Framerguy
PFG, Picture Framing God
I have had numerous emails regarding my methods for laying out, mounting, and framing crocheted names. I don’t think that my methods are any different from other framer’s methods but I suspect that some newer framers haven’t had anyone show them how to do this kind of work correctly.
I happened to have a customer bring in a crocheted name so I will attempt to use some rather bad photos and my limited vocabulary to illustrate how this is done. Because it involves a lengthy explanation, I will do the layout and stitching in one thread and the matting and framing in a second thread.
The crocheted name measured 26” long by 7” high. When you measure these names, try to stretch them just enough so that they will be taut but not pulled out of shape. They must not sag when they are hung on the wall. It was done with white crochet thread so that is the material that we will use to stitch it onto the board. I decided to leave a margin around the stitched name of about ½” all around and the mat width on the sides and ends will be 2”. You should check on how small a mat width your brand of oval cutter will handle as that is important when you cut the ends of the top mat as I will illustrate later on. My Fletcher 1000 will not go below 1 ¾” so I must keep that in mind when laying out the design for these pieces.
Material list:
Crescent #7132 Whisper for the top mat
Crescent #1562 Sable for the back mat
Scrap foam core for spacer material
Cotton crochet thread of the appropriate color
Tapestry needle or other type of blunt end needle
Glass
Frame moulding
Miscellaneous supplies for attaching, gluing, and finishing the piece
With the length of the name, the margin, and the mat width, the finished size is 31”long by 12” high. First thing to do is to size your matboards. For this project we do not have to cut the back mat smaller than the top mat because it is going to serve as our mounting board and will be handled separately from the top mat.
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1. Once the boards are sized to 31”x12”, take the mat that the name will be mounted on (the dark brown Sable mat in this case) and turn it over face down. We are going to place pencil marks at the approximate position that the name will be mounted. I do this by adding the width of the mat (2”) plus the width of the margin (1/2”) and I draw pencil lines on all 4 sides at 2 ½”. Then mark the middle of the sides on these pencil lines (as illustrated) to give you some guide marks to line up the name.
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2. Place the crocheted name face down on the back of the board. Most of these names are not even from one end to the other so you want to mark the pinning position exactly as it will be on the face of the board. Hence, we lay out on the reverse of the board with the name face down and mount on the face of the board with the name face up. (I use Moore brand push pins to pin down the crochet) Start by pinning the ends on the center line marks. Use your judgement as to how to do this as some names have 1 point on the very end and some have 2 points on the very end. This name was done in very small points around the edge so it is harder to lay out than one with large points. Locate the beginning of the sides (where the ends and the long sides merge) on each end and count towards the middle to find the middle of the name. Pin that on the center point of one of the long sides. Do the same for the other long side.
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3. Now, using your best judgement begin pinning each point down so that the name is even from top to bottom and end to end. I usually start by pinning the ends of the long sides down and then pinning every other point until I arrive at the middle. Then I go back and pin the ones that I missed. On this example, I only pinned every other point because of their small size and the fact that I am too lazy to stitch all those little points in place!
4. After you have the sides pinned down, pin each of the ends. If they are crocheted in a round shape, try to pin them in a nice arc towards the pin in the center of the end. If they are straight (shaped like an arrowhead), try to keep them as straight as possible. When you are done, you should be able to pick up the board and hold it vertically without the name sagging anywhere.
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5. Now, pull all of the pins out and reverse the board. Place the name face up on the face of the board and tack it down with a few pins to hold it in place. We don’t need to re-pin the entire name on this side. Measure the amount of crochet thread that you will need to stitch down the name (I lay out enough thread on the name to encircle the outside of the name with about a foot to spare) and thread it onto your blunt point needle. You can start stitching anywhere you like. (I am left handed so I start on the left end and stitch to the right) Run the needle up through one of the holes that was made by the pinning, through the correspo9nding point for that hole, then back down through the same hole. Move your needle over a few threads when you go back down through the same hole and don’t pull that loop too tight. You risk pulling the threads of the name through the hole. Leave about 4” or 5” of “tail” hanging from the back side of the board to tie things down at the end of the stitching.
6. Simply continue sewing each point down by passing the needle up through the next hole, through the end of the next point, jumping over a few threads and back down through the same hole. Continue around the name until you come back to the starting point. When the last point is stitched down, take your needle and pass it through the loop on the back side of the mounting board that goes from your first point to your second point and back through the last loop that you made (the loop that runs from the last point to the next to last point. Take the “tail” that you left hanging at the start, tie a knot in it and the remaining thread. I try to pull this fairly taut. Make an additional knot and snip off the excess thread that is left.
Your mounting is now complete and should look like this:
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Next thread will deal with cutting the top mat, spacing it up from the crocheted name, and final framing.
Framerguy
I happened to have a customer bring in a crocheted name so I will attempt to use some rather bad photos and my limited vocabulary to illustrate how this is done. Because it involves a lengthy explanation, I will do the layout and stitching in one thread and the matting and framing in a second thread.
The crocheted name measured 26” long by 7” high. When you measure these names, try to stretch them just enough so that they will be taut but not pulled out of shape. They must not sag when they are hung on the wall. It was done with white crochet thread so that is the material that we will use to stitch it onto the board. I decided to leave a margin around the stitched name of about ½” all around and the mat width on the sides and ends will be 2”. You should check on how small a mat width your brand of oval cutter will handle as that is important when you cut the ends of the top mat as I will illustrate later on. My Fletcher 1000 will not go below 1 ¾” so I must keep that in mind when laying out the design for these pieces.
Material list:
Crescent #7132 Whisper for the top mat
Crescent #1562 Sable for the back mat
Scrap foam core for spacer material
Cotton crochet thread of the appropriate color
Tapestry needle or other type of blunt end needle
Glass
Frame moulding
Miscellaneous supplies for attaching, gluing, and finishing the piece
With the length of the name, the margin, and the mat width, the finished size is 31”long by 12” high. First thing to do is to size your matboards. For this project we do not have to cut the back mat smaller than the top mat because it is going to serve as our mounting board and will be handled separately from the top mat.
<center>

