Lacing Instructions

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osgood

osgood

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Finally I have my lacing instructions on a web site for anyone who might be interested in a method that is easy and gives great results.

The web site also has a few of the many digital photos I have taken over the last couple of years in a few different places in Australia.

The website is incomplete at the moment so please email me if there is something that doesn't work or you think needs changing.

I would also like some feedback on the lacing instructions as they were done in a hurry some time ago and I haven't yet tidied them up.

[See RESOURCES tab above]
 
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Osgood, those are really GOOD pictures and instructions! Thanks!!! It's all become clear to me now. I have one question about thread length - because the lacing thread can't be knotted except at the ends, I'm not sure what you should do if you run out of thread mid-stream on large textiles.

Rebecca
 
Originally posted by Rebecca:
Osgood, those are really GOOD pictures and instructions! Thanks!!! It's all become clear to me now. I have one question about thread length - because the lacing thread can't be knotted except at the ends, I'm not sure what you should do if you run out of thread mid-stream on large textiles.

Rebecca
Click to expand...
If you DO choose to lace, one of the techniques is to NOT cut your lacing thread until you have reached the end of the lacing. If you run short before reaching the end, you must feed more thread through the series of lacings that you have finished until you get enough to complete the lacing. It takes alot of time but so does the tensioning of the lacing when you have finished.

Framerguy
 
Well done, Osgood!
The lacing instructions were excellent.
One question:
Have you found it to make a difference on which direction you begin lacing? Your instructions showed that you laced together the short sides, first, then the long sides. Does it matter where you begin?

Your photos were lovely- you have an eye for composition, imho. The sunset photos were otherworldly!

Bravo!
Edie, the soon-to-be-lacing Goddess
 
Thanks Framerguy - I got it!

The only lily gilding things I can think to add from a conservation point of view are 1)washing the added fabric margins first 2)hand stitching the margins on (Framerguy will appreciate that!)and 3)padding the board with Insulate or some other non-adhesive polyester fluffy (maybe with a washed muslin overlay too)to soften the wrap around edge.
 
Ok, let me be real ignorant here. Are you always supposed to stitch an extra piece of material onto the cross stitch to lace it? That would answer my question of "doesn't the thread stretch the holes in the weave too much?"

( :rolleyes: Don't roll your eyes at me. These people are my friends, they won't laugh!)

Betty
 
Betty I am by no means a Lacing expert. However I think the area that will be stretched is of little consiquence on most work since most stitchers are advised to allow 6 inches of blank fabric for finishing(3 in. on a side) The extenders are used when this is not done. ( Too little fabric allowed)
Also the distortion of the weave that does occur normally will return to it's original position with a little moisture and stretching.
I have long had a problem with some instructors who insist that NO fabric should ever be trimmed form a Cross stitch piece. I fully understand and agree with antique (Pre-finished) work. However if you ever get a Current piece from a novice ( who doesn't know how to caluculate the fabric needed, includeing the finishing ) who used a piece of fabric 10 - 12 inches too big I think you will quickly see the problem with this.The need for extenders is normally the same just in the opposite direction.Now I'll let the EXPERTS give the real answer.
On those antique pieces that may be brittle and fragile you may want to consider an alternate method of mounting . On those try useing a rag mount board with a cotton or muslin sleve over it. Then Blind stitch or use a running stitch to bast the work to the sleve. This prevents the work from ripping due to the tennsion that laceing causes . Be sure to use a thread that isn't any stronger then the work so that the thread will break before the work. This may cause the work to sag slightly but that is better than destroying the irreplacable work.
BUDDY
 
The problem I ran into so often was the crafters, in an attempt to save on materials, would cut the backing cloth too small to include any matting when the piece is done. Their frame of vision included the actual size of the needleart image but not the matting which many of them don't even consider when they are at the very beginning of a project.

Betty, I didn't add material to each and every needleart piece that came through the door. If it had a short border, I had to add enough material to allow for wraparound on the mounting board. But why sew on more than what is required to do the job. I see your point that the threads pull apart on the aieda cloth. I have always felt uneasy about that particularly when you are working within 6 to 10 threads of the edge of the cloth. What is to guarantee that the constant tension on those threads won't eventually pull the whole edge apart?? Rebecca answered that question to my satisfaction by suggesting stitching the edge with some kind of lock stitch or something that I really don't know about but it DID make sense to me.

As I stated earlier, I am "sewing challenged" at best and work alone so my only recourse was either chance walking the rest of my life as a living needleart display (that one needs some imagination to understand) or find some alternative to mount the needleart that was still reversible and didn't cause harm to the needleart.

My choice then became the stainless steel pins. I may say something about the type of pins to use for this technique. T-pins are NOT stainless steel but nickel plated steel. These as well as regular nickel plated straight pins and many other types of pins can and will rust over time and should not be used for mounting needleart. There are few outlets for genuine stainless steel pins and one must be aware of what they are purchasing and ask the necessary questions to ensure that they are buying the real McCoy.

