Your description of how you plan to attach the lace to the fabric is great. *But* - and this is a really big but - very few framers, anywhere, will properly attach the fabric to the heavy cardboard (matte board) that will hold it straight and even in the frame. They will assure you that they do, but usually they don't - if he says he does, get him to show you a sample - it should be sewn on as described below.
Framers are taught, wherever they learn their framing, to take your piece of fabric and stretch it carefully over a piece of matte board that has a very sticky surface, and press it down. That stickum is acidic, and will turn brown over time, and will also turn the fabric brown - most likely the lace as well. It is also not reversible - you can pull the fabric off the backing but the sticky stuff has already done its work and has sunk into the cloth, and the harsh chemicals you would have to use to remove the sticky stuff will ruin your project.
In my embroidery guild we would only allow one framer to put the fabric onto the backing board, and that's because his wife ran a stitchery shop and we went in and taught him how to do it ourselves. For other framing, we all did the backing personally. It's a simple, though tedious, job:
Explain to your framer you want to do the mounting yourself, and get him to cut your matte board (you can also do this yourself, if you have non-acidic matte board handy and you know what size to make the board.) Centre the matte board behind your project, making sure the lace is positioned the way you want it, and lightly pin the fabric into the edges of the matte board to hold it in place. (I mean the edge; the pin is inserted (only a little way) into the 1/8" or so *depth* of the matte board) Turn it face down and fold the fabric edges to the back. Using a strong thread, sew cross-cross across the matte board, taking a stitch through the fabric and then going across the board to the other side, take a stitch, and repeat. Start in the middle and work to the edge. Then start back in the middle and work to the other edge, adjusting the tension as you go - you want this firm, but not tight enough to buckle the matt board. Then do the same in the other direction (eg, if you've already done the length of the matte board, do the width.)
Now, it's ready to be inserted in the frame.
Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada)
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