1. Once the boards are sized to 31”x12”, take the mat that the name will be mounted on (the dark brown Sable mat in this case) and turn it over face down. We are going to place pencil marks at the approximate position that the name will be mounted. I do this by adding the width of the mat (2”) plus the width of the margin (1/2”) and I draw pencil lines on all 4 sides at 2 ½”. Then mark the middle of the sides on these pencil lines (as illustrated) to give you some guide marks to line up the name.
<center>

2. Place the crocheted name face down on the back of the board. Most of these names are not even from one end to the other so you want to mark the pinning position exactly as it will be on the face of the board. Hence, we lay out on the reverse of the board with the name face down and mount on the face of the board with the name face up. (I use Moore brand push pins to pin down the crochet) Start by pinning the ends on the center line marks. Use your judgement as to how to do this as some names have 1 point on the very end and some have 2 points on the very end. This name was done in very small points around the edge so it is harder to lay out than one with large points. Locate the beginning of the sides (where the ends and the long sides merge) on each end and count towards the middle to find the middle of the name. Pin that on the center point of one of the long sides. Do the same for the other long side.
<center>

3. Now, using your best judgement begin pinning each point down so that the name is even from top to bottom and end to end. I usually start by pinning the ends of the long sides down and then pinning every other point until I arrive at the middle. Then I go back and pin the ones that I missed. On this example, I only pinned every other point because of their small size and the fact that I am too lazy to stitch all those little points in place!
4. After you have the sides pinned down, pin each of the ends. If they are crocheted in a round shape, try to pin them in a nice arc towards the pin in the center of the end. If they are straight (shaped like an arrowhead), try to keep them as straight as possible. When you are done, you should be able to pick up the board and hold it vertically without the name sagging anywhere.
<center>

5. Now, pull all of the pins out and reverse the board. Place the name face up on the face of the board and tack it down with a few pins to hold it in place. We don’t need to re-pin the entire name on this side. Measure the amount of crochet thread that you will need to stitch down the name (I lay out enough thread on the name to encircle the outside of the name with about a foot to spare) and thread it onto your blunt point needle. You can start stitching anywhere you like. (I am left handed so I start on the left end and stitch to the right) Run the needle up through one of the holes that was made by the pinning, through the correspo9nding point for that hole, then back down through the same hole. Move your needle over a few threads when you go back down through the same hole and don’t pull that loop too tight. You risk pulling the threads of the name through the hole. Leave about 4” or 5” of “tail” hanging from the back side of the board to tie things down at the end of the stitching.
6. Simply continue sewing each point down by passing the needle up through the next hole, through the end of the next point, jumping over a few threads and back down through the same hole. Continue around the name until you come back to the starting point. When the last point is stitched down, take your needle and pass it through the loop on the back side of the mounting board that goes from your first point to your second point and back through the last loop that you made (the loop that runs from the last point to the next to last point. Take the “tail” that you left hanging at the start, tie a knot in it and the remaining thread. I try to pull this fairly taut. Make an additional knot and snip off the excess thread that is left.
Your mounting is now complete and should look like this:
<center>

Next thread will deal with cutting the top mat, spacing it up from the crocheted name, and final framing.
Framerguy