Welcome to the Halloween edition of our framers corner. The holidays are fun around the Frame of Mind shop and we are excited for this holiday season. Read here about our favorite halloween inspired piece.....




Meet Zoe, our custom designer and framer here at Frame of Mind.
Zoe had the pleasure of designing this Halloween themed piece.
We couldn't ask for a more perfect piece to highlight as our Halloween Framer's Corner! This piece was brought into our shop by one of our customers who is an avid cross stitcher. With a thick stack of completed cross stitch projects at home and the up coming Holiday being her favorite, it seemed only appropriate to start by framing this festive piece. No matter the subject matter these stitcheries are an act of love for art. Each one is unique and takes a lot of time and patience to complete.
When a project like this comes through our doors there are a few different way we can approach it. There are 2 different methods that are commonly used for mounting a cross stitch for framing. The first, Lacing is a more traditional method involving sewing the back of the cross stitch over a piece of foamboard or backing board. The second, is pinning the cross stitch to the foamboard.
Lacing: 
The lacing method of mounting a cross stitch or embroidery is the most traditional way of mounting. Using all acid free materials, inlcuding acid free foamboard and cotton string, the cross stitch is laid and centered onto a piece of foamboard. From the back we begin to sew through the edge of the needlework, and lace back and forth from side to side, tightening with each stitch. The process is then repeated on the opposite side of the cross stitch. After the piece has been completely laced, each corner of the needlepoint is folded over in a bedsheet fold, and then laced together. The final product makes sure the piece is tight and secure around the board, while being 100% acid free and archival. 
Pinning: 
Pinning is a more common practice for stretching a cross stitch or a needlepoint. This process uses special dress pins, or stainless-steel pins to ensure that the pins are rust resistant

The cross stitch is laid centered onto a piece of foam board, and slowly pinned into the center foam of the foamboard. Stating at the center top, a pin is placed into the fabric, and through the foam center. The next pin is put into the exact opposite location on the embroidery, the bottom center. Next the center left, and finally the center right. This ensures the piece sits perfectly centered on the board. The pins are slowly moved out to the corners of the foamboard, using the same technique of pinning one pin at a time on each edge, starting at the top, and then working to the bottom, the left and then the right. The reason for always working out slowly, and on opposite sides is to ensure that there is no puckering or wrinkles left in the piece at the end of the process. Finally the corners are folded over in a bed sheet fold, and taped using archival acid free tape.

Pinning
Bedsheet corner fold
For this specific project we mounted it using the pinning process. The colors of the floss in this embroidery are so fun and vibrant, we did not want to distract from that with the framing design so Zoe and our customer choose fabric mats that are rich and vibrant, as well as add another texture to fill out the piece. The bottom mat is a beautiful purple with a 1/4" reveal and it adds the the right amount of color to this piece without being distracting, on top of the purple they chose a beautiful black linen mat.

Our customer was looking for a gothic style frame to add to the overall feel of the finished product and we were able to oblige with this fantastic frame from Omega, one of our frame suppliers. It is the perfect mix of festive, playful, and dramatic.
All the textures and tones of black in this piece give it such a rich and finished feel.
1706 Brooks Street
Missoula, MT 59801
406-549-8589