How to Frame Cross Stitch with Lacing

I don’t make a lot of large cross stitch pieces so I don’t have much experience with framing. When I did it as a kid I think we mostly used cardboard and double-stick tape and put the pieces in picture frames. Which I’m sure isn’t the best way to go about it.

I came across this post from Thread Bare that shows how to use the lacing method to help when you are framing larger cross stitch pieces (I’m sure you can use it on small pieces, too.) This method both secures the edges and keeps an even tension on the cross stitch fabric, so that you can easily mount it in a picture frame.

This is a great option for your large pieces that you might consider taking to a custom frame shop, but of course doing it yourself is going to be less expensive. The post says all the materials including the frame cost about $27, and you may already have some of the supplies you need. One thing to note is that it uses what is described as cardboard backing, which in the photos almost looks like posterboard, but it’s important to use something acid free for this purpose if you can find it, since that’s the best option for long-term storage of textiles.

Another good thing about this method, other than being relatively inexpensive, is that because the lacing method just uses thread (albeit heavy-duty thread) if you don’t like the look of it initially you can always pull out the lacing and try again.

The post has a ton of pictures, which should make it possible for you to complete this project on your own. If you do something like this or have another method for securing your cross stitch projects for framing, I would love to hear about it!

[Photo: Thread Bare.]

I’m going to go ahead and admit that I totally missed Toy Story 4, so it took my by surprise when Toy Story 5 came out, but let’s celebrate with some Toy Story cross stitch patterns.

This sweet design including Woody, Buzz and Jessie is from The Xstitch Shop, and they actually have a few different Toy Story options. This one says it is for intermediate stitches, probably because of the size and number of colors, but the sales page doesn’t say how big it is or how many colors it uses. It’s still cute, though!

If you’ve got a fan of Jessie in your household, this collection of Jessie themed icons is super cute to stitch. The design is from Mercury Stitches and it measures 97 by 144 stitches. that comes out to 6.9 by 10.3 inches, or 17.6 by 26.1 cm, and uses 11 colors. It has full and half cross stitches, as well as back stitching and French knots.

Share the love of friendship with this sweet Woody and Buzz heart hands cross stitch pattern from Pixell Patterns. This design uses eight colors and is shown worked on 14 count fabric, but the notes don’t indicate how bit is is (based on a finished project photo, though, it looks pretty big).

And for the Buzz Lightyear fans, of course we have to have a “To infinity and beyond” pattern, so here’s one from Silver Lake Stitches. This design is super cute on blue fabric, but use whatever you have. It measures 78 by 92 stitches, which comes out to 5.6 by 6.6 inches, or 14.2 by 16.7 cm, on 14 count fabric. It calls for 14 colors.

Or if you want to go beyond the core three main character toys, check out this project from ThreeOOne Patterns, which includes our main toys as well as Bo Peep and her sheep, Bullseye the horse, the Slinky dog, Rex, Ham, the Potato Heads and an alien. The design is 310 by 80 stitches, which comes out to 21.14 by 3.5 inches, or 53.7 by 8.9 cm, when worked on 14 count fabric. It uses 65 colors. Or pick out your favorite characters to make a smaller project.

All those characters and a few more are found on the mini Toy Story character sampler from Knotalot UK (only part of which is shown above). This one uses 31 colors and measures 134 by 108 stitches. It includes whole and fractional stitches, as well as back stitching. On 14 count fabric stitching the whole thing would make a project that’s 9.57 by 7.71 inches, or 24.31 by 19.59 cm.

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