Now that the needlepoint covers the finishing foam that has gold lame on one side, let me explain something I didn't make clear when I was stitching the two little Byzantine icons. These designs are on 14 count canvas that has been covered with gold paint, then the figures and borders were painted on top of the gold. All that gold paint makes the canvas a bit stiffer than normal and when I ripped out stitches on the border, I discovered that this dulled the paint. If you purchase such a canvas, be very careful ripping out in areas that won't be covered by thread.
However, when you don't stitch an area at all (like the gold background behind the angel and the Madonna and Child figures), the gold paint looks great, especially with a piece of gold lame underneath it. I showed off the two finished pieces at Scarlet Thread yesterday and folks asked about the gold background. It is bare naked NP canvas, but it doesn't look like it. The gold lame definitely adds to the paint and make the background interesting-looking enough that the people in the shop commented on it and asked what made it look the way it does. Definitely consider trying this on any piece that could use some sparkle, particularly if you have light coverage stitches or no stitches at all in areas.
Ok, back to finishing. It's time to stitch the needlepoint and gold lame piece with its hanger to the back piece of finishing foam. To do this, all you need is a sharp sewing needle and thread that matches the color of your felt. I use a thimble but this isn't necessary. You can substitute DMC cotton floss for sewing thread if necessary but I prefer regular sewing thread as I feel it is stronger and more suited to finishing chores.
First, put the NP piece on top of the felt finishing foam and compare how well they fit. You probably will have to trim the finishing foam a bit but leave the felt alone. Right now it is fine that it is bigger all around than your needlepoint canvas front. Since my finishing foam was self-stick, I had to pull the felt back off the foam a little around the edges but if you are careful you can easily do this. Just don't yank. If I had glued the felt to the finishing foam, my glue would be applied about an inch from the edge so that I didn't have to pull the felt away there. You will need to remove just a sliver from the edges of the foam, just enough that it is very slightly smaller than the front NP piece. Now use your banker's clamps (or clothes pens or straight pins) to attach the front and back. Once things are just the way you want them, you can trim the felt edge so it is a tad more than even with the NP on the front. This gives you a bit of felt to overlap the edge a little. Now start sewing the front to the back. Pinch the front and back together hard with one hand as you go and be careful not to put stitches very far into the front of the piece. Because your sewing thread matches the felt on the back, stitches there will be invisible but they will show on the front if you aren't careful. If you need to trim the finishing foam on the back or the felt a bit, you can easily do so as you work. Remove the clamps and put them elsewhere as you work.
You will end up with an ornament ready to hang but with a slightly rough edge where you will see the stitches that attach the front to the back. This is why ornaments have trim or beads around the edges. They hide this edging.
The last step in finishing the ornament is to cover the edges. I use gold braid trim or beads or both to do this, depending on what the ornament looks like. You can also use ribbon. Beading an edge is tedious work but it seemed to enhance the Byzantine Icons so that is what I did. If I'd attached trim instead, I probably would not have sewn the front to the back completely before sewing on the trim. I normally cut a length of trim and then put one end inside the ornament at the top near the hanger, then sew the trim all the way around to the top again, where I tuck the other end of the trim inside the ornament, complete attaching the front to the back, and then finish sewing the trim. Note that you can also use glue but due to several unfortunate accidents, I prefer sewing. It takes a lot longer but for me it looks better in the end.
Now, if someone will help me remove pieces of self stick finishing foam from my pants, we will be done!
Jane/Chilly Hollow
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