Putting the Mindy Minis Together

I got a question a few days ago looking for ways to finish the Mindy Mini’s as a group. I have come up with two possibilities. I’m sure there are plenty of others.

Framing

My plan has been to frame them in groups with similar themes. This would put several canvases into one frame.

Because of the size of the canvases you will need to have a custom mat, and possibly a custom frame done for these. The mat will have one hole cut for each of the minis.

When you are doing this, pick a mat color that coordinates with all of your Mindys. Plan the space between the canvases which can be much less than the outer border of the mat.

Needlepoint

If you want to create an all-needlepoint piece you can do so, by appliqueing the minis onto a single piece of canvas with sashing (borders) between each. I have not tried this but I’m thinking I’ll finish some of these this way.

In order to do this you will need to have your canvases blocked so they are straight and you will need to use canvas that matches the canvas mesh of the minis.

Begin by blocking each of the minis but do not cut of any canvas margins, you’ll need it for the next step. While they are drying, decide on how wide you want the sashing (area between each canvas) to be. It should be at least 1 inch. Add everything up, add the measurements for the outside border and cut the canvas 2″ bigger all around.

Once the minis are dry, pick the one you want in the upper left corner and unravel the unstitched part of the canvas up to the stitching on all sides. You will be using these unravelled threads to applique the canvas.

Place the canvas where it will go on the finished project. One by one, take a canvas thread and thread it on a large needle. Plunge the thread to the back of the canvas and using your needle weave it over and under alongside the matching canvas thread on the base, Weave at least 1 inch on the sides and1/2 inch or half the sashing width between the minis.

Do this with all the threads and cut off excess canvas threads.

One patch is attached!

Move over the width of the sashing and repeat this process with a second mini. Continue the process until all the minis are attached.

After this is complete, put the whole thing on stretcher bars and stitch the sashing and borders.

There are two important things to notice about this. First, the canvas is fragile until the sashing is stitched. Second, the canvas threads going out from each mini are twice as thick as normal. This may mean you need to use thicker threads and a full coverage stitch.

I will be trying this technique myself later this year, so I cannot guarantee the results.