It's time for the font of all wisdom to come to my aid!
I have finished stitching "Carol singers" (Yaaay!) but now comes the hard part. There is a piece of red fabric behind the hardanger section. Any advice on the best way to attach it? There aren't any hints in the pattern directions on this step.
Another question... Since this is the first rather large piece I've done with silk floss, I was pretty diligent about washing my hands before stitching so do you think I can go without having it dry- cleaned? If I don't need to get it cleaned, can I steam iron it?
I await any and all comments and suggestions......
Well, I am one of those who think that no matter how careful you are, you still get body oil on your stitching so it should be laundered or cleaned. I would not ever set an iron to a piece that hasn't been cleaned because the heat will set any sort of unseen oil that is on the piece. It might not be visible now but would show up several years down the road! But then, I'm A FUSSY old GOW and can be a bit bossy on occasion, too :-). If you are going to frame the finished piece, you have different options. You can stretch the red under fabric and attach it to the backing then go back and mount the stitched piece over top. If you are paying someone to frame the piece, they might do it this way but would likely charge you more for mounting two pieces of fabric. I've also been known to use something like Wonder Under fusible web but ONLY along the outer edges of the fabrics because I know I will be trimming that part off once the piece is mounted. Once I have the two fabrics ironed together -- nice and flat, of course -- I will hand sew the pieces together using thread the color of the needlework fabric, taking many very small stitches underneath the hardanger When having anything with hardanger "professionally" mounted & framed, I attach the backing fabric directly to the back of the stitched piece. I usually pin the two pieces together -- making very sure that neither piece is looser than the other and both lay nice and flat -- and then hand baste them, about every 20 stitches in both directions. I remove the pins as I do the basting. Next, I do as explained above -- I use sewing thread the same color as the fabric and hand stitch the two pieces together taking VERY SMALL stitches placed UNDERNEATH the hardanger -- especially the kloster blocks around the cut areas. I stitch a lot because I want to make sure that the two pieces of fabric act as one when stretched and mounted. Make sure that you remove the basting threads, too!! There are likely easier or quicker ways of doing this but as I said, I'm fussy and anal about this type of stuff! Let us know what you decide to do and how it work out, OK?? CiaoMeow >^;;^<
I am not sure yet how it's going to be finished (forgot to mention that), since it's for my sister and I'll let her decide if she wants it framed or as a bell pull. She will be here next week (she lives in WA) and, although it's her Christmas present, I'll show it to her so she can think about what she wants and then let me know. If she's going to frame it, I'll get it stretched onto foam core before she leaves so she can take it back with her.
I forgot to mention that I'm not sure how it's going to be finished. It's a Christmas present for my sister in WA, who will be here next week. I will show it to her and see if she wants to frame it or have it done as a bell pull. If framing, I will mount it on foam core before she leaves so she can take it back with her (she has always paid for her own framing).
Just a quickie - as I'm catching up after returning from San Antonio (ANG seminar) and swamped with stuff to do.
Tia Mary's notes all good. WRT framing - IME with hardanger, or any cutwork, drawn thread - it looks really nice to have fabric behind it, over the foam core. Shop I framed at, we cover the foam core with the fabric, don't actually stitch it to the piece. Thus the blocking of the piece is done normally, and not relying on the fabric background for the blocking. Much easier for the back and forth of being sure things align correctly, on grain, etc. The fabric backing on the foam core can be either sewn threw the foam core (which is common when conserving old textiles) or use archival double sided tape - on the back/wrap of the fabric around the foam core.
WRT cleaning the piece - suggest you rinse some of your silk leftover threads and see if they run. Most silk for needlework is colorfast - you can check the card/tag. Just if there's much red - that's usually the problem. Definitely you can iron the piece - but make sure it's clean first. If the silk isn't bright reds/purples - or overdyed/hand-painted stuff -then you can do the quickie standard wash/swish with non-detergent and rinse clear. If there are just some border areas of the fabric where you were holding it - then you could spot dab/clean them. Roll the piece in a towel, and then you can let it line dry, or put it on a sweater drying rack - til barely damp, and then iron it from the back, face down on clean towel, and use a pressing cloth (old hankie, piece of muslin, etc).
I've been using a lot of silk the last couple of years, and haven't had any issues....yet. Though, I will say, this cleaning thing is a reason that I don't stitch in hand but use some kind of frame - Q-snaps, scrolls, etc - and keep my work covered when not stitching. Seem to have collected a lot of old linen napkins, and some hankies that I use to lay on the piece as a dust cloth. It helps.
OK - got to run - sure the piece is gorgeous, and will check out a picture.....if you've put one up.
Ellice
Who will later tell you guys about the bizarre goldwork class with the incredibly talented Kay Stanis. And the fun 3-d class that Joni Stevenson taught (which included painting tulle, cheesecloth, organza, wonder-under & making wire shapes that got fabric stitched to them and then attached to a piece of np).
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