As you can see from the photo, I've cut out the 1/4 inch margin all around the stitched NP canvas and snipped inwardly pointing lines into the curved areas. Those cuts, which only go in about halfway, help the turned under edge lie flat. And I laced the wool felt around the foam core, just like you lace a piece of needlework to foam core before framing it. Then I put the two sides together and stitched them, making sure that the hanging loop I made was attached to the back of the NP first. The lumpy upper left area stitched smooth once I started putting things together. I just turned under more/less of the needlepoint or the back felt to make the join smooth. When I cut my foam core I used my color copy of the plain unstitched Liz canvas as a pattern. I cut around it and used the cutout as a template on the foam core, but made the foam core 1/8 inch smaller than the NP. Next time I will make it 1/4 inch smaller all around. I think that will help with the joining of the front to the back. And next time maybe my lacing will be less lumpy! Practice makes perfect....
The final piece isn't shown yet because I need to find trim to hand stitch around the margins. Using 1/4 fat foam core means my ornament is light weight but 1/4 thick, so I need larger braid than I can make to put all around the edges. So I'll need to go shopping Monday and Tuesday to collect supplies.
As always, stay tuned!
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
