How Servo Frames His Work

[Servotron]

So I've been asked in the past about how I frame my work, so now I have taken pictures as I go through framing my latest piece. This guide is kind of image heavy, so I will be hiding them behind spoiler tags.

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This is the piece I will be framing, it is my Mario Nursery piece.

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First we need a frame. I did think about having one made, but it is much easier and cheaper to buy one that is slightly bigger than your pattern. This 14 x 11 inch frame cost me £3.25.

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This is what I use to make the coloured frame that sits inside the proper frame. It is called Mounting Board and should be available from an art shop. It is a thick card (about 1.5mm thick) and normally comes in big A1 sized sheets. One side is normally coloured while the other side is blank, though sometimes it is printed with the maker's name. I favour a light grey colour as it doesn't overpower the work and works with everything, but you should choose something that compliments your work. I had already cut this piece in half for something else.

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First thing to do is to mark off the piece that I will be cutting out for the frame. Here you can see I've marked off a rectangle 14 x 11 inches wide. A big ruler can be helpful.

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Here I have marked off the area to be cut out. When I designed my pattern I knew it would be 6 x 12 inches, so it was merely a case of working out how much room to leave either side.

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This is the tool you need to cut out the centre of the frame. It has a blade mounted at an angle to cut through the mounting board. I think it is just called a Mount Board Cutter. This is just a cheap one where you have to insert and remove the blade every time you use it and put it away.

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This how you use the cutter. You need something straight to brace the cutter against, in my case, a big ruler. You will need to put some weight on the ruler, because you don't want the cutter to slip and give you wavy lines. The cutter should have two prongs that rest against the ruler, and the blade should pierce the board about 2mm from the ruler. This is ok, because a bit of overlap on your piece will make sure that none of the fabric shows through. The ruler should be held down on the outside of the line, with the cutter resting inside the rectangle. You want the cutter to start just outside the rectangle, then pull downward towards you and finish just outside the rectangle. By doing this you ensure that the middle of the frame will come out cleanly. The cutters normally come with instructions to show you, and it takes a little bit of practise to get it right.

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This is the reverse side with the centre of the frame cut out. As the cutter cuts at an angle, you can see that it leaves a small thin stripe of white.

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This is the frame cut out. As you can see, the right side hasn't cut very well. This is because the blade on my scalpel was a little blunt and I didn't realise. It doesn't matter, as the sides would be covered by the frame, but it is important to make sure that your blades are sharp.

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This is something I have only recently started doing. I use some double-sided tape to stick the frame to the pattern. It make it easier to move the pattern to the frame without it getting wrinkled. I don't know if it is harmful to the piece, but the tape isn't on the stitching, and it does make it easier to move after it has been ironed. It is also easier to take out of the frame, should you need to.

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A shot of the front with the card frame on.

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A shot of the back, the piece sitting in the frame. (Just for blooddha)

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And the final framed piece, ready to be hung up.

I hope this is helpful to you all. -Servo.

[theBoz]

cool! I use construction paper instead for pearler projects (see Rainbow Invaderz)

[blooddha]

Thanks for the tuto
And tell me, how can you stitch this fast ? You always have new pattern !
oh and btw where did you buy your cutter for cheap? I only find expensive ones like for 40$.

[LiquidKarma]

Thanks for the tuto
And tell me, how can you stitch this fast ? You always have new pattern !

Serv has a robotic arm.........

[Famicom]

Hey this is a good tutorial i had a hell fo atime framing my first one. sorry if you posted this elsewhere but do you have a pattern of this anywhere?

[Efrite]

I`m so happy to find this. I was going to attempt to frame my rose bush cross stitch without knowing how, but this is much handier!

[Mak327]

Thanks for the tutorial. I've been paying out the wazoo to have them framed nicely or used the pre-cut mats available at Michaels. This definitely will give me more flexibility.

[comatosegrl]

Hey I was just wondering, do you use the glass when framing your pieces?

[Servotron]

Hey I was just wondering, do you use the glass when framing your pieces?

Yes, I leave the glass in when I frame them.

[kuja.girl]

Very nice tutorial!
My mother used to work in a frame shop and has a professional mat board cutter so I am spoiled when it comes to frames and mat boards but I have to say, your method gets the job done very well!
I know you already cautioned against the double sided tape so here's all I'm going to say - over time it will dry out and cause discoloration on the surfaces it is attached too. You can buy archival double sided tape, which by definition, should last 100 years before causing problems.