The Framers Forum

I hate stitching so i will go for any method available to avoid stitching objects onto mountboard - Avery have produced a tacking machine - it uses little nylon tags very similar to the tags used to attach labels to clothing - only much shorter - and it works very well - i can attach a shirt to mountboard in about 15 minutes and the result is brilliant - the tags being almost invisible. the machine has a sharp hollow needle that pushes easily through mountboard - squeeze the trigger and you have the equivilent of a stitch holding the piece in place.

I have used this little machine on a number of different jobs now - it works well on heavier textiles - shirts - floating textiles, i had a oriental textile approx 1mtr square that had to be attached to a board - stitching would have taken ages, using the tacker took just a few minutes and because all work is done from the front you can position the work accuratly and keep it in place whilst you tack - hasnt been as good as i thought it would be with cross stitches or textiles that actually need stretching - but thats lacing not stitching - a very usefull addition to the workshop tool box - Lion sell them.

We too use the Avery 'Tag gun'. The Yanks have something similar called Attach-EZ. It is very quick to use and saves a lot of time over stitching.
But only use the Nylon tags not the Polypropylene tags as they breakdown quicker.
Nylon will also take colour, so you can colour the tags if any are on the surface.
As for attaching Cross Stitch.. No not really. Lacing is far better and gives a more even appearance.

I've seen this machine advertised too. I haven't bought one as yet because of concerns over whether the support given is good enough. I shall be at our FATG branch meeting at Lion South next week, so will try and get a look at one. This sort of thing is used by quilters too for tacking quilts prior to the actual quilting. It will be interesting to see the needle size. I have wondered whether it would be too meaty for more delicate items.