Does anyone have any tips for me: I've got a couple of finished projects that I want to mount ready to be framed later on...I was thinking I'd need some thick cardboard and wadding...just wondering if it actually works and how I'd go about it?
Yes it works well with thick cardboard and wading but from my experience I wouldn't do it without purchasing the frame beforehand as you will need the exact measurements.
As far as I know there are 3 different techniques:
a) the "state of the art" one (at least in France!): you tighten and tie the fabric on the back of the cardboard using a "string" I've never tried this one but I know you need to have quite a lot of fabric around your design (I made my first work framed and I was asked to sew extra fabric all around the pattern! It didn't show at the end after framing but was necessary)
b) the easy-way (if you don't mind using glue or tape with your work): you fix the fabric on the back of the cardboard with double-tape or glue
c) there is a kind of plastic tool I bought during a fair but used only once: it a kind of stick with small prongs, you cut it th right length and then you fix the fabric on the prongs (but I found it could damage a bit the fabric because of the tension
Whatever technique you choose, the most difficult part in my opinion is to tighten the fabric with an even tension all around your pattern otherwise the pattern may be distorted.
If someone has a tip for this, I'd love to ear it!
I seriously reccomend you do NOT use cardboard as a backer. Cardboard is full of acids and resins that leach into the fabric over time. This causes everything from discoloration to actually breaking down the fabric itself. IMHO, it's worth paying a bit more and buying either an archival quality backer board or acid-free foam core board. Tape and glue are equally bad for your stitched piece. The pinning and lacing method on an acid-free/archival quality backer is the preferred method for mounting. I've done it once and it was easier than I thought. A Google search will give you a few tutorials. The other methods work short term, but years down the road raise their ugly head. My Mom has a piece that I tape mounted on heavy paste board. About eight years in, staining appeared on the matting and the open areas of fabric showed signs of discoloration. Now, 15 or so years on, the fabric is visibly stained and degraded.
