Keeping, Storing and Stain Prevention

[Lord Libidan]

I personally follow this guide line:http://withoutastitchon.blogspot.co.uk/ ... son-1.html
When it comes to finger prints though, you should ALWAYS wash your hands before stitching. Hands have oils on them which can discolour threads.
Good news is they wash out fairly easily though. (As long as you haven't ironed them)

[curliewurlie]

That's really useful, thank you. I do always wash my hands, and i will admit i have got better as i have got older. Or maybe more of a perfectionist is the right term

Thanks again!

[kuja.girl]

Another great guide! (I should finish mine... soon, I swear).

Another alternative not mentioned is no-sew adhesives. Things like Heat'n Bond Lite Iron on Adhesive Tape. This also works well (though it can bulk the edges so you may want to trim it off for framing).

Go ahead and use masking tape (I have) but if you want it to be archival remove it/cut away the parts that were taped afterward as I don't believe it is acid free. I would also suggest using the blue painters tape variety because it is meant to be removed from delicate surfaces w/o leaving marks/sticky.

Since I now have a sewing machine I use a zigzag stitch around the edges like Eliste. It's fast and on fabrics with tight weaves (linen & evenweaves) it works really well. I imagine it works the least well on small count (loose weave) fabrics like 12 count aidia. Though in that case you can adjust the stitches to be closer together which should solve the problem.

idk if that helps anyone at all but there it is. Lastly, here's to dry central California weather, where I was able to store my stitchings 1) on top of each other 2) in dark cabinets and 3) never had issues with critters, fur, fungus or anything else for YEARS! ;)

[CrazyCucco11]

What kind of soap do you use when washing your work before ironing? Will a dab of dish soap work?

[RMDC]

What kind of soap do you use when washing your work before ironing? Will a dab of dish soap work?

I use a tiny bit of clear dish soap added to a bowl of water. I hand-stir the water, very gently, so that there are no bubbles.

[Pyper]

Very useful post... I should probably find where my stitched-waiting-finishing projects ended up...

Looks guiltily at messy dusty craft room with pile of (mostly) finished projects shoved in bags together