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I'm frantically working on a set of six christmas ornaments (yes, I know,
I've left it a little late . . it's a gift for a newly married couple, and
inspiration struck rather late, about a month and a half ago when they
mentioned that it was their first christmas as married people but they
didn't have any christmas decorations, and then it took a month for the
chart that I wanted to arrive by mail order. I figure that if all else fails
they'll get three this year and three next year cos so far I have two and a
bit done. And an ear infection, which is unrelated but decreases my
stitching time) and I'm trying to think up ways to back them neatly. I want
to use green and red felt as backing fabric, but am wondering how I should
attach it. So far I have three options and questions about each: 1) I thought I could attach the fabric by using a decorative edging stitch
in a nice fibre - does anyone know of any websites, or have instructions
for, a nice edging stitch that I can do (I had a book with a good one it,
but I sent the book back to the library, forgetting that I wanted a copy of
the stitch instructions) and suggestions for what kind of thread I can do it
in? I was thinking of something non stranded, maybe in a goldish color -
it'd have to be about as thick as floss is before you strip it to stitch
with. Unfortunately I'm completely ignorant about fibres other than floss! 2) (Those of you who are weak of heart should take a tablet ) I was
thinking that maybe I could glue the backing fabric on . . not my first
option of course, but one I don't mind too much - I don't intend for the
ornaments to last forever, and if they survive a couple of christmases I'll
be happy. That said, I would like them to look nice for those christmases,
so I was wondering if anybody knew what sort of glue would be best - i.e.
one that won't soak through and show on the front (oh, the ornaments are
stitched on plastic canvas) 3) Okay, so this is the silliest idea and I'm not sure it's even feasible
with plastic canvas - I was thinking of using that double sided fusing
material that you can use to stick layers of fabric together with - the
stuff you iron. Of course the problem with that is that I'm not sure how hot
you have to have the iron - it's a definite possibility that I could melt
the plastic canvas in the process! Has anyone tried this/know whether it
will work? |
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-I've found a kind of press-on sticky back felt in craft stores in the
US, comes in red and green. If you were planning to use glue anyway,
this might be a choice. Also, I've just come off a barrette (aka hair clip, hair slide) making
frenzy, did about 14 of them stitched on plastic canvas. I backed
them with either felt or suede, and used a glue gun to attach the
backing. The glue didn't come through to the front (but I wasn't
compulsive about it either, just a big swirl of glue...). - This is my biggest problem when it comes to ornaments. The
Reindeer (infamous 'round these parts for taking so long to finish!) was
finished and unfinished several times. I just wasn't satisfied. What I ended up doing was using one of those cheap little frames (the plastic snap together ones) and then, once it was tucked in tight I
cut the excess fabric off the back. My solution is not ideal, but I wanted to USE the darn thing and
nothing I was stitching looked remotely "professional". The ones they
show on packages? Well, mine don't turn out anything like that. :( For the hanger-up part, I took a batch of beads (larger ones) and
stitched a line of them (about three inches long). THen I tied the beads
in a circle. For myself, I just hook it on the hanger gizmo. If I was
giving this as a gift I'd glue the beads onto the frame. If your backs aren't tidy, you could add a layer of fabric to the
back of your piece (facing out) and then snap the frame over both.
Voila! Instant back hiding accomplished. ;) -My MIL sent us a plastic canvas Christmas decoration in our Christmas card
this year, and she had backed it in green felt. Looks nice, the best glues
to use would be either PVA or craft glue, I think I'd prefer PVA, dries
clear and smooth. By the way, I did a kit of plastic canvas decorations
last year and I didn't back them at all. It looks nearly the same on the
back as the front. |
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