Lacing, Stretching, and Mounting

I haven't posted much about my embroidery lately and that's because I've been sick and haven't done much. The last time I really did anything was last weekend. With Mary Alice's help, I finished my Midori piece, took it off the frame, and stretched and mounted it. I won't go into too much detail about the finishing process since I've described that before. I actually did it mostly right the first time. My wheat paste was just a little thin, and I got the whole piece too wet, which is why it bled.

This time, I cooked the wheat paste until it was a thick jelly that wouldn't slide in a dish. Then I gently brushed it onto the back of my stitches using an angled eye makeup brush, which was just the right size and firmness to carefully paste it over the stitches and avoid getting it on the fabric. I refrained from wiping down the whole fabric with the damp cloth and only gently wiped the back of the stitches to get off any clumps of the wheat paste. 

Then I steamed the whole piece from underneath till I could see the steam rising up through the fabric. I did this for about two minutes, just until the silk began to look a bit brighter. The last step was to place finishing paper over the embroidery, shiny side down, and gently iron with a lightly warm iron, supporting the embroidery from underneath with my fingertips. By early that evening, it had dried completely and I could take it off the frame. The next morning, I started the stretching and mounting process.

I did my own lacing this time, both to learn the trick of it and to make sure this piece came out perfectly smooth. Unfortunately, I was so intent on the process that I completely forgot to take pictures till the end. 😟 Anyway, here's how the lacing came out:

I think it looks pretty good! But for your reference (and mine, since my memory isn't what it once was), here are the steps:

1. To begin, I cut out a piece of 5mm-thick foam board a little larger than my piece (an inch or so wider around all sides). I used a new box cutter blade (the blade must be very sharp, so a new blade or a freshly sharpened one with no tape residue on it is best) and a metal ruler to guide my cuts. I did one gentle cut to break through the first layer of cardboard and then one deeper cut to cut through the foam and the other layer of cardboard. Cutting the foam board this way ensured a smooth edge.
2. Next, I attached some extra Kona cotton strips to the sides of the silk (with my sewing machine) and trimmed the cotton ends already stitched to the top and bottom edges of the silk down to about four inches wide. 
3. Then I cut out a piece of cotton flannel slightly larger than the foam board, cut off the corners, and used permanent double-sided tape to stick the edges to the back. This actually came out really smooth and worked well. (Mary Alice gave me this tip to give the piece a little extra padding.)
4. Next, I laced the sides together using buttonhole (also called top-stitching) thread, which is about three times as strong as regular sewing thread. I recommend a good sturdy thread for lacing because it has to get pretty tight if you want to avoid puckers. I used the technique Mary Alice taught me of starting it at one end and lacing it like you would a shoe. I also folded over the fabric by about an inch and stitched through two layers to make sure the fabric didn't tear.
5. Then, I gradually pulled the threads along (also like you would a shoe) to get it even and snug across the whole length. (Fair warning: this kind of hurts your fingers.) After that, I tied it off close to one side with some square knots
6. And finally, I laced the vertical ends together and tightened them in the same way.

Here is the front of the stretched and mounted piece:

It's beautifully smooth! I was really very proud of myself because there were some small puckers when I first began the lacing. This whole process took quite a while — a couple of hours if I recall correctly. But it was worth the effort.

I took it to The Attic to get it framed, and even the framer said I'd done a really nice, even job with my lacing. Once it's framed (in a couple of weeks due to the holiday), I'll post a picture of it. That's all for now, though.