How to Cover Cross Stitch Margins to Protect Them From Dirt

Keep an emery cushion on hand to scour your needle clean between work sessions

Keeping the delicately-starched surfaces of cross stitch fabrics such as Aida or evenweave linen clean while you work on your stitching project can be a challenge. When working with beautiful hand-dyed fabrics that can't stand up to even a gentle hand-washing, the need to protect the fabric from dirt and skin oils is even greater. Everything you need to protect even wide margins of delicate fabrics can be found in one quick trip to a hardware store or megamart.

Things You'll Need

• Low-adhesive painter's tape
• Paper clips
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Cut your fabric to at least 1 inch wider in each direction than the pattern requires.

2. Lay a strip of low-adhesive painter's tape along the top edge of the fabric with half the width of the tape protruding past the cut edge. Gently finger-press the tape down against the fabric where it touches it.

3. Flip the fabric over and fold the tape around the cut edge to enclose it. Gently finger-press the tape into place.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each edge of the fabric.

5. Build up the width of the protected margin by laying a second strip of tape along the top edge of the fabric parallel to the first strip, overlapping slightly so that the outside quarter inch rests on the last strip of tape. Repeat along each side, going all the way around the fabric before starting another layer.

6. Cover the margins with shingled strips of tape front and back. When the margins are fully covered, set a paper clip in each corner of the fabric, placing it diagonally inward from the corner to keep the edges of the tape strips from peeling up.

7. When the project is finished being stitched, remove the paper clips and peel away all but the outermost frame of painter's tape. If any flakes of adhesive remain on the fabric, brush them away gently with a clean dry cloth. Remove the final binding of tape only when you are about to frame the project.

Tips & Warnings

• Test the safety of tape on your particular fabric by sticking a small piece of tape onto a discreet corner and then removing it after a few days to be sure that it doesn't lift away dyes.

• Before working on your stitching project, wash your hands with hand dishwashing liquid to strip away any skin oils.

References

• Unique Homemade Gifts: Got Linen?
• Thrifty Fun: Cross Stitch Tips for Beginners
• Artecy: Cleaning and Framing Cross Stitch Tips

Resources

• Joann Fabric: Scotch Blue Painters Tape