Nauta Lot a Stitches

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April 2021 - Dirt Bike season is in full swing! Will be doing some out door stitching and coming up will soon be some more blog posts!

11 August 2020

Framing a Finished Piece

Using Framers Tape

Framing your own cross stitch! Have you ever done one yourself? I have and here is a step by step way to do this. Whether you are using a frame with or without glass.

Things to remember to do before you frame your piece: (I do the order below)

Materials

Step 1

I start by making sure by working area is clean. Then I take my finished piece and center my design on the foam core. (This is when you can trim your edges to about 2-3" if you would like. I try and do this before starting to stitch my piece so I don't have to deal with it at this point.)

Step 2

Next I pin my design in place. Using straight pins, I begin placing pins through the fabric into the edges of the foam core. I start by placing a pin in the middle of all 4 sides, then work out towards the 4 corners. Place a pin every 1" or so.  

NOTE: This step is critical , so take your time. As you are placing pins, make sure to gently pull your fabric so is begins to stay nice and tight along the foam core, but doesn't begin to stretch the design.

Step 3

Once all the straight pins are in place, and I'm happy with the placement, I push the straight pins all the way into the foam core. Then I flip my piece over and I start wrapping my fabric around the foam core using the framing tape as I go.  The corners I fold in a bit to make a nice tight corner... kind of like wrapping a present!

Step 4

This is what my piece looks like when completely taped!!

Last Step!

Now I make sure to remove all packaging/stickers from the frame. All that is left is to slide into the frame!  Since I am using a mat in this piece I make sure that is in the frame first. Then I gently place the stretched piece into the frame. Close the metal tabs back into place. 

NOTE: If you don't want to see the tape on the back you can fit a piece of cardboard on the back or paper bag. 

19 July 2020

Making Needleminders!

Thinking about my first post I wanted to make it interesting! Lately I have been really been into needleminders. I started getting into making them because I couldn't find the ones I wanted online. Unless someone is making them like I do and selling them, sometimes you might not find what you want or would like a more personal one (a person, pet, or favorite movie/book quote). So I thought I would share my process on making needleminders. :)

 I have found a couple of different ways to make needleminders! One is way more work then the other, but.... I am happy with both results. In the end they can cost very little or a lot depending on the materials you turn into needleminders. Also the upfront cost will be a bit more as a lot of the materials (glue, uv resin, tools, etc.) will last you a long time. I have found during the pandemic, I order most of my materials online, but the items used can be found in a local craft store or hardware store.

Brooch, Pin, Small Trinket/Charm

Materials

Where to start?

1

First, things, first. We need to remove that pesky pin on the back of the piece we want to make into our needleminder. I start by securing my chosen pin in the vice grip. So for protection of the pin I use the hand towel in-between the pin and the vice grip. **For safety ALWAYS wiggle the pin the in vice grip to make sure the pin doesn't move.** The reason I choose a vice grip is because once you clamp down on the pin you don't have to keep griping on the tool to keep the pin in place.

2

Next, this is the very exhausting and tedious part of the process. Figure out what parts you want to saw off. Sometimes, just the end is fine, but other times there is another thicker part of the base of the pin you will want to take off as well. Once you figure out what section you want to take off, slowly move the hand saw back and forth over a trash can or bucket. Little shavings will come off and fall into the trash. Don't force the saw with lots of hard pressure as this will break the saw and could cause you to slip off the project (which wouldn't be safe). Put some pressure on the saw and work the saw back and forth. Eventually you will have a little grove in the pin and will fall into the bucket.

3

We are down to the last few steps! On a piece of cardboard (or papertowel. The papertowel may get stuck to the glue which is not fun,  so I use cardboard), place the pin face down. Add a nice size dab of E6000 adhesive glue and stick on the magnet. 

**Tip: if the glue doesn't go on the back of the pin in a "dot", move the glue around with a toothpick**

4

All that's left to do is wait for the glue to dry! I leave mine on the cardboard and move to a spot that won't get knocked over. Some say this only takes about 4 hours. I typically wait 24 hours before touching again. The company recommends allow 24 hours for curing with maximum bond strength may not be reached for 72 hours.

You  now have a beautiful needle minder to use on your stitching pieces! Have fun!

Shrink Plastic

Materials

Where to start?

1


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.


2

Find the picture you want to make into a needleminder. Print the picture in black and white. **Note: depending on the size of the picture, will depend on how big your needleminder will be** 

My picture here is 2 1/4" h x 2 3/8" w.

3

Cut the shrink plastic so the piece is just slightly larger then your picture.  Tape the shrink plastic (you just cut) over the black and white image of your picture on the large paper.

4

Put the paper back into the printer and re-print the picture in color.

5


Let the ink dry for a couple minutes. Take the shrink plastic off the paper and cut off the excess shrink plastic. If possible peal off the back paper that the company adds to the back of the shrink plastic. I can never get this pealed off. So I will show you my trick later.


6


Put your shrink plastic, that now has a picture, on a flat pan and put in the oven. After about a minute, the shrink plastic will start to shrivel like in the second picture. This is when I **carefully** reach in pull out the shrink plastic and peal off the back paper the shrink plastic, company puts on the back. Then place the shrink plastic back in the oven to finish shrinking. Once the shrink plastic lays flat and has stopped twisting (about 2-3 minutes) count to 30 and pull the pan out of the oven. Remove the shrink plastic with a spatula and set on the counter. **Note: Sometimes when you use the spatula the end will curl. Put the shrink plastic back on the sheet and put back in the oven until it's flat again. Some people also suggest putting a book or something heavy on the shrink plastic while it's cooling to keep flat.  


7


Comparing the shrink plastic to the original printed picture, the size is about 15/16" h x 15/16" w. Now feel around the edges of the shrink plastic. Is there sharp edges?? If there is, I would recommend using sand paper to smooth those out. These beautiful creations are going to be used on your stitching piece you don't want them to snag the fabric. 

8


Now this next part you could consider "optional", but I seal the picture on top of the shrink plastic. Because there is just ink printed on the plastic, the ink can be rubbed off. From reading online articles there are several ways to seal the top so the ink doesn't come off. I choose to use UV Resin because I like the look when finished.

First put on your mask and gloves. Put a few drops of resin on the shrink plastic.


9


Use a toothpick or 2 to spread around the resin, covering the whole picture and removing any bubbles. Also the resin doesn't need to be thick, the company recommends not larger than 4mm high.

 **Note: some people use a lighter to remove bubbles** 


10


Set the UV LED Lamp over the shrink plastic for 1-2 minutes. I will let set for 2 minutes and then test the harness with a gloved hand.

UV Resin Curing Time:


11


If you turn the shrink plastic on the side. You can see there is a bubble that forms over the picture and shows as a glossy clear coat over the ink. You can do as many coats as you like. I do a total of 2 coats.


12


We are down to the last few steps! On a piece of cardboard (or papertowel. The papertowel may get stuck to the glue which is not fun,  so I use cardboard), place the shrink plastic face down. Add a nice size dab of E6000 adhesive glue and stick on the magnet. 

**Tip: if the glue doesn't go on the back of the shrink plastic in a "dot", move the glue around with a toothpick**


13

All that's left to do is wait for the glue to dry! Some say this only takes about 4 hours. I leave mine on the cardboard and move to a spot that won't get knocked over. I typically wait 24 hours before touching again. The company recommends allow 24 hours for curing with maximum bond strength may not be reached for 72 hours.

You  now have a beautiful needle minder to use on your stitching pieces! Have fun!