes along the top and bottom and left to right to keep it really
straight. When you are happy with the positioning trim the excess fabric to
about 2 inches (5cm) around all edges.
There are two method to securing the excess
fabric to the back of your mounting board. You can either tape it down with
a strong masking tape or use the lace method with strong thread as below.
Once you are happy with the results you can then
remove the pins from the edges of the board.
Then place the mounting board into your frame
and place the backing of the frame in and use gummed paper tape or masking
tape to seal around the edges at the back.
If you use a non padded mounting board you may
also like to use matting inside your frame first. Choose a colour that
compliments your cross stitch design so try to find a mat colour that has a
similar shade to a colour found in your cross stitch.
For more tips about framing the
websites below have some useful information.
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/needlework/framing-needlework.shtml
http://hometown.aol.com/hblossomxs/frame.html
http://gra.midco.net/jane.skretvedt/Jane/framing.html
Finishing a Cross Stitch Card
There are many blank cards you can
purchase online or in craft shops which are suitable to use to make cross
stitch greeting cards.
If you would
prefer to make your own below are the instructions. You can also use these
instructions to mount your work using premade cards.
First step is
choosing a cardboard colour that would compliment your work. It is useful to
take your completed design to the craft shops with you so you can see what
it looks like against the cardboard.
It is helpful
to create your greeting card in a standard size that will fit into a
standard envelope.
Measure the
height of the card you are wanting to fit into your envelope and the width.
Times the width by three and cut out a piece or cardboard. Alternatively you
can purchase one three sided blank card and use this as your template.
Once you have
your piece of cardboard mark along the back to divide the card equally into
three and then fold the left hand side into the middle and fold the right
hand side into the middle.
Open the card
up again and in the middle section you need to mark out the size of the
opening to display your cross stitch. There are various stamps you can
purchase at cross stores to make this easier for you, they also come in
different shapes such as oval, square, heart, star etc. Just make sure that
your pattern will be clearly visible. You can practice on a spare piece of
cardboard first.
Once you have
cut out the shape in the middle section either with a card stamp or by hand
with a sharp cutting knife, you are ready to display your cross stitch.
First lay down
double sided tape all around the back of the opening in the card then being
careful to centre your design, lay your design onto the double sided tape.
You may also
like to lay a piece of wadding or white paper the same size as your stitched
piece behind your stitched piece to stop the colour of the cardboard showing
through. Then fold the left hand side in and secure with glue.
Finishing a Cross Stitch Bookmark
You can purchase either premade cross stitch
bookmarks or cross stitch Aida Band to make your cross stitch bookmarks on.
To make your own cross stitch bookmarks there
are quite a few different methods around. I describe some different ones for
you below and I have provided links to useful websites.
For a very basic bookmark. Once you have
finished stitching cut around around 1cm of the bookmark, place some
interfacing on the back of the bookmark and iron. Then place another piece
of aida or coloured material on the back. You can then stitch or overlock
the edges if needed to stop fraying.
A member
M Kwakkenbos
has provided a very useful description of how to finish off bookmarks.
Basically you take the left and right side of the bookmark bring them to the
front and stitch along the edge and then turn the bookmark inside out to
hide the stitching and fray the top and bottom of the bookmark.
Here is a picture of her description.
Click here for links to other websites with
useful ways to finish off bookmarks.
http://crossstitch.about.com/od/finishedproducts/ss/bookmarkprojct.htm
http://www.cyberstitchers.com/Resources/FinishingTechniques/FrayedEdge.asp
http://crafts.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Cross_Stitch_Bookmarks
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