How to frame a cross-stitch

Framing a cross-stitch, the short version

To frame a finished cross-stitch: wash and press it, lace the fabric over an acid-free mounting board so it sits flat and taut, choose a mat that either reveals a thin border of blank fabric or overlaps the stitched edge, then assemble it into the frame — with spacers if you add glass so the glazing never touches the stitches.

The reason framing stitched work differs from framing a paper print is simple: the piece lives on fabric (Aida or evenweave), and that fabric has to extend well past the design so it can be mounted and laced. Kit fabric is often cut too close to do that — the one mistake that ambushes people at the framing step. So this guide does the math up front, before any scissors come out.

Set aside about two hours and work through the six steps below in order. Each one builds on the last, and the measuring step in the middle decides everything downstream.

Overview: the six steps

1. Wash and press the finished piece. Gently hand-wash the stitched work if it needs it, then press it face-down on a towel so the stitches sink into the padding and stay raised. Never iron stitches flat from the front.
2. Measure the design and check your fabric margin. Work out the finished design size from the stitch count (stitches ÷ fabric count per side), then measure the blank fabric around it. You need 2 to 3 inches per side to lace comfortably; about 1 inch is the bare minimum.
3. Cut the mounting board and lace the piece. Cut acid-free mounting board to the finished design plus the reveal you want to show, center the stitching over it, and lace the fabric across the back with strong thread, pulling the tension even on all four sides.
4. Choose the mat opening and reveal. Decide whether the mat shows a thin border of blank fabric (a reveal) or overlaps the stitched edge to hide it, then size the opening to match. A double mat lets an accent color echo the threads.
5. Add glazing with spacers, or skip the glass. If you glaze, fit spacers so the glass never touches the stitches and can't flatten the texture or trap moisture. Many stitchers leave the glass off to keep the surface texture, especially with beads or specialty threads.
6. Assemble with acid-free materials. Layer glazing, mat, the laced piece and an acid-free backing into the frame. Never put raw cardboard against the fabric — its acids will stain the work over the years.

Step 1 — Wash and press

Months of handling leave oils and grime in the fabric, so start clean. If the piece needs it, hand-wash it in cool water with a little gentle soap, rinse well, and roll it in a towel to blot — never wring it. Skip the wash only if the threads aren't colorfast and you can't test them safely.

Press while slightly damp, and press face-down on a towel. The towel lets the raised stitches sink into the padding so the iron flattens only the fabric, not the stitching. Iron the work face-up and you crush the texture you spent all those hours building. A warm iron, no steam directly on metallic or specialty threads, and you're ready to measure.

Step 2 — Measure the design and check your fabric margin

This is the decision point. Two numbers matter: the finished design size and the blank fabric margin around it. Get the design size from your stitch count — divide the stitches by the fabric count per side:

• design width = stitches wide ÷ fabric count
• design height = stitches high ÷ fabric count

That's for Aida, worked over one block. Linen and evenweave are usually worked over two threads, so halve the count first: 28-count over 2 behaves like 14 stitches per inch. Get that over-1-versus-over-2 rule wrong and your design comes out twice the size it should.

The fabric margin is the unstitched border around the design — and it's the number that decides whether you can lace at all. You want at least 2 inches per side; 1 inch is the bare floor. Rather than juggle all four sums by hand, drop your stitch count, fabric count and fabric size into the cross-stitch framing calculator. It returns the design size, the mat opening, the frame size, and — the part no other calculator does — a lacing check that flags whether the margin is ok, tight or insufficient before you cut anything.

Worked example: a 140 × 120 design on 14-count

Say your chart is 140 stitches wide × 120 high, stitched on 14-count Aida over one. The design size falls straight out of the division:

• Width: 140 ÷ 14 = 10″
• Height: 120 ÷ 14 = 8.571… = 8 9/16″

So the finished design is 10 × 8 9/16″. Now check the fabric. On a common 14 × 13″ cut, the blank margin is (14 − 10) ÷ 2 = 2″ on the sides and (13 − 8 9/16) ÷ 2 ≈ 2 3/16″ top and bottom. The narrower side — 2″ — is what governs lacing, and 2″ lands right on the recommended mark, so this piece is ok to lace. We'll size the mat from these numbers in step 4.

