If you’re anything like me you started a new hobby during March 2020 when the United States was shut down. For me, it was Animal Crossing and Sourdough Bread; For many of our customers though, it was cross-stitch. While my sourdough sits in the freezer and my island is covered in weeds, it is evident by the growing number of customers sharing their work with us, that cross-stitching is here to stay.
I know from friends that when you begin a project it isn’t just the act of stitching that is cathartic, but it’s the community of people that you get to be a part of as well as how you finish that project. While there are many ways to finish a cross-stitch project, our personal favorite won’t come as a surprise: We love to see them framed! Read on to find out how to frame a cross-stitch piece.
Framing Cross-Stitch Pieces
While a large portion of our business is eCommerce, we still do quite a bit of interesting projects and more specialized framing within our retail space in Cincinnati. They are the experts when it comes to providing tips to help you frame your pieces. We talked with our Retail Store Manager, Patrick Espy, to get you the best possible tips for framing!
Supplies
These are some of his personal recommendations. When purchasing a frame on our website, he recommends utilizing our Design A Frame feature. With this feature, you’re able to upgrade your backing to Black Foam Core. This foam core differs from just the regular upgraded foam core on the custom tab of the website by being acid-free. The acid-free will prevent the stitching fabric and the floss itself from discoloring over time.
He recommends utilizing straight pins with your foam core to pin back the edges of the fabric. Begin at the top with a pin and pull down tight inch by inch. When it is time to fold over the edge, simply fold over like you’re making a corner of the bed.
Framing Choices
When choosing a frame style to go with your cross-stitch, it is entirely dependent on whether or not the piece has any beads on it or not. For those with beads, you’ll want one of our deeper frames such as our In-Depth Series. This will provide you additional space to accommodate the 3D nature of the beads.
Non-beaded cross-stitches will benefit from a colored frame that accentuates the color of the floss. if you’re unsure which frame will do that Patrick recommends sticking with a natural wood frame or neutral colors such as black or white.
When selecting your glazing options you almost always want to go with Glass or Styrene. A cross stitch will acquire dust when not protected. Lucky for you, when you choose Design a Frame you will have the option to choose Glass (depending on the size), Styrene, or Acrylic!
We hope these tips on how to frame a cross-stitch piece will help you on your next project. If you end up using one of our frames to finish your piece, share it with us on social media or in the comments! We always love seeing our finished pieces, The one below is from our customer, Yun!
A more secure option than straight pins are floral pins – the ones in a staple shape with longer ends.
When stretching I like to begin in the center and follow the same thread working out to the corners and side to side. Black foam board may help hide poorly fastened ends but may also show thru light fabric. I also like to use frame spacers or acid free matting to create an air pocket and preventing the glass from resting on the stitches.