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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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