Steps For Do-It-Yourself Framing

Picking the Frames and Colors that Work Best

The first step is usually the worst. It's the one most people find the hardest. It really shouldn't be that difficult.

When picking your mats, use the best. It took time to make the piece so you want it to be around for a while don't you? Use acid free materials. This means you should be using one of these brands of mat boards, Crescent, Bainbridge or True Vue Miller. Check labels on all other types of boards. All those wonderful ancient samplers with discolouration and holes in them came from bad framing with acid laden materials not moths! If your work is worth framing it's worth using the good stuff.

Lay the piece to be framed out flat on the table on something white. Since the final frame job will be done with white foam core (more about that later) this will make the job of picking the colors a bit easier. Look away from the piece for a few seconds then look at it again. What attracted your attention first? Was it a color, an object in the piece, the border or something else? Chances are fairly good whatever it was in or near the center of the piece. That might be a good choice for the color of the undermat, that's the mat closest to the piece. The function of the undermat is to draw the viewer's attention to the central focus of the piece. What was it that you saw next? This might be a border or an object near the edges of the piece. This would be the likely candidate for the top mat. Now place both mat samples on the piece in the order that you intend to use them. Cup your hands and look through them at the corner of the piece with the mat samples. Does it do what you intended? Does it match the decor of the place you intend to hang the piece? If it does, wonderful. If it doesn't, start again. Don't be dismayed if this process takes awhile. Rome wasn't built in a day and good framing may take a few minutes too.

Here are some basic rules of mat selection that are regularly used. It would be nice if you tried not to break too many of them until you feel confident in mat selection. Call them framing's great examples of glittering generalities. First, never introduce colors in the framing that aren't in the piece. All you'll see is the mat not the piece. Second, make the darker color the undermat and the lighter color the top mat (admittedly this the most frequently violated rule of all.) Dark colors as top mats tend to make the piece look small and heavy. Just what we needed, short fat framing! Third, metallic mats should be undermats or middle mats of a triple set. Metallic mats look like license plates at night by the parking lot lights as a top mat. And fourth, don't use fancy suede and linen mats as an undermat. Only about ¼ inch of the undermat shows anyway so you lose any texture it might have anyway. It smacks of conspicuous consumption not good taste.

Now that the mats are picked, it's time to pick the frame. The basic choices are metal or wood. Most often the choice between those two are obvious from the outset. If it isn't here are the guidelines. Metal frames are modern looking. They go with photos, children's art work and needlework, humorous pieces and stylish stuff. Wood frames are for Victorian pieces, outdoor scenes, religious pieces and serous stuff. The metal frames should match or compliment the mats which compliment the piece. Wood frames should be as light or as dark as the mats are and be fairly close to the type of wood in the room they will hang in. Frames also come in many widths. The heavier frame are best used on pieces that are large and imposing (see the comment about short fat framing above.) The fancier frames are best used on complex, intricate work not photos and modern work. All this, of course, can radically change your ideas on mat selection so be prepared to go back the first part and do it all over again.

If you have problems with mat selection and this is all taking just a little too long, walk away from your work and look at something else for a few minutes. It's the old bit about "can't see the forest for the trees."

How to Determine Frame and Mat Sizes

Measure the design at its' widest and longest points. Add 2½ to 3½ inches to the sides of the design. This gives the piece ½ to 1 inch of fabric 0r background showing and 2 to 2½ inches of mat. Generally speaking, double mat sets have undermats that are 2 inches wide and triple mat sets have undermats that are 2½ inches wide. An example would be if a design was 3 inches high by 5 inches wide and we intend to use a double mat set the mats would be 8 by 10 inches. The frame size is the same as the mat set. If the piece is to be framed without a mat then allow 1 to 1½ inches around the design to determine the frame size.

Many needlework pieces don't readily fit common frame sizes but the is a way to sometimes make it work anyway. Add or subtract the amount of fabric showing around the design first. Then change the mat sizes to suit. The mat edges must be proportional. The top and bottom mat edge widths must be the same and the side edge widths must be the same but the top/bottom and the sides need not be the same but should be no more than 1 inch different. For example, the top/bottom may be 2 1/4 inches and the sides could be 3 or even 3 1/4 inches but not 4 inches. If you force a piece into a common frame size and violate this guideline you could end up with a piece that looks lopsided or lost in the framing. It's rare to see a framed piece with mats that are much bigger than 4 inches wide unless the piece is room sized in which case it really didn't need mats anyway.

Marking and Cutting the Mats

Cut out the mat blanks, the pieces of mat board you intend to frame with, using the large mat board sheets. Use the corners first! Pay attention to the corners, they must be as close to perfect right angles as you can muster. When cutting a mat board set, cut the first mat by measuring it out and cut it. Then use that first mat to trace and cut all the other mats for that framing project. Don't try to cascade your tracing with the subsequent mats as they will grow larger and larger until you have a real problem. Now check the mat boards by putting them all together and making sure they are the same size. Select your undermat. This will be the first one you cut. You have already determined your mat edge sizes in the steps above so mark it out with a hard lead pencil on the back of the mat. Use a straight edge or better yet a triangle to mark the lines. Make sure these lines extend from edge to edge on the back of the mat. To cut the mat, place it in the mat cutter with the line just under the edge of the guide rail and cut it with the beveled edge cutter in a slow, smooth motion. If you feel you do not have the strength in your hands to do this, stand on something sturdy so that the cutter is just about waist level. This allows you to stand over it and use the power of your back to press the cutter down. Cut each of the sides along the lines from the points that the lines intersect. Once you have the undermat cut take it over to the piece and test it. Does it fit? If it does, then proceed. If it doesn't figure out what went wrong, recut the mat blank and do it over. At least you only wasted one board in the process. To cut the top mat simply turn the undermat over on the top mat, line it up and trace the opening. Next move the line out ¼ toward the outer edge and cut that just like before.

