Recently, Agnes, who'd purchased a copy of my
Ring-a-Roses English paper piecing pattern (below), wrote to me and asked if I'd write a blog post giving advice on how to frame things like this. I've now framed quite a few of my sewn designs and so I'm happy to share what I've learnt along the way. Before beginning, it's worth saying that this is the more expensive route to hanging your work on the wall - it's possible to bind the edges or sew on a hidden binding (that's another post) and simply hang it from a wooden batten or pins at very little cost. This post doesn't cover either of those options, but there's a wealth of tutorials on the Internet showing you how.
For several different reasons - aesthetics, preservation of the piecing, protection from sunlight and dust, and protection when being placed in the middle of a busy home - I like to frame the things I make for the wall in a glass frame, even though the first time I did it, it felt like a complete self-indulgence. However, after that initial time, it's something that I realised I feel it's worth spending the money on, not only for the practical reasons I listed above, but in part because it feels like it's saying something to myself about the value of the work that I make, as when I buy someone else's artwork, I tend to frame it, so why not my own? Knowing that I will invest in a frame, has also made me much more careful in thinking through exactly what I'm making. As my production rate is slow, it's an affordable approach as I think it tends to work out at about two frameable pieces per year. It's a very different mindset to the one which I have for my quilts, where mostly, no matter how much time and care has been poured into them, I'd rather they were used, loved and treated without too much care or thought, than be preserved carefully in a cupboard. I'm unsure why this differentiation has formed in my head between the two things, but it's a dichotomy that sits comfortably with me. I'd love to know your thoughts on these things and whether you've also created any of your own mental partitions around things like this. And I realise that I've made the assumption of aligning 'quilting' with 'art' in one of my earlier sentences - that again is a whole other blog post!
Anyway, on to some framing tips.
- All of the framed pieces in this post have been created using English paper piecing (EPP). I always leave my papers in place when hanging a piece of EPP. It adds stability, allows the piece to sit very evenly within the frame, and prevents the seam allowances from being visible if the fabric is light coloured. And it also saves me the job of taking all those tiny papers out! When you know that your fabrics are stabilised in this way, it also gives you carte blanche to ignore whether you're piecing on the grain/bias or whatever, as any rule breaking is unlikely to have a detrimental effect. I'm imagining that there may be a case for leaving papers in place when creating a piece for the wall using the foundation paper piecing (FPP) method too, but I'm less familiar with that technique, so wouldn't say that's a definite.
- The nice thing about framing your work is that you don't need to worry about the tiny dog's ears that you can sometimes be left with from English paper piecing. If you were framing the piece above without any borders, all these tiny protruding pieces of fabric could be left in place for framing (even borders will produce tiny dog's ears). I prefer not to trim any of the seam allowances away as the bigger the piece of fabric, the less likely it is to unravel and work its way through to the fabric that sits on the front your your work.
- When it comes to actually setting the finished piece of work into the frame, I find giving the piece one final press with the iron is essential. However, people vary on whether they press English paper pieced work and how hot and hard they'll press and some make special consideration to what type of thread they've used (for a poly thread, they may reduce the heat). Personally, my iron is scorching hot at all times, but pressed down quick and sharp to avoid shine or scorch marks. You really have to be led by your own feelings on this - it is your precious work that you are dealing with, so proceed however you feel most confident.
- I use masking tape (the easy peel-off cream stuff, not the brown shiny parcel tape) to tape the finished piece to the reverse of the mount board. Sometimes this will involve a bit of jiggery-poke and repositioning. If there is a fair distance between the glass and the work and it's very large, sometimes it can help to very lightly spray baste the piece to the back board of the frame, to avoid the middle flopping forward.
I think I've covered everything I can think of sharing with you there. If you know anything else which you think might be helpful, please feel free to add it in the comments, as well as any questions if you think I've missed something.
Florence x