How to Use Sticky Board to Mount Cross Stitch Projects

There are lots of different ways that you can prepare your finished cross stitch for display. You can leave it in the hoop you stitched it in, maybe sewing the edges of the fabric to each other or otherwise securing them on the back side so the edges won’t fray and so they are out of the way.

Small projects can be turned into cards or bookmarks, or mounted in frames made for keychains.

You can turn a project into a pillow, pincushion or ornament by sewing fabric to the back and (probably) adding a bit of stuffing or batting between the layers to give it a bit more dimension or to turn it into a pillow or pincushion.

Of course you can also frame your cross stitch projects, in a picture frame, with a mat or even both.

One way to make that easier to do is by using sticky board (or mounting board) on the back of your project. This is a product you can buy online or in craft stores that’s basically like cardboard but it’s sticky on one side. While it comes in standard sizes you can also cut it with a box cutter or craft knife if you need a smaller size.

Stitched Modern has a great tutorial for using this product to help you frame your cross stitch project. The mounting board holds down the raw edges on the back of the work, giving it a smooth and secure finish without having to do any sewing or other finishing.

The product is also acid free so it won’t harm your project. It’s a great way to frame projects you’re giving as gifts or plan to display long term because the fabric will be extra secure in the frame with this extra bit of support on the back.

Have you ever used this technique? I’d love to hear about it.

[Photo: Stitched Modern]

One of the easiest ways to make a cross stitch project more personal is to add text to it. Whether you’re adding the names of people getting married to a generic floral cross stitch design, birth information to a project on theme with the new baby’s room or just adding a word or phrase that’s meaningful to you, adding words to cross stitch projects make them that much more special.

But if you’re not working with a project that already has text built in, or you want to change the text that’s there, that can feel a little daunting.

Caterpillar Cross Stitch has a great guide to adding names and words (as well as numbers) to projects, which talks you through what to consider and how to actually go about adding text to a cross stitch project successfully.

You’ll need to think about what kind of font you want to use and if you’re using back stitched letters or larger filled letters, how much space you need and how the letters work together in the text you’re planning to make sure it’s readable.

Their post includes common pitfalls such as running out a space or ending up with text that’s off center and how to avoid them (spoiler: chart out your text before you stitch!).

The whole post is really helpful if you’ve never added lettering to a project before and don’t know where to start. I like to use block letters in back stitch when learning how to add text to cross stitch, but of course there are tons of lettering options. Check out this collection of cross stitch fonts if you want to see some different things you can try.

And head over to Caterpillar Cross Stitch to get more tips for how to successfully add lettering to your cross stitch projects. They also have their own alphabet and number charts you can buy to add text to your stitching.

Have you ever added text to a cross stitch project? I’d love to hear how it went!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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