What could go wrong with all this? Well, the mats may not look even around the opening for one. Don't panic, just turn the mat around the other way. What doesn't fit one way may very well fit the other way. Why, I don't know, it just does is all. The mat could have slipped in the cutter sending the line off to the side somewhere. In that case just recut the offending mat.

Now cut your foam core for the backing. Foam core is a compressed Styrofoam product and is close to acid free. It's far superior to sticky board, Hint, if you want to send a real framer into an absolute tizzy just try to frame something on sticky board and see what new and interesting facial expressions you get from them. Sticky board has acid materials and a really nasty glue on it. This glue comes through the work and discolors it. Avoid it where you can. and use foam core. Trace one of the mats on the foam core and cut it with a large knife using the guide rail on the mat cutter for a straight edge.

Mounting the Piece

Lay the piece out over the foam core and put the undermat on top of it. Line these up to the approximate position they should end up in. Make sure the undermat lines up right with the foam core. Use the undermat for mounting because your hands have oils on them no matter how well you wash and as long as you don't get the ¼ inch of the mat that shows dirty it really doesn't matter much what you get on it. Start by measuring in the centers of all edges the same distance to the mat. Place a straight pin there. Quilting pins work the best. Now, following the threads of the fabric continue to pin the fabric to the corners. Once all the sides are pinned down check and see if the threads are straight on all sides and the same number of threads or squares are showing around the design. Now for the hard part, run your finger up the fabric in the middle arnd across the center of the piece horizontally. If you pushed up any fabric it isn't tight enough. Go back and stretch the piece another couple of threads on all sides. Once it is all straight and tight you carefully remove the undermat right over the pins. Lift the edges of the piece and put down some good quality wide double face tape. Stitchery Tape is the brand most needlework framers use. It is expensive but always worth it. Most needlework stores that frame and art supply stores can get it for you. Peel the paper cover off the tape and stretch and stick the material to it. Once it has set up it is really set up. There is a spray to release it. Now you can remove all but the corner pins from the piece. Put the undermat back on and do what readjusting needs to be done. This is the usual method of mounting cross stitch. and other fabric based work. Needlepoint is mounted in much the same way except that you stick a piece of neutral colored mat board to the foam core to give it a little more body, use heavier pins and then staple the work to the foam core/ mat board combination out under where the mat covers it. Photos are placed under the undermat, positioned then the mat board is lifted, the position marked and double faced ATG tape is run just a hair's breath away from that line. This sticks the mat to the foam core encasing the photo without damaging it.

Some stitchers prefer to lace their needlework to the foam core. This is done with a very stout sharp needle and quilting thread running the thread back and forth between the sides of the piece on the back. It looks like VVVVV across the back and is repeated on the other side. This method takes some practice but is considered to be museum type mounting. It also demands that you have enough fabric to go completely under the mats and around the back of the piece. If you intend to lace your needlework get plenty of fabric to stitch on.

Finishing the Framing

Now apply ATG tape to the undermat in about the middle of the edges. Line up and stick down the top mat (or middle mat) and repeat for however many mats you might have. Don't worry if the edges of the mats don't line up perfectly. You can trim them. At this point the important part is to line up the openings correctly. If you want to you can stick the mat assembly to the piece that is now mounted. Put the piece in the frame to see if it fits. Trim what doesn't fit. Clean straight edges are nice but not truly critical. The frame will cover it. If the piece has glass clean the glass (wearing cotton lab gloves helps reduce fingerprints and minor cuts) put the glass in then the mats and needlework. Turn it over and check for errant fuzzies and streaks. Correct them. Replace the work in the frame and staple it into the frame using a heavy duty stapler held and a 45 degree angle to the edge of the frame. Glazer points are also usable. Place ATG tape on the back edge of the frame and cut a piece of brown paper or fancy wrapping paper to cover the back. Edge it with an X-acto knife. Put the hanger or hook and eye set on it. Hold those miserable little nails and screws with a pair of tweezers as you nail them in. It doesn't hurt when you hit the tweezers.

Random Thoughts on Framing On the subject of to glass or not to glass, here are some points to consider. Glass will cut the effectiveness of any metallic threads and beads there might be in the piece. While glass protects it also hides. If you have a hoop ring or a dirty spot you just can't get out, put glass on the piece particularly non-glare glass. Never ever put glass directly on the work. Needlework needs to breath. Mats will lift the glass off the work sufficiently for our purposes. If the piece has no mats then use channel spacers. This is a clear plastic rod that is stuck to the frame and glass to hold the needlework away from the glass. Ban all cardboard on the piece as it is laden with acid. Use mat board in it's place. Glassing a piece is good if it is going to a place that is humid, uses primary source wood heat or has smokers in it. So if the piece is going into a smoker's bathroom in a swamp glass it! Dry cleaning needlework is rarely a good idea even if the instructions tell you to do it. Gentle wash your work in as natural a soap as you can find. Ivory liquid hand soap is a good cheap soap that works. Don't use dishwashing liquids or Woolite if you have hard water. Use stainless steel pins when blocking needlepoint and mounting it. You have to put the pins in while the piece is wet and you wouldn't want rust marks. Occasionally use a feather duster or dust buster to clean framed pieces that aren't glassed..

Framing is an art not a science. It takes continual practice. Whenever you get a chance cut a mat even if it's just a scrap mat. Also, be a critic of framing. whenever you are waiting somewhere, take a good close look at the framing. Decide what works and what doesn't. See how others did it. Learn constantly. And remember the only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask!

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