Frame It Yourself

The question for many of us stitchers is how we're going to finish our project once we're done stitching it.  We can find all kinds of finishing methods online, but probably the most common one is to frame it for displaying on a wall.  If you've ever had something professionally framed, you know all about the sticker shock involved with that.  There is no question that the quality of professional framing is excellent, with countless choices of mats and frames.  But if you stitch a lot and want to frame a lot, it's good to know another alternative so that you don't have to eat store brand macaroni and cheese every night because your food budget is going to the local frame shop.

I found American Frame online and made the decision to purchase some framing supplies for a small project to frame by myself.  It was surprisingly easy, and I've since framed many projects.  This company has always supplied me with very good quality frames and supplies to do the job correctly.

This past weekend I put my Folk Eggs into a frame and photographed the steps to help you to understand just how easy it was to do.

First, I placed the mounting board (foam core) on a clean surface and then laid the finished work on top.  Then I measured around the edges to get an even margin around the edge of the work, and began to pin.  I use silk or satin pins which go into the side of the foam core easily.  I left them sticking out for the time being. Keep measuring to make sure that the work is centered.

Next, I added pins, still measuring and when it's even all around I start pushing the pins in all the way.

Now is the moment of truth. Place the pinned work into the frame to make sure (once again) that everything is even.  Now is the time to make any adjustments.  Just take pins out a couple at a time and adjust the fabric where needed.  You don't have to unpin the whole thing.  Who wants to do that?

Looks pretty good so far

You can see that I don't have much of a space between the edge of the stitching to the edge of the mounting board.  That's because I chose not to mat this particular project.  You'll have more of a margin if you choose to mat. Now let's do something with all of that fabric.  You can trim some of it off, or leave it as is if it's a manageable amount.  I left mine as is.  Time to start taping.

I use about 1" of Terrifically Tacky (double sided) tape to stick the corners to the mounting board.  Don't pull so tight that the corners pop through the fabric!

Fold edges in one at a time and use enough double sided tape to adhere the edge.

All taped down and placed into the frame

Looks like I could have trimmed some of that fabric to have a little less bulk.  Yeah, probably, but it's not going to affect the framing and I'm not about to go and untape and unpin everything after all that.  Uh-uh.

Here's the part where I need a little help.  Those little glazier points are great for holding the work into the frame but they can be really difficult to put into the wood.  So Mark is my trusty helper at this point.  As a bonus, he also puts the sawtooth hanger on the frame.

Next, you need some kind of backing on that to keep everything clean for many years.  I use plain brown kraft paper.  Well, mine has little stars on it.  Just cut a piece a little smaller than the frame.  Brush on a light coating of white glue on the back of the frame and stick that paper on.  Then spray a little water on the paper.  Really.  When it dries, it's nice and flat.  Just a light spray, don't soak it.

And here's what I ended up with!  Once again, I'm very happy with this frame.  It's kind of a distressed, whitewashed look with tiny bows all around.  It goes perfectly with the Folk Eggs.  And, miracle of miracles, it's all ready for Easter!

As I said before, I chose not to use a mat in this framed piece.  I also decided not to use glass or plexiglass.  I use glass for some projects and both mat and glass for others.  American Frame sells these items, and also cuts everything to order for your project.

I hope that this little how-to helps you if you want to become a DIY framer.  This is just how I do framing, and I'm sure that there are other methods to each of my steps.  I'm always open to suggestions for new or better ways of doing things, and this is no exception.  So let me know what you think!