The Framers Forum

I've got a linen tea towel I want to float mount on some Crescent mountboard. I've never done this, and searching online hasn't given me a clear tutorial.
Could someone please talk me through it as if I'm an idiot!

My main questions are:
Recommendations for thread? I would look for a cotton similar to the white colour on the teatowel.
Tips for sewing - should I use a bradawl to pierce holes in the mountboard? Do I stitch just around the edge?
Will the centre of the teatowel sag?
How taut should I make the tea towel?

Thanks!
TW

Ok I'll start...hopefully the Queen of Fabrics aka Tudor Rose will be along shortly.
I think floating as you describe would be problematic, difficult to achieve a satisfactory finish.
After steaming/ironing obviously, assuming it's a low value replaceable tea towel and not a collectors item, it could be dry mounted onto board. Drytac produce a film suitable for canvas and fabrics. That would make it floatable.

Few questions first:

Does it have a proper hem around all edges?

Can you get it flat with no creases?

Is it a surface float or a raised float?

Yes it has a proper hem around all edges.
I will be able to iron it flat but bring linen I reckon it’s likely to have some natural bumps/waves.
Also it’s a £20 teatowel and is replaceable.
I was thinking surface float, but if raised float is easier I’m open to that too.
I’m seeing this as an experiment and learning process!
Thank you both for your comments so far…

You are already getting proper conservation advice from two of the titans of professioanal picture framing.
So here's me coming in with my own awkward take.

I rather like the 'live appearance' of the folds and wrinkles on the tea towel.
Pulling it all flat would obviously remove all that.
Those of a certain age will remember the existential crisis of when your mum washed and ironed your jeans with a sharp crease down the front.

Since the tea towel is replaceable, you could try turning it over and spraying several light coats of spray-startch onto the back.
After it has dried, drop it onto some sticky board, cut slightly smaller than the towel.

Then you can 'raise mount' that onto a backing board so you now have a magic floating tea towel.

After that it's spacers and all that, etc in the frame.

There has been no conservation advice yet.

Ok, thanks for your answers.

Nice and easy then and fully reversible as a bonus. Surface mounting is the easiest, so let's stick with that.

Flatten it by ironing, may need steam, whatever works. Back in the day everyone ironed tea towels, so it won't look unnatural.
Iron from the back if you are worried about it in any way and make sure the iron is nice and clean.

Next lay it onto the piece of mountboard you are floating it on and get it nicely in position, remember that you have pre-cut it to the glass size of your frame and included appropriate margins/borders. Put some weights on it to stop it moving.

Using a small bradawl or similar, or thick needle, whatever works, carefully punch through pairs of holes, each pair a little bit apart which will be the width of your stitch. Do this all along the length of the top hem at even intervals, get close to both corners. Don't go mad, judge it on the weight of the piece. You want it supported adequately so it doesn't want to sag between stitches but don't over-engineer it.

Then with linen or cotton thread, carefully stitch up though the board, through but stay WITHIN the hem fabric and back down through the board on each pair. Your stitches should NOT be visible from the front. But choose an appropriate colour so they are not visible through that one layer of fabric.

Once that is done, flip the board over and tie off each stitch individually keeping them tight. That way if a thread breaks over time, the whole thing doesn't fall off.

Now you've secured the top hem, you can start reposition it carefully with those weights on top and then make those pairs of holes around all the other three sides. You want enough tension on the fabric that it will be relatively taught so it won't sag, but not so tight it wants to try to bend the board in any way or stress the stitches. Supporting not stretching is the name of the game on this one.

Now work your way around the rest of the hems doing as you did on the top hem. No stitches visible from the front. But the difference is that the stitches when you tie them off should be tight near the top of the piece and slightly (and I just mean slightly) looser the further down towards the bottom you go. Personally I would do one long thread to put all the stitches in place so you aren't having to keep repositioning it and then do the adjustments when you tie off each pair/stitch individually by tieing then trimming the thread off as you work your way down and around. Allowing a bit of looseness in the stitches (and it is only a tiny bit) allows for the fabric to do its thing with temperature/humidity changes. By using cotton/linen thread you are also allowing the threads to expand and contract at the same rate.

Keep checking positioning and tension as you go, but basically that's it.

Once everything is tied off make sure to put a barrier board behind to protect the stitches from acidity in any backing boards.

Best of luck.

To be clear also, the methods suggested by Justin and Dermot are not entirely wrong - it just depends what level you are choosing to frame to and that's why there are Four Levels of Framing. As a framer you can decide what works for your business, it is NEVER for anyone else to dictate that to you. As you say, it is a £20 tea towel and replaceable. But at the same time, it becomes a lot more than a £20 replacement cost to reframe it and the tea towel may not be available in the future. Personally I will reach for a needle and thread whenever possible over bonding something down, but it is horses for courses and dependent on budget and customer preference. This way you have options to use and offer to them and they can decide what matters most to them. Reversibility or price. Make sure to charge accordingly either way for your time and materials.

Thank you all for your replies — particularly you Tudor Rose for such a clear and detailed explanation.

I’m going to try your technique. The worst that can happen is that I’ve used £10 worth of mount board and have pricked my finger.

And only if it’s successful will I order moulding and spacers…

May post it to this thread for critique although I’m already a little scared to do so!

Tudor Rose wrote: Sat 06 Jun, 2026 11:27 am it is NEVER for anyone else to dictate that to you. As you say, it is a £20 tea towel and replaceable. But at the same time, it becomes a lot more than a £20 replacement cost to reframe it and the tea towel may not be available in the future. Personally I will reach for a needle and thread whenever possible over bonding something down, but it is horses for courses and dependent on budget and customer preference. This way you have options to use and offer to them and they can decide what matters most to them. Reversibility or price. Make sure to charge accordingly either way for your time and materials.

Is this to do with my reply above? I can't see any other reason unless something has been deleted. I was only replying to Derrmot's reply where he said "you are already getting proper conservation advice from two of the titans of professioanal picture framing". which was not the case. Maybe I should have quoted that in my reply. Apologies if it was seen as implying something else.

Hadn’t actually spotted your comment John, was just replying to the original question and Justin and Dermot’s suggestions.

Tw_1984 wrote: Sat 06 Jun, 2026 2:32 pm Thank you all for your replies — particularly you Tudor Rose for such a clear and detailed explanation.

I’m going to try your technique. The worst that can happen is that I’ve used £10 worth of mount board and have pricked my finger.

And only if it’s successful will I order moulding and spacers…

May post it to this thread for critique although I’m already a little scared to do so!

You’re very welcome. Glad to be of help.

Tw_1984 please don't be scared to post your finished piece!
On the whole we're a friendly open bunch, willing to learn, share, encourage and be fairly critiqued. This forum suffers from a lack of participation as it is. The idea that people are too scared to share here defeats the purpose of an open forum entirely!
Tudor Rose's advice, it is replies like this that make visits to the forum worth it. Genuine opportunities to learn from each other.
As for vintage frames' enthusiasm, I laughed out loud at the title of "titan" . I may have reached my 10th anniversary of framing but I still have plenty to learn!