Stitches

Have any of you ever made an old needlepoint piece into a pillow having to trim down the piece?

I have been given a very old seat cover from what looks to be a dining room chair. The work is off the chair and an odd shape. I'm a fairly good sewer (one who sews, not the drainage ditch..lol) and love old textiles. I would like to make this into a square or rectangular pillow and will have to cut into the old needlepoint to accomplish this. Anyone ever done this? I'm thinking I will need to leave a generous border of the original work, and maybe use "fraycheck", which you will not see as the needlework will be inset into a coordinating fabric. Any tips? I'm also going to use some trims, etc to make this lush. I am going for something of this nature...although I'm sure I won't come close to anything this gorgeous! http://www.cest-chouettehome.com/ Thanks for any help you can offer! Happy Holidays! This will be a gift for someone very special to me, so I need to get on this. It's 14 degrees and snowing, with a 30 mile an hour wind, so today works well for me!

Public Comments

1. Yes, you can do this. I'd start by handwashing and blocking the needlepoint. I learned how to from the directions in Jo Ippolito Christensen's The Needlepoint Book back in the 70's (it's now been reprinted), but it's a lot like blocking any needlework... you want to get it to dry flat, with the base fabric perfectly on grain and not stretched out of shape. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1994117/editions?editionsView=true&referer=di Drop me a note if you need more help... but basically short soak in shampoo and cool water, swish a bit, rinse copiously, roll up in towels to remove most of the water, then pin out on a clean towel on carpet or ironing board, needlepoint face down. Start in the middle and pin midpoints east and west, then north and south. Move over a half inch from the current pins and pin some more. Keep going till it's all pinned out nicely. Throw a sacrificial towel over the back and press down for good contact, and replace often till bone dry. The towel will catch running dye, guck that didn't quite rinse out, sizing from the canvas that's still moving, etc. Decide where you're going to cut off the margins; mark with chalk and use a zigzag sewing machine stitch to sew just inside the margins. Cut carefully. At this point, I'd probably also use a little June Tailor FrayBlock (comes in a purple and turquoise tube, most fabric stores) around the edges. Let it dry and construct your pillow. Fraycheck is a lot stiffer than Frayblock. Good book for actual pillow construction technique is Linda Lee's Sewing Edges and Corners: http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/1561584185 http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/isbn/1561584185&loc=41011 This is going to be a thick enough fabric that you're going to want a fairly hefty needle in the machine... I'd probably put in a size 16 sharp, or maybe a 14 quilter. Try on some of the needlepoint you know you're going to trim. You probably already know this, but skipped stitches usually mean you need to go up in needle size.