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neeter
05-08-2005, 04:48 AM
hi - my niece did a 8x8 latch hook of winnie the pooh for my son. the question is, how to finish and hang it? anyone have ideas? i'd prefer to hang it, but i guess we could always turn it into a pillow.

thanks in advance!!

tarabenet
05-10-2005, 08:22 AM
One common way to finish them is to sew them to a sturdy, stablizing backing fabric. Sew them right sides together, leave an opening, and turn them right sides out. You can either hand-sew hooks on through the backing fabric and into the mesh, or (better option) sew a rod pocket onto the backing before you put it together with the latch-hook piece.

There are some no-sew options, too. If the canvas mesh is still sticking out raw, it needs to be finished in some way that will keep it from unraveling. Either fold it to the back and tape it down (not fancy, but it works OK) or glue on some purchased ribbon, bias tape, or whatever makes a narrow "frame" in a color you like.

Consider mounting it to something that is the color you want, for a wider framing border and for the stabilizing that the piece needs. Think about poster board (cheapest, least stable option), foam-core, picture frame matting, a purchased artist canvas painted a color you like, etc. Mount it to one of those things with a good glue or hot glue, or tack it with pins or hand stitches. You can even use an inner border first, for a really finished look, kind of like a picture frame.

Just think how proud your niece will be to see her art-work gift put on display!

I've become a big fan of those artist's canvases you can buy cheaply at the arts-n-crafts chain stores. Paint up several in matcihng colors, and they make a perfect unifying display for things like kids' art, leaves and nature finds, handprint pieces, quilt blocks, and whatever else you can think of! Gives things a gallery feeling -- even those scribbly coloring book pages can get dolled up this way. I completely stole the idea from a magazine about decorating kids rooms.

neeter
05-11-2005, 08:41 AM
Thank you so much for your wonderful ideas!!! I love the idea to get the artist canvases and tacking it onto it. I also love the idea of painting up several of those, and using it as a background to display other kiddie stuff! Thanks so much!