Custom-made Petit Point Frame

[Catherine Ronan]

This is a frame for stitching a petit point carpet. I have never seen one before. It belongs to a friend of mine in France. They are custom made to fit the width of the canvas you are stitching. The man who makes them is away for the summer.

 

I think they would be very easy to make. I am not sure if I can find those end caps that fit the screws to make one.

 

I really miss family owned hardware stores. We just lost our last one that had been in the same location for over 100 years.

[Bill Hudson]

I have several sources for them locally. Tell me what size you need.  Idon'tsee why regular nuts or wing nuts wouldn't work, maybe not as nice looking and don't have the knurl but they should work.

[ElgaKoster]

Judging by the size of the wood pieces this makes for a really small frame, most of your rug would be rolled up, personally for rugs I prefer a frame that leaves both hands free for stitching, I use a hoop that I turned into a lap stand. Many stitchers prefer a floor stand even for their miniature rugs because it is so much easier to stitch when you have both hands free. Also I have used a similar homemade one as the one in your photo for full scale embroidery and found it rather unstable.

Here is a photo of the one I made.

And with the gauze in it.

[Catherine Ronan]

Thank you very much Bill for your kind offer. I think Elga is right though about having both hands free. Even if the frame is not particularly  transportable. I doubt I would be taking the rug I am going to stitch anywhere else to work on. I need the Daylight floor stand magnifying lamp I have to see it..... Sadly enough.

 

Elga, I am going to see if I can't find something similar. I do have a frame that belonged to my grandmother I think would work. I have left it as is for a long time because the piece she was working on when she passed away is still on it. I think she would want me to take that off now and use it.

 

Thanks again Bill. XXX

[MissyBoling]

I think light is far more important than magnification for seeing when stitching, although I need both.  My portable Ott lite is sufficient for traveling if it's positioned correctly.  I don't use a frame at all because I like to be able to put the needle in and out with one motion - the scoop method instead of the stab method.  I can work twice as fast that way.  You do have to be very careful with your tension if you're not using a frame, though.

 

What a treasure to have your grandmother's frame.  I'm sure she would want you to use it, but I do understand the desire to leave her work in place.

[Catherine Ronan]

Missy if you stitch a big piece of petit point off a frame and in that fashion it will not be square when you finish it. You might get away with it if you stitch something small like a chair seat that has to be glued (stretched) into place.

[Wm. R. Robertson]

Here in the USA if you need odd size wing nuts you better have a really good hardware store and most of us don't. One place to order this sort of thing is McMaster Carr...... They ship quick and don't charge you a lot for S/H.

Here is their wing nut selection.... Check the pretty ones in the middle of the page.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-wing-nuts/=snwcy9

[MissyBoling]

I have stitched all of my rugs off frame, and Bobbie Schoonmaker (IGMA Fellow in petitpoint), who taught me much of what I know about stitching and designing, also stitched without a frame.  You just have to be careful of your tension.  If you have a tendancy toward tight tension, you should certainly use a frame.

[ElgaKoster]

Those are nice wing nuts Bill, online shops haven't really caught on here yet, luckily we have a shop close by that specializes in nuts and bolts, whenever we need something out of the usual we go there, wonder if they might stock them. They sell some things by weight, once or twice when I needed just a few of something, they gave it to me free, think the paper work would have cost more than the actual item.

Missy I guess it all depends on how we started out learning to do petit point, I would have loved to meet Bobbie, I bought my first gauze and charts from her shortly before she passed away. Since I use the french knot stitch for most of my rugs I do need the frame. I know there are a few other people who stitch in hand too like you. I think with doing petit point it is probably good to experiment with different techniques and find the one that works for you, that is what I did in the beginning.

[WeekendMiniaturist]

I prefer to stitch in a frame for two reasons, 1) because my hands get tired of holding the stitching, so I frame all my Petit Point Projects so I can have my floor stand hold my stitching...(or you can use a lap stand), and 2) because I don't like to block.  Some people just stitch so beautifully in hand,  and I am aware of the scoop method that Missy was referring, but I've never tried it in PP.  The next time I do a small project I'll have to give this method a try.  I do have a rose that I need to re-do, so I can finish a Nicola Mascall foot stool  I have decent tension when I Petit Point, but I prefer to not tempt fate by stitching in hand, and accidentally pulling my stitches too tight.  For me, stitching in a frame is my ounce of prevention, but I can manage to stitch a small pillow, or a footstool in hand without too much grief.

 

Bill H, what is the screw in the end of the dowel rod that accepts the wing nut.  Would I just drill a dowel rod, and epoxy it into the dowel rod?

 

Bill R, I like the big wing nuts, reminds me of Mickey Mouse ears, I wonder if those would be friendly to old hands... the local woodworking store, and Lowe's both had alternatives for the light duty wing nuts that were included with my portable Edmund's floor stand... they were a pain to work with, so I replaced them for the parts that I was always adjusting when stitching. 

 

Catherine are you going to begin to stitch something?  I am very fond of all the fiber arts!  Please let us know what you are working on.

 

Tamra