If you have been thinking about creative ways to finish your needlepoint, you might be considering acrylic trays. They look so easy to finish. And they would make really elegant gifts.
Then you run smack dab into the problem that at the moment they can be hard to find in needlepoint shops. Over on the Needlepoint Self-finishers group on Facebook, Patricia Pilarinos posted about a lovely tray she finished herself.
She found her tray on Amazon (search for acrylic or lucite tray). They come in many sizes. Get one to match the size of your needlepoint with a mat.
Get your needlepoint matted (I use my local Hobby Lobby for this) and get a second piece of matboard or foam core cut to fin the finished size to be your back.
Carefully measure the inside of your tray (to 1/32 of an inch). Go to TAP Plastics, Lowe’s, or another place that will cut acrylic for you to fit; this will cover the canvas inside the tray.
To assemble, put down the backing inside the tray. Using dots of glue on the corners, place and glue the mated needlepoint to the backing. Put the cut piece of acrylic on this; it should fit tightly.
If you will not e serving liquids on the tray, it’s finished. If you don’t know or if you will be serving liquids, run a bead of clear silicone around the edges.
That’s it! Your beautiful custom tray is ready to go. By the way, even if you use colored acrylic for your tray, the coveering piece should be clear acrylic, that way your needlepoint will be seen.
Thanks to Jane from Chilly Hollow for pointing this out & posting about it.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Thank you for the clear instructions. How do you get your needlepointed matted? That was the only part I can’t visualize….
To get your needlepoint matted, if your framer is not doing this:
1. Have the framer cut two mats. The first should have an opening the size of your finished needlepoint. The second should be the same size ut have no hole. The second mat can be any color because it is on the bottom of the tray.
2. You’ll need two kinds of tape, single-sided and double-sided. I think there are types of framer’s tape of both kinds. Don’t use masking tape, artist’s tape, or regular tape; they are not strong enough for this job.
3. Using the double-sided tape, tape the needlepoint into the mat with the opening. You may need to fiddle with the edges to get it straight into the mat. Tape on all four sides.
4. At this point you can just slap the other piece of matboard onto the back and slide it into the tray. I prefer to attach the back board to my front with tape hinges. These use single-sided tape. Half of each piece of tape goes on the inside of each board, hinging them together like a book.
5. Now you can pop it into the tray.
Keep stitching,
Janet