Also buy the LONGEST stainless steel pin you can find. I try to use pins no less than 1 1/4" long. These will seat themselves into the foamcore deep enough to minimize the "shear" forces placed on them by the tension of the needleart. If they are placed close enough to each other (approx. 3/4"), they will have a combined holding power to virtually stop any sideways movement of the pins in the foam core over an extended period of time.

I found osgood's directions on lacing very helpful and complete and hope that he isn't upset by those of us who, for personal safety reasons in my case, choose to pin instead of lace. I still lace when a piece comes in that has enough margin on it to utilize lacing.

Framerguy
 
I thought i should repost just to clear up a comment i made. When I said;

Now I'll let the EXPERTS give the real answer.

I wasn't impuning anyones ability or credentials. I was trying to warn Betty that MY opinions were "Personal and therefore subject to error".I have had a good amount of expeience doing Cross stitch but in truth I do very little Laceing . But I have had the benefit of being taught and shown by some very knowledgeble EXPERTS just as she is now.I feel you can know the best methods even when you don't always get to use them.
BUDDY
 
Originally posted by Rebecca:
Osgood, those are really GOOD pictures and instructions! Thanks!!! It's all become clear to me now. I have one question about thread length - because the lacing thread can't be knotted except at the ends, I'm not sure what you should do if you run out of thread mid-stream on large textiles.

Rebecca
Click to expand...
Rebecca,
Thanks for your comments. I only run out of thread about once a year aas I buy linen thread in half kilo reels, so there are miles of it available.
 
Originally posted by Framing Goddess:
Well done, Osgood!
The lacing instructions were excellent.
One question:
Have you found it to make a difference on which direction you begin lacing? Your instructions showed that you laced together the short sides, first, then the long sides. Does it matter where you begin?

Your photos were lovely- you have an eye for composition, imho. The sunset photos were otherworldly!

Bravo!
Edie, the soon-to-be-lacing Goddess
Click to expand...
Edie,
Thanks for your comments.
I don't think it makes a lot of difference which direction you do first. I usually do the direction that stretches the least. Sometimes I do the longest direction first if there is no difference in stretch.
 
Originally posted by B. Newman:
Ok, let me be real ignorant here. Are you always supposed to stitch an extra piece of material onto the cross stitch to lace it? That would answer my question of "doesn't the thread stretch the holes in the weave too much?"

Betty
Click to expand...
Betty,
One of the advantages of the extra material is that it is the piece that has the tension of the lacing thread applied to it so the bending of the weave is much less, close to the original fabric.
 
Originally posted by Framerguy:
The problem I ran into so often was the crafters, in an attempt to save on materials, would cut the backing cloth too small to include any matting when the piece is done. Their frame of vision included the actual size of the needleart image but not the matting which many of them don't even consider when they are at the very beginning of a project.

Betty, I didn't add material to each and every needleart piece that came through the door. If it had a short border, I had to add enough material to allow for wraparound on the mounting board. But why sew on more than what is required to do the job. I see your point that the threads pull apart on the aieda cloth. I have always felt uneasy about that particularly when you are working within 6 to 10 threads of the edge of the cloth. What is to guarantee that the constant tension on those threads won't eventually pull the whole edge apart?? Rebecca answered that question to my satisfaction by suggesting stitching the edge with some kind of lock stitch or something that I really don't know about but it DID make sense to me.

As I stated earlier, I am "sewing challenged" at best and work alone so my only recourse was either chance walking the rest of my life as a living needleart display (that one needs some imagination to understand) or find some alternative to mount the needleart that was still reversible and didn't cause harm to the needleart.

My choice then became the stainless steel pins. I may say something about the type of pins to use for this technique. T-pins are NOT stainless steel but nickel plated steel. These as well as regular nickel plated straight pins and many other types of pins can and will rust over time and should not be used for mounting needleart. There are few outlets for genuine stainless steel pins and one must be aware of what they are purchasing and ask the necessary questions to ensure that they are buying the real McCoy.

Also buy the LONGEST stainless steel pin you can find. I try to use pins no less than 1 1/4" long. These will seat themselves into the foamcore deep enough to minimize the "shear" forces placed on them by the tension of the needleart. If they are placed close enough to each other (approx. 3/4"), they will have a combined holding power to virtually stop any sideways movement of the pins in the foam core over an extended period of time.

I found osgood's directions on lacing very helpful and complete and hope that he isn't upset by those of us who, for personal safety reasons in my case, choose to pin instead of lace. I still lace when a piece comes in that has enough margin on it to utilize lacing.

Framerguy
Click to expand...
 
So what just happened there, Rebecca? Ventilation malfunction in the lab? Or did you just want to make sure we didn't miss Framerguy's post the first time around?

Pardon me for saying this, but sometimes you just don't seem conservative enough for a conservator. :D
 
Well darn, THAT didn't work. I think I need some private tutelage on how to work the quote thing.

