When mounting an object for framing be it picture, textiles, or whatever, under no circumstances should the glass touch the piece. When something is mounted and framed with glass you are creating a mini climate within that frame which can be extremely harmful. Putting the glass against the piece doesnât allow for it to breathe and thus promotes mildew, foxing and many other nasty's. A mat provides the needed space but if that is not desirable you can use very thin strips of mat board (or commercial spacers) attached to the inside rim of the frame which will create the necessary space and wonât be seen. Make sure when you buy mat board that the cut edges look white (unless itâs one of the types that have the same colour throughout). If the cut edge is light brownish that means they were made with wood pulp and will, with time, react with the humidity in the air to make sulphuric acid which in turn will burn what itâs resting against...in this case your background. I would suggest you go to your local frame shop and buy small pieces of mat board (some will even give you small off-cuts). Make sure you ask for archival board, it comes in many colours and finishes from suede, silk, linen etc. Even still, with some finishes like suede itâs advisable to give it a light spraying with a clear acrylic to seal it..any coloured surface has potentially harmful dyes. The next step would be to use your handy pattern pricker and pre-prick your sewing holes. Then you can start to sew your lace onto the backing either using the same thread as the piece or preferably a finer thread of the same colour. Keep in mind the forces of gravity, the piece will eventually sag a bit so make sure you use some support stitches in the middle as well as around the edges. You donât need many tiny close stitches, use your own judgement. Another alternative would be to sew your piece onto unbleached cotton and then mount the cotton onto whatever you wish, it can work quite well with coloured laces...but make sure you use a spacer between it and the glass, I canât emphasise that enough. Sharon on Sunny but cold Vancouver Island
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