Step 3 — Cut the mounting board and lace

The piece has to sit flat and stay put, and there are three ways to do it. You can pin it round the edges of a board, stick it to a self-adhesive mounting board, or lace it. Lacing is the conservation-safe default, because it uses no glue and can be undone later without harming the fabric — sticky boards are convenient but effectively permanent, and their adhesive can yellow over time.

Cut acid-free mounting board to the finished design plus however much blank fabric you want to show as a reveal — for our example, the 10 × 8 9/16″ design plus a little on each side. Center the stitching over the board, fold the margins to the back, and lace the opposite edges to each other with strong thread in a zig-zag, working top-to-bottom then side-to-side. Keep the tension even so the fabric doesn't pull crooked. This is exactly where that 2″ margin earns its keep — too little fabric and there's nothing to fold over and lace to.

Step 4 — Choose the mat opening and reveal

Now the look. A mat does two jobs on needlework: it frames the piece and it holds the glazing off the stitches. The choice is whether the opening shows a reveal of blank fabric around the stitching, or overlaps the stitched edge to hide it.

• Reveal (the needlework default). The opening is larger than the design so a thin band of bare fabric shows: opening = design + 2 × reveal. A ¼″ reveal is typical.
• Overlap (like a paper print). The opening is smaller than the design so the mat lip covers the stitched edge — the same direction as the mat opening calculator.

Carrying our example forward with a ¼″ reveal: the opening is 10 + 2(¼) = 10½″ wide and 8 9/16 + 2(¼) = 9 1/16″ tall. Add a 2″ mat border all around and the mat outside — the frame size — is 14½ × 13 1/16″. Those are the exact numbers the cross-stitch framing calculator returns for this piece.

A double mat suits needlework especially well: a thin accent reveal in a color pulled from the threads lifts the whole piece without putting a strong color across the entire border. The double matting and reveals guide covers sizing that second board.

Step 5 — Glazing: spacers, or skip the glass

Stitched work has texture, and glass is the enemy of texture. If you glaze, you must keep the glass off the stitches with a spacer (or let the mat's own thickness do it) — glass pressed flat against thread crushes the raised stitches and traps moisture against the fibers, which over time invites mildew.

Plenty of stitchers skip glass altogether to keep the surface alive, especially on pieces with beads, French knots or specialty threads that glass would flatten and dull. If you do glaze and the piece matters, acrylic is lighter and shatter-resistant — the glass vs acrylic guide weighs that choice. Either way, a spacer keeps the breathing gap.

Step 6 — Assemble with acid-free materials

Build the stack into the frame in order: glazing first against the rabbet, then the mat, then the laced piece, then the backing. The single rule that protects the work for decades: no raw cardboard against the fabric. Ordinary cardboard and brown kraft backing are acidic and will brown and stain the fabric over years — use acid-free or conservation board for anything that touches the piece.

Close the frame, fit the backing, and seal the back with tape if you want to keep dust out. Stand back: a piece that represents fifty-plus hours of work deserves the ten extra minutes that acid-free materials and even lacing take.

Common mistakes

• Too little fabric to lace. Kit fabric is often cut tight. Check the margin before you start — under 1″ per side and you can't lace securely.
• Ironing the stitches flat from the front. Press face-down on a towel so the texture survives.
• Letting glass touch the stitching. Always use a spacer or a mat so the glazing can't crush the texture or trap moisture.
• Raw cardboard backing. Acidic board stains fabric over time. Use acid-free materials against the piece.
• Getting the over-1 vs over-2 count wrong. On linen and evenweave worked over 2, halve the count first or the design comes out double size.
• Uneven lacing tension. Pull crooked and the design sits skewed behind the opening. Work opposite edges and keep the tension matched.

A few terms, defined

Needlework and framing each have their own vocabulary. If a word here is new, the matting glossary has the framing side of it.

Aida / evenweave

Cross-stitch fabrics. Aida has clear blocks and is worked over one; evenweave and linen are finer and usually worked over two threads.

Count

Stitches (or threads) per inch of fabric. Higher count means smaller stitches and a smaller finished design.

Lacing

Mounting the piece by folding the fabric margins to the back of a board and tensioning them with thread — the conservation-safe, reversible method.

Reveal

The band of blank fabric (or accent mat) shown between the stitching and the mat opening.

Ready to put numbers to your own piece? The cross-stitch framing calculator sizes the opening, frame and lacing margin together, and the mat border calculator handles the border-and-frame side once you've settled the opening.