I don't know who did post something about a lock stitch, but Framerguy, it wasn't me.

And Osgood - ha ha, I didn't mean running out of thread THAT way! :rolleyes: Framerguy's answer was pretty well what I thought, so thanks for confirming.

OK Ron, how about YOU explaining that quote thing? I hilighted what I wanted to quote (like when you copy) and then clicked Post or Quote or whatever the choice there is, but it went wild on me!

Rebecca
 
Originally posted by Rebecca:
And Osgood - ha ha, I didn't mean running out of thread THAT way! :rolleyes: Framerguy's answer was pretty well what I thought, so thanks for confirming.

Rebecca
Click to expand...
Wooops! Sorry Rebecca, I didn't make myself clear. I meant that I work from the large reel of thread and I do not cut it off until I have run the lacing thread completely through and have applied tension the first time.
This way you never run out of thread on any given lacing direction.

I hope I have explained it a little better this time.
 
There is a sewing machine by Singer called the tiny serger that costs $39-$59 that can be purchased to lock stitch the edges of needlepoints with enough cloth to wrap the board. In addition the edges of the extra cloth should probably be serged along with the edge of the needlepoint where the cloth is attached.
 
Originally posted by Rebecca:
OK Ron, how about YOU explaining that quote thing? I hilighted what I wanted to quote (like when you copy) and then clicked Post or Quote or whatever the choice there is, but it went wild on me!
Click to expand...
Click on the quote button above the post you want to quote.

Delete the parts of the post you DON"T want to include.

Be sure and leave the UBB codes intact. Those are the
[/QB] at the beginning and the closing codes at the end.

Add your own comments to your new post and push Add Reply as usual.

You can also do a cross-forum or cross-thread quote (not to be confused with cross-stitch) by following the steps above but, instead of pushing Add Reply at the end, push ctrl-A to highlight your message, then ctrl-C to copy the whole thing to your clipboard. Then use the back-arrow to cancel your reply, go to the thread or forum you want to post to and use ctrl-V to paste your message into a new Reply window.

(BTW, you really begin to appreciate what a masterful bulletin board The Grumble is when you spend a little time on some of the other framer's forums.)

Sorry to digress, but my surrogate Grumble-mother, JPete (who's probably younger than I am) taught me to address questions wherever they appear and not to try and redirect them to the techi forum. Rebecca, in particular, has always shown a willingness to help with ANY questions within her area of expertise so it seems only fair to reciprocate.
Click to expand...
 
Wow, Osgood,
What a great Website! I'm impressed! Thanks for taking the time to post the instructions, they were just what I needed. I will be trying them out today on a lady's cross stitch she will be entering in competion....lets see if it takes me all day!!!

Leslie
 
Thank you Osgood, Thank you Ron!


Rebecca
 
Thank you for all your positive comments!

I shall try to improve the instructions and the website over the next couple of weeks.
 
Nikodeumus said:
osgood, have you still got your lacing instructions online anywhere?
I'm interested in improving my Needlework mounting options.
I've watched RoboFramers video: Lacing needlework https://www.thegrumble.com/threads/lacing-needlework.86391/
I'd like to learn as much as possible, so am curious if your method is similar.
Click to expand...
Not online any more. I don't know whether I have the photos on a hard drive with me, but I will get back to you in a day or two if I can find them!
 
Nikodeumus said:
osgood, have you still got your lacing instructions online anywhere?
I'm interested in improving my Needlework mounting options.
Click to expand...
A pdf of my 'old' lacing instructions is now available in resources for download by any member.
www.thegrumble.com

Osgood's Lacing Instructions

These instructions are available for anyone who wishes to use them in part or whole!
www.thegrumble.com www.thegrumble.com

Thanks to Mike Labbe for helping to make it available!
 
osgood said:
A pdf of my 'old' lacing instructions is now available in resources for download by any member.
www.thegrumble.com

Osgood's Lacing Instructions

These instructions are available for anyone who wishes to use them in part or whole!
www.thegrumble.com www.thegrumble.com

Thanks to Mike Labbe for helping to make it available!
Click to expand...
I just tried to find it, i got this message:

Oops! We ran into some problems.​


The requested resource could not be found.
I went directly to the Rescources page and don't see it.
Is it in the Manuals section?
 
Try again now! It seems to be available!
Click the link and look for the Download button, top right!
 
It should be all set now. It just took a few minutes to go through the approval process, before it went live.

Thanks
Mike
 
osgood said:
A pdf of my 'old' lacing instructions is now available in resources for download by any member.
www.thegrumble.com

Osgood's Lacing Instructions

These instructions are available for anyone who wishes to use them in part or whole!
www.thegrumble.com www.thegrumble.com

Thanks to Mike Labbe for helping to make it available!
Click to expand...
osgood, this is a great step-by-step guide.
The photos are good, and the descriptions are easy to follow.
I'm going to print and bind this to add to my library.
Thank You. 👍
 
You're welcome! I hope it can be of some value to you!
 
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