help needed with completed cross stich

[sixstringhook]

Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone could help. I recently finished the Z is for Zelda pattern and i did it on white aida. The problem is i want it on a black back ground and dont want to have to stitch the entire background. I was wondering if there was any way to cut out around the completed pattern and then stitch it to black for framing. Is there a better way of going about this? I am concerned that if i were to cut the pattern out it will cause the pattern to fall apart. Has anyone done this? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[katdun]

I'd be too scared to cut around your finished stitching because of fraying. Short of re-stitching it on black aida, your best bet probably would be to fill in your background with black stitches. I've heard of people painting the aida, but you'd have to be super careful not to paint your stitches along with it.... Or could you sew a piece of black fabric above and around your stitched area to make it look like a mat almost, or find a mat to fit if you're framing it anyway?

[Digitlanalog]

I would bite the bullet and just stitch it in, you spent alot of time on the project, I'm sure! ( I really wanna stitch that one ) and it would be a sin to risk messing it up by cutting it
It will really look its best if you want it black to just get to stitching, I bet it will go fast just filling it in!
The matting idea is pretty good too!! :3 Best of luck and make sure to let us see how it turns out!!

[Lord Libidan]

I've never had the problem myself, but a friend of mine has. He chose a slightly unconventional way, but it turned out pretty classy.
Get black card, and cut the shapes of the stitches out of it, and place it over. It kind of makes the cross stitch stand out a bit.

Other than that, re-stitch it. Cutting it would be very risky.