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]

I don’t usually cross stitch text or add words to my cross stitch projects. Sometimes I will sign things using basic block lettering worked in backstitch (luckily my initials are pretty easy to stitch), but if you give your cross stitch as a gift or otherwise want to personalize it, adding text is a great way to go.

But if a project didn’t already come with text, and you don’t want to draw your own, you’ll need a good cross stitch font that you can use for your project.

I like collecting fonts that are easy to read and to stitch and that would be good for lots of different uses.

For example I really like this bold alphabet font from Cross Stitch with Art, which has both capital and lowercase letters as well as numbers if you need them for dates or other information on your design. The capital letters are an inch/2.5 cm/14 stitches tall, which makes it easy to figure out how much space you need to leave for them. It’s a nice, basic, readable serif font you can use for lots of project.

If you want a script font that’s still really readable, check out Magic Calligraphy from Soft Pattern Designs. This hand drawn font has upper case letters around 28 stitches tall, with lower case letters mostly being around 20 stitches (though the ones that go up or down a lot like f, p and y are bigger). The numbers also vary a bit in size but range from 25 to 29 stitches.

Sometimes you just want a classic font that looks like sports lettering, and in that case you’re going to need Varsity, an all caps font from Stitch Mod. This one has letters that are 21 stitches tall, and it includes capital letters and numbers. But there are definitely times this one would come in handy!

Another sometimes useful and really cute font is this alphabet block letters alphabet from Stitch Junction. These letters are all upper case and look like classic building blocks, and there are also numbers available. This one would be perfect for a birth announcement project or some other cross stitch for the baby’s room.

And if that’s not enough for you, check out this post with 85 free cross stitch fonts for you to try!

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