Lining up a cross-stitch

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Rainbow
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Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Rainbow »

How precise should you be in lining up a cross-stitch? As well as the image sitting square in the mount, should the weave run parallel to the edge of the mount? I feel as if it should, but I'm in the throes of pinning the canvas prior to lacing, and I'm having trouble making the weave run parallel on all four sides. Am I right to persevere, or am I being too fussy? I don't do much cross-stitch work so I'm not sure what the norm is...?
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Not your average framer »

No, I don't think that you are being too fussy! I am fussy too! The problem is that people are either right handed, or left handed and this often pulls the cross stitch out of square a bit and sometimes you have to correct this by dampening the reverse of the cross stitch a little and stretching the cross stitch back to square a little and letting it dry, while it is stetched into a better shape before trying to properly stretch it again.

This Idea is to get the back of the cross stich a bit damp, not soaking wet. It's a bit difficult trying to describe this so you will need to experiment a little. I also have a Thorpe international tapestry stretcher for less easy to stretch tapestries which is much easier to use on more difficult cross stitches, by the Thorpe international stretchers are not available any more. They were sold by Lion, but I got mine a lot later as second hand on the forum.

It's the only secondhand one I've ever come across, so they are not easy to find. Years ago cross stitches were straightened by blocking.

https://www.wikihow.com/Block-a-Needlepoint-Project

The board method in the above link is probably the most easy and straight forward to do. Varnishing the board and it's edges, then leaving it to dry before blocking with it may help to prevent any acid contamination from the wood from affecting the cross stitch while it is damp. Wrapping the board in heavy duty polythene probably works too.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Tudor Rose »

Rainbow wrote: Mon 14 Sep, 2020 12:06 pm As well as the image sitting square in the mount, should the weave run parallel to the edge of the mount?
Ideally the answer is, yes it should.

If it is a bit out of square, I find that lacing it quite loosely first, then lightly pinning it along all the sides into position under the necessary tension works well. You then tension the lacing to get it to hold to the position where it is pinned. Then remove the pins and repeat in the other direction. Sounds fussy, but it is a pretty quick and easy method to solve the different tensions you might need as there are usually areas of fabric with no stitches that want to behave differently to a heavily stitched area. If you wear nitrile gloves or similar, you can ease the fabric into position more easily than you can with bare hands to get the positioning right when you do the pinning.

The only reason I loosely lace before putting any pins in, is because otherwise I'm forever tangling the thread on the pins as I go back and forth. But you can pin first and lace afterwards and get exactly the same result.

The one thing I would never do with a cross stitch is wet or damp it. You use a blocking board and various methods to relax the stitching and fabric with needlepoint (tapestry) to square it, but this isn't usually something you need to to with cross stitch. That's because the fabric needlepoints are usually done on has a size added which relaxes with heat from the stitchers hands causing it to go out of square unless a framework is used when stitching. As Mark said, you can tell if they are left or right handed by the direction it goes in. Remember also that if any moisture is being added (steam or water) then you need to test for colourfastness first.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Not your average framer »

Hi Jo,

That's interesting, I did not know about the size softening with the heat from your hands, I've learn''t something new today. Thanks very much for that.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Abi »

I'm a cross stitcher as well as dabbling in frames.

If a customer is using standard Anchor or DMC thread, which most will be doing. It is colour fast. If they are using cheap nasty thread then all bets are off. It is very unusual for keen cross stitchers to use cheap thread because the colour match between batches is really bad.

Metallic thread is a little interesting, I have washed it, but I'm always a bit nervous about it. Antique stuff I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

I close stitch my work so there aren't blank areas with no stitching which do complicate things. I also wash my work prior to framing it.

I use luke warm water and a drop of fairy liquid. I lay the cross stitch flat in a clean enamel baking tray. I shimmy it around, I do not fold, bend or scrub, just let the worst of the dirt drop off, then allow it to dry naturally on a flat surface, usually with a towel under it. Any form of wringing or squeezing the water out is a definite no no.

Each cross stitch takes me a year to produce, and costs about £200 in materials. I know cross stitchers can be funny about paying for framing, but trust me, even a sampler of a moderate size has at least £50 of materials tied up in it. This is not a cheap hobby.

