On topic - quilt batting for soft finishing

You could use that flatter quilt battnig - the heavy cotton kind - or maybe a couple of layers of felt?

Linda

I'll try it and let you all know - I'm hoping that I might wrap a piece of mat board with the batting and go from there.

Cheryl

How about a couple of layers of gauze pads? They should be just about the right size for a scissors fob.

Lucille

That's what I use for a soft finish - acid-free mat board and cotton batting. Cut the cotton batting just 1/4 inch or so larger than the mat board so it covers the cut edge.

I also find I get a really nice finish by covering one mat board with cotton batting and stitched work for the top (lace the stitched piece over the mat board as though you're framing it); cover an identical piece of mat board with cotton batting and backing fabric (also laced), then whip stitch or blind stitch the two edges together. Looks very neat when finished. (Cover edge with cording, if desired.)

The cotton quilt batting doesn't have a lot of loft.

Sue

Speaking of soft finishing, I had several pieces that need assembly and spent last weekend kitting them up with mat board, batting, cording, etc. I ran out of mat board, and took my 40% off coupon to AC Moore to get another acid-free mat board.

Well, it must have been a full moon or something, because *nothing* went right! I arrived at AC Moore when the store was almost empty, except for one young man picking up a HUGE piece he'd had framed -- huge being four feet square, or thereabouts -- and there was some problem with the checkout/pickup process (involving computer coding), so it monopolized the framing dept people for about ten minutes. I saw a row of matboards in slots, with prices - a "help yourself" display, and I asked the clerk when she looked up while on hold with the computer people (her assistance to that customer involved some amount of hurry-up-and-wait) , "Are these acid-free?" "No, she said, they're craft board." So I waited. And waited. And waited. Probably five minutes later, she was finished with the other customer, and she said, "Thanks for your patience. Can I help you?" "I'd like a piece of acid-free mat board, please."

Her reply: "We don't sell acid-free mat board. We only have craft board." (She couldn't have said that five minutes ago?)

So I took my coupon and went to the Michael's across the street in search of acid-free mat board.

The young man behind the counter got it quickly and volunteered to ring me up at the framing dept. register. "I have a coupon," I said, to which he replied, "I'm sorry, we don't take coupons for custom framing dept. stuff. Even mat boards." Even when I protested that I'd used coupons EVERY time I bought a matboard - four or five times in the past couple of years, he insisted that he'd worked there for six years and they could never honor coupons.

so the lesson you all can carry away is: Don't get rung up at the framing dept. Just get a piece of paper saying how much it is, and take it to the checkout in the front of the store, where they don't have such rules and will gladly honor your coupon!

Sue

Honey, now we're not allowed to take anything BUT our coupons at Michaels.

Cheryl

I use a cotton (now probably polyester) ball - one is about right for a fob.

Alison

When did that change? Was it just recently? Because I used another store's coupon just 2-3 weeks ago, IIRC. (Michael's,AC Moore, and JoAnn's coupons have been pretty interchangeable at all those stores in the past.)

Sue

I was referring only to framing coupons. The change was you must have the coupon with you to use it.

Cheryl