Measuring your project

[TristaKatagata]

How do you guys do it? I've been attempting to measure out aid cloth so I can get started on Christmas Presents (things the size of 36x97 stitches, not too big really) but I want them to fit nicely into a frame, and none of the stitches to be left out. How do you measure so it fits kind of 'perfectly' into a frame??

EDIT:

Also, how much cloth should you leave as a 'border' before you frame? I've been bothered by this all the time! That's my main problem in measuring!

[Servotron]

How do you guys do it? I've been attempting to measure out aid cloth so I can get started on Christmas Presents (things the size of 36x97 stitches, not too big really) but I want them to fit nicely into a frame, and none of the stitches to be left out. How do you measure so it fits kind of 'perfectly' into a frame??

EDIT:

Also, how much cloth should you leave as a 'border' before you frame? I've been bothered by this all the time! That's my main problem in measuring!

Well, if you know the size of frame and the count of the cloth you are using, you can work out how big to make your pattern. For example, a 6 x 4 inch frame filled with 14 count aida would mean a pattern size of 84 x 56 stitches. That way the stitches will go all the way to the edge of the frame with only a bit of overlap.
I find the best way to do it is to buy a frame slightly bigger than I need and make a border using mounting board or thin card.

[katdun]

You can also cheat by using one of these: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/prod ... prd1144391. You can hold it over your fabric, and the marks on the ruler will line up with the holes according to the count of your fabric. I use mine to see how big a pattern will end up before I start stitching it. Then you could determine from there how much fabric you want to have surround the stitch area inside your frame and how big of a frame you want to use. I always mount my fabric to a sticky mounting board first (something like this: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/prod ... ID=prd2672). Then I cut the fabric to the size of the mounting board if I am going to put a mat over it, or I leave an extra 1" around the edges to fold over to the back if my frame is the same size as the mounting board. If I fold it over, I use regular scotch tape to hold it in place and put the frame's backer over it to cover it all up. Probably not the most professional way, but it's worked for me. Nobody will see the back when it's hung up anyway! The only problem I usually have is that everything gets too thick to put back into the frame. In that case, I remove the glass and put in a piece of plastic wrap instead so the project doesn't get dirty. Hope that helps!

[Eliste]

If you're framing, I'd suggest leaving at least two inches or more around the project. You can always cut it off.

I "cheat" on my framing. I usually end up framing with a larger size, but I mat the project first so it fits the frame. This also helps with awkward shapes of projects as you can still make it work in a normal frame. I get the project finished, then measure, and then get a frame and matting to match it.

Try this if you want to know more about matting-
http://withoutastitchon.blogspot.com/20 ... son-5.html

[amneufeld]

I use a minimum of 2" on each side both for framing and to hold it in my hoop/qsnap/whatever. So, 28 holes on 14 count, 32 holes on 16 count, etc. For projects I know my client will matte, I do 3-4".