Time for a new project!

Just finished up Strawberry Garden!  It was a lot of fun to stitch and I will definitely be doing another Blackbird Designs project in the future, but next up is actually a Christmas chart from Blue Ribbon Designs called Poinsettias and Pines. 

Question for all you cross stitchers out there -- what do you do about framing completed cross stitch projects?  Do you do it yourself and if so is there any good tutorial on the web?  I haven't had much luck finding anything.  Or perhaps you leave it to the professionals -- if so, who?  Do you use the local frame shop or are there people who specialize in needlework framing?  I have two completed projects that I need to have framed, so any advice would be great!

Comments

[Veronica]

This is how I used to frame all my old cross-stitching projects. After finding the appropriately sized frame and mat, and cleaning the glass...

1. Wash the cross-stitched piece and iron it from the back on a towel.
2. Find or cut an appropriately sized piece of cardboard (yours can be acid-free, mine probably weren't) to fit in the frame. If you're worried about it showing through, you can cover it in a bit of fabric to match the color of the cross-stitch fabric.
3. Wrap the embroidery over the cardboard and using sewing thread, sew down the corners and criss-cross long stitches over the back to hold the sides down. Yes, it looks messy on the back, but nobody will ever see that part.
4. Insert into frame and hang!

This probably isn't the way the pros do it, but it was simple and worked just fine.

[rebecca]

i love blackbird designs. i have several of their patterns because their aesthetic appeals to me much more so than some of the more "cutesie" cross stitch pattern creators. i've used a professional framer to frame one or two pieces, a local framer. and then a colleague loaned me the bits and pieces to frame my own, but i've been too silly and hesitant to ever frame it myself.

[toni]

I tried Michael's to frame a wedding piece I was doing but they did a terrible job so I had it redone at a Ben Franklins with superb results. They even counted the threads on either side of the suede matte to make sure it was even. Swoon. Pics of that project are on the bottom row of this page: http://tmooka.net/gallery/corsets.htm

[Gina B.]

I also love the Blackbird Designs charts. Very simple yet elegant. I will have to look for Strawberry Garden.
I use a local framer and have had some fabulous framing done!
My current project is Bent Creek's Summer Row. I just ordered the supplies for Lizzie Kate's Double Flips for my summer stitching.

[ohsewcrafty]

I do most of my own framing, since really good custom framing is very expensive, and I've gotten mixed results in the past when I've gotten it done by Michael's, AC Moore, etc. I usually buy a custom sized frame, glazing (acrylic), and foam board from an online framing store- there are a few with good prices. I cut my own mats- it's not hard, with some practice. I pin my work to the foamboard and then lace across the back- both horizontally and vertically- before removing the pins.