Sunday, April 13, 2008

Can You Help Me Out?

I am part of a group that has worked on a bead quilt that we are donating to Bead and Button to auction off. We're now to the point of mounting and framing.

I'm hoping that someone will be able to point me in the right direction for doing a good job of mounting so that the piece will last for many many years.

The piece was not designed to be stitched together, but mounted in such a fashion that all the pieces make a whole, with about a quarter of an inch between the pieces. The material is some type of upholstery fabric that is close to Stiff Stuff. I'd really like to use archival material so that acid doesn't eat away at our work.

I appreciate any pointers! I'm sure that this is something that would be a good tip and that other BJPers, if they are thinking of putting their pieces in a book or a frame, would benefit from your input.

Many thanks in advance for any help!

4 comments:

Robin said...

Yikes! You are right to be concerned about archival finishing for this piece. I would consult a quality framer, maybe more than one. Hope you'll let us know the outcome.

Denise said...

You know, the Alaska Bead Society has put together a couple of pieces for auction. Perhaps you could search them out, and get some idea's there.
It's a small lead but maybe it will pan out.
Cheers, Denise

KrispiS said...

You might consider attaching the entire piece to a pre-stretched artists' oil painting canvas. This will give you rigidity with the frame and the fabric of the canvas in the center. You may have to stitch at various intervals through the canvas, but that is easy to do since you have fabric on both sides.
This is the way I am planning to mount my BJP 07-08 project pieces. I have been through many planned mounting methods in my head, but this one is the best by far, since it doesn't add much weight (the beads themselves weigh enough without adding the weight of masonite to the project). I am planning to add wider fabric "borders" to my piece before I mount it, and then will staple that to the wood frame. In the end, I plan to frame it with a wooden picture frame.

G Leigh said...

Jeanette Shanigan has just finished assembling this year's quilts done by the Beady Shananigans group. She has been doing this for about five years (on a large scale) and probably has a wealth of info. I know you can join her group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beadyshenanigans/

If you are interested in doing other projects for Beaders Against Breast Cancer - this is a great group to join.