Washing the cross stitch also has the advantage of taking out a lot of the skew of the fabric caused by 12 months of handling.

Hopefully that slightly different perspective is helpful
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Tudor Rose »

I’m a keen stitcher myself and always wash my own cross stitches before framing them. In most cases I advise customers with modern pieces to do that too before framing, but to colour test the threads first just to be on the safe side. Oils from your hands can over time can show as yellowing patches on the fabric, so washing them is a good idea.

What I won’t do is ever wash or wet a customer’s cross stitch. Just in case. I have known colours to run even on some seemingly good quality threads - had one in from a customer just the other day where the reds had run and stained the fabric around the stitches a gentle hue of pink. Putting a colour catcher sheet in the water can help in those cases.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by JonathanB »

Interesting discussion and lots of useful points. Like Jo, I was always trained never to moisten cross stitches. I am very clear with customers that if they want an item washed or ironed that they do this before bringing the item in for framing. I have never had an item that could not be squared with careful pinning and stitching. This work is time consuming and you need to make sure you are charging appropriately for this work and sell its value to your customers. A tricky cross stitch is much less frustrating when you are being properly compensated.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Abi »

Tudor Rose wrote: Mon 14 Sep, 2020 9:41 pm I’m a keen stitcher myself and always wash my own cross stitches before framing them. In most cases I advise customers with modern pieces to do that too before framing, but to colour test the threads first just to be on the safe side. Oils from your hands can over time can show as yellowing patches on the fabric, so washing them is a good idea.

What I won’t do is ever wash or wet a customer’s cross stitch. Just in case. I have known colours to run even on some seemingly good quality threads - had one in from a customer just the other day where the reds had run and stained the fabric around the stitches a gentle hue of pink. Putting a colour catcher sheet in the water can help in those cases.
One of mine was largely stitched on holiday, sunscreen is a bitch to remove lol. You've clearly got qualifications that outstrip my basic trial and error stuff. Do you have a detergent you prefer over fairy liquid? I have used a specialist one on one occasion which seemed quite good, but I'm struggling to find it again and fairy seems to do the job.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Tudor Rose »

I’ve tried a few over the years but Persil Silk and Wool liquid for delicates has been my preferred one for a while.

Same routine you do with soaking and allowing it to clean without ruining the stitching. Then lots and lots of rinsing to be sure all the detergent is out before drying flat on a white towel.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Rainbow »

Thank you very much for all these contributions, I've learnt a lot.
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Steve N »

I find that sometimes you just can not line up/ square cross-stitch, depends on the design, how much of the canvas has been stitched and how tight they have stitched it, sometims you get little puckers between stitched areas, which if you try to stretch out, makes the rest of the deisgn to bend out towards the outer edge :sweating: you just have to comprise sometimes and talk over with the customer
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Re: Lining up a cross-stitch

Post by Not your average framer »

I have a few regular customers, who bring in cross stiches and other items of needlework from time to time and several of them come in with the needlework item and I cut either some mountboard, or foam board and they take it away and lace it themselves, then bring it back for me to frame it. I don't do this for everyone, but these customers really know what they are doing and the standard of the work, does not detract from my own work which I do. Another lady machine sews bits of cloth and dried bits of various plants onto mount board and then gets me to make ready made box frames for her to sell them in, via her website. It's really amazing what different people in a small town are getting upto in a small rural town. We also have a lady who embroider and paints with acrlic paints onto denim fabric. She does pet portrait comissions on denim and them look amazing.

As far as I know many of these people who make needlework related stuff are completely self taught, which is really impressive when you see the quality of the work produced. The amount of work produced in both the town and the rural areas around it, is quite prolithic. Not all of them want me to frame their work, but many want a ready made frame made to their requirements in stead. Country people are often careful with their money, particularly as much of this stuff is produced to sell for profit. There is also quite a social aspect to this as many of these items are entered in to various categories to be judged at our town's agricultural show, which does not do me any harm because people ask where the frames come from and I get referrals. Nearly all of these frames are hand finished, by many are quite basic and nothing remarkable.

Framing needlework is something that I would encourage others to make the most of particularly because of the degree of repeat business ans refurals it can generate if you are good at giving the customers exactly what they want.
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