01 October 2012

Another type of frame

I make a lot of improvisational quilts which have weird irregular measurements. I have never made a equal sided one. I am preparing to mount this quilt (Standing Stones) on a stretched frame I made myself.


                                    Standing Stones      36" X 32"


I started out with two each 1X - 29" and 32". I used my chop saw to cut 45* angles and the I pre-drilled with a 1/8" drill bit. I glued (wood glue) and screwed (2" dry wall screws) the angles and let dry a few hours.


I lay out the pieces in the shape of the frame. As I cut each angle, I dry fitted  and numbered the angles (4,4  1,1) then I do the pre-drilling. THEN I KNOW the screw will go into the wood precisely.


As you can see, this is lame dog fabric I used to make dog beds for dog rescues. It will act as a "hammock" or soft backing for the quilt which will be glued on pretty permanently with 3M dry wall bead spray. That stuff HOLDS. I don't want the piece falling off the frame - yikes!!!


Here sits "Standing Stones" like Frankenstein's brains just waiting to be sprung to life (OK,OK, I'm tired...). You can see the finished product hanging at the Belfast Coop at the end of this post.


                               Here I am mitering the corners on the frame.


                                            Trimming off excess fabric


                          All trimming and awaiting the black edging.


                             A 2" strip of fabric (3 pieces X 45" stitched into a strip)


                                  Stapling the edge front and back


Finished black edge. I have also painted the edge with black acrylic but this was faster.


           This is some serious adhesive. Don't plan on removing what you adhere.

 The top of the FABRIC COVERED FRAME (not the quilt) has been sprayed with the adhesive. I put the quilt down on the frame which turned out to be a mistake. It wasn't quite centered so I'd suggest doing it this way - place the quilt face down on a surface and carefully lower the sprayed fabric covered frame down, making sure you have the frame centered over the quilt as you see above. This was my second attempt.


I didn't wanting the quilt "detaching" from the frame while on display so I stapled the 1/2" allowance from the hanging sleeve to the frame. The frame stuck to the hanging sleeve but the 1/2" extra allowance in the sleeve caused the quilt to "hang away" from the frame. Stapling the excess sleeve allowance to the frame solved two problems; The quilt was fitted tightly to the frame (no sag/bag) , and the quilt was mechanically attached (stapled) to the frame insuring it would stay on the frame. Win, win.


                                                    Staples in sleeve


It looks like the frame is extending beyond the quilt but it was just the angle of the shot. I just wanted you to see what it looked like from the side.


  Here is the quilt hanging at the show.It stands out from the wall about a half inch.


This is a third framing technique. You can either wrap the entire quilt around a stretched canvas or cover the canvas with a background fabric and adhere the quilt using the 3M dry wall spray to the background fabric which I have done here.


                             Purchased canvases from Blick (dead cheap)


                           From the back with label and hanger.

Hope this has given you some ideas for alternate ways to display your work. Please remember that if you want to enter shows with your work, these techniques will probably NOT DO. I don't enter shows but I do sell in galleries so framed/mounted works for me.













4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tute on the odd-shaped one - great idea there! :)

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  2. I really have to try this! I especially like the last sample where you wrapped the canvas then mounted your fiber art piece with the adhesive. Have you ever tried painting the canvas, then mounting? I have seen that done with good results as well...

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  3. It was too big and it is sagging so I am thinking of putting a stiff cover on the frame like foam board then gluing. I am just finishing another improv quilt (starting Monday on the blog) and I am going to try to mount that on a frame with a foam core surface to stiffen and flatten. It works great on small pieces that don't have so much weight but the really big pieces tend to sag without a stiff backing. I am also going to sew flanges all around and use the as fabric flanges to staple to the frame. I'll take pictures and it will be easier to see.

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