Large needlecraft

[DEEPJOY]

Hi All

I have a 30 inch X 24 inch needlecraft to frame.

The customer knows the many techniques to frame this style of work and preferes the lacing method. I would however, be more comfortable using an adhesive board.

If I lace it what board would I use, as I am sure with the size the board may bow due to the size if I use the lacing method.

If I use an adhesive board, which type is best suited?

[Justintime]

I would attach a piece of cotton rag board to a piece of 5mm foam board with EVA glue and lace it with the rag board facing the back of the work.
I wouldn't adhere it, unless the customer insisted, but I'd still advise against it.

[Not your average framer]

Same here! If there don't mind paying for the cotton board, otherwise many of our customers want to save a bit of money and choose conservation board instead.

[Steve N]

It really depends on how square the needlework is. if it is almost square then use a couple of bits of cotton rag board stuck together, if you stick ragmount to foamcore board, then when you lace up at the back, the material is touching the foamcore board .

[DEEPJOY]

The customer wants a price to stick it down.

The needcraft is not that square

What adhesive board should I use and is it pH neutral

Is there a chemical you can get which when sprayed on it relaxes the artwork and makes it easy to stretch. or is it just water?

If I lace it what thread shall I use?

[DEEPJOY]

Sorry to be a a pain

The glass size will be 830mm H X 670mm W.

How long in minutes / hours should it take to lace this size of needcraft?

[prospero]

I did a big(ish) one recently and laced it on 2.5 MDF faced with polypropylene film (wrapped around the edges).
No need to stick the film, just tack it with an ATG or d/s tape in places.

For thread I'd recommend waxed linen thread. The thicker grades are very strong.

[Not your average framer]

I use loads of polypropylene film, it's just so useful. I've got a big 800mm wide 600 metres long roll, I got from a local packaging supplier and I've got a really old, almost 5ft wide Rototrim cutter which is a very easy way to cut the polypropylene film. A nice straight clean cut, does not tend to start tears in the film, while you are handling the film. You may be better at cutting the film that I am with scissors that I am, but using scissors after a stroke is not as easy as it once was. I can't reccomend stocking a big roll of polypropylene enough.

[Tudor Rose]

For any needlepoint (I am presuming that's what it is) that isn't square then your first job is to block it out to get it square. That will take a bit of time and patience and if it is very bad it might need multiple adjustments over a few days to get it completely right. You can create your own blocking board using foamboard and pins or similar. There is no chemical to use, some people use water spray, others use steam. Whatever you do, check for colourfastness before you put any moisture near it in case of colour run. I prefer to use steam, but never touching the actual surface of the material with the steam iron, always at a distance. And anything like that do it from the back so that it is the knots etc that you are relaxing the most.

For lacing - time taken will vary hugely from framer to framer so that's a hard one to judge. And if you aren't used to doing it, think of the time you might take and maybe double it for hassle time. Once you get used to doing it, its quick and easy (relatively). We usually lace over thick conservation mountboard with the edges burnished to round them off. Adding a layer of wadding on top of the board also helps to smooth the appearance especially if there are a lot of knots etc on the reverse.

The thread to use should be strong enough to do the job, but weaker than the fabric so that the thread breaks before the fabric tears. And you shouldn't be relying on the lacing to square, that is done by blocking it beforehand. So it shouldn't need so much tension on it that it is pulling a thick board out of shape.

I certainly wouldn't offer to stick it down - the adhesive from the stick will penetrate into the fibres and cause lasting damage and if the back is anything but very smooth it can make for a very lumpy effect on the surface. Over time the adhesive will dry out, stain the fabric and stitches where its penetrated it and lose grip with it so that it offers no support.

These things take hours, days, weeks, sometimes years to create. They are worth taking the time to do them right. And the stitched craft today is the antique collectors item of the future. Think how valuable Victorian samplers are these days. Even very simple, basic ones.

[Not your average framer]

I have a Thorpe International tapestry stretching machine, which I find very useful for stretching various types of needle art. It gives a very controlled amount of stretching via a cranked handle and two sides can be straighten at a time by sliding one of the gripper bars from side to side. I like to avoid stretching the needle art all the way in one go. Instead, I prefer to do it in stages and to observe, how things are shaping up in between the stages of stretching the needle art. I can access both sides of the needle art from both sides while it is on the stretching machine. It is not necessary to dampen the needle art too much in one go. It's more a little by little approach and I can do it both by staem, or water, depending what is required.

Wool tapestries, can be surprisingly difficult and often need a bit more humidity to get the desired effect. Steam sprayed on to the back often penetrates better than wiping it over with a very slightly damp cloth. Relaxing the threads in the needle art is not something to be rushed, let it happen at it's own pace and you won't find that it fights you and does it own thing after taking it off the machine. I like to let it rest a while, on a flat surface after it has had time for any residual dampness disperse and let it settle a see what it does, before I decide if it needs a bit more stretching. My wife does the lacing and she is very good at it. I was originally taught how to do stretch by the old fashioned blocking and stretching method, but I much prefer using the machine myself.

The Thorpe International machines are no longer available as far as I know, but I think that they are well worth getting, if they come up for sale as secondhand. Oddly enough, plenty of those who have bought one of these machine, have hardly bothered to use them, but they do take a bit of getting used to, in order to use them as intended. It's not all about applying lots of tension, just for the sake of it, but gentle stretching and not to much moisture all in one go. The lacing does not need to have to much tension, the stretching is supposed to have taken care of the need for excessive tension, The lacing is supposed to last a lifetime and if the tension is excessive it is a bad thing, for longevity.