Open frame for bead work

[RMLawley]

I am not a framer, I just want to make that confession right off the bat. So I'm going to need suggestions.
I have a project I need to frame.
It is a loom woven bead tapestry, this means it has all of the warp threads still attached at top and bottom. The warp threads are power pro fishing line, so some tough stuff- hard to cut.
This needs to have an open back frame to have light pass through the piece.
The beadwork needs to be sewn to some kind of fabric to set the frame on. I intent to have the fabric form a "window frame" and sew all around the piece to the fabric.
2 questions:
What would any one recommend for the fabric which will be sandwiched between the front and back pieces of the frame?
Should the warp threads be used to sew the piece to the top and bottom of the fabric while using a separate thread for the sides, or would it be best to use a separate thread for the whole piece?
Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[wpfay]

Hi, and welcome to the G.
That sounds pretty complex.
Can you supply some photographs to detail what your challenge is.
We would be happy to help, but we are, like many craftspeople, visually oriented.

There are a couple triggers in your description. One is the use of fishing line, which may be weakened with exposure to light, and the there's the engineering aspect which is largely unknown.

 

[Ylva]

Welcome to the G!

I think this would be quite a challenge for all of us professional framers. I too, saw the 'fishing line' and thought, uhoh, disaster waiting to happen. It could become very brittle and not hold the beads together in the end, no matter how thick it is. If you have the specs on that, post it here as well.

Besides sending some pics of the project, size and weight would be a good thing to add as well.

Did you create the art?

 

[RMLawley]

Hi, and welcome to the G.
That sounds pretty complex.
Can you supply some photographs to detail what your challenge is.
We would be happy to help, but we are, like many craftspeople, visually oriented.

There are a couple triggers in your description. One is the use of fishing line, which may be weakened with exposure to light, and the there's the engineering aspect which is largely unknown.

Hi, Thanks for the welcome and the reply.
I'll post some photos once I figure out how I can do that on the group.
I'm aware of the fishing line issue. The power pro will, like anything else, deteriorate over time. It's not something I'm too worried about as it still lasts a very long time. However, thinking on that, I should probably use a separate thread to sew it to the fabric. That way the warps can be replaced if they should fail.
Engineering aspect? Of what exactly? Sorry, maybe I'm a bit slow on the uptake there but I'm not sure what you mean?

 

[RMLawley]

Welcome to the G!

I think this would be quite a challenge for all of us professional framers. I too, saw the 'fishing line' and thought, uhoh, disaster waiting to happen. It could become very brittle and not hold the beads together in the end, no matter how thick it is. If you have the specs on that, post it here as well.

Besides sending some pics of the project, size and weight would be a good thing to add as well.

Did you create the art?

Power pro is pretty stable when it's not being used as fishing line. It's made of spectra fibre by Honeywell. Info is here: https://advancedmaterials.honeywell.com/us/en/products/spectra-fibers/industrial-grade-fiber Industrial Grade Fiber
I did re-think this when I looked at the wpfay's reply and thought perhaps the best would be to sew it to a fabric with a separate thread which would make it repairable if any of the warps should fail.
I've used 8lb test. There is 1 thread every 1.2mm and 149 threads.
Dimensions are 8 5/8" x 12 5/8". I haven't thought to weigh it but it's probably in range of 1.895 kg.

 

[RMLawley]

P.S. Yes, it's my own work.

 

[wpfay]

Power Pro is a braided line and has almost no elasticity, and is not as susceptible to oxidation as monofilaments. Despite what the manufacturer claims, it is more abrasive than monofilament lines. I use that kind of line in my surf fishing rigs.

If you are going to couch this to fabric, I would create a backing from stretched fiberglass screening to go under the fabric. That way the weight is on the screening rather than the fabric. Besides stitching the perimeter I would also tack in a few places in the field. This is just generic advice when framing items such as this. How you accomplish that looks like a real challenge since I can't see from the picture just how the beading comes off of the stretcher system you used.

 

[RMLawley]

Power Pro is a braided line and has almost no elasticity, and is not as susceptible to oxidation as monofilaments. Despite what the manufacturer claims, it is more abrasive than monofilament lines. I use that kind of line in my surf fishing rigs.

If you are going to couch this to fabric, I would create a backing from stretched fiberglass screening to go under the fabric. That way the weight is on the screening rather than the fabric. Besides stitching the perimeter I would also tack in a few places in the field. This is just generic advice when framing items such as this. How you accomplish that looks like a real challenge since I can't see from the picture just how the beading comes off of the stretcher system you used.

Thanks for the thoughts.
I've never fished with power pro, I use it exclusively for bead work. The lack of elasticity is what makes it very good for my use of it. Glass beads can sometimes have sharp edges, so the resilience of the line is important although it makes it the devil to cut with scissors.

I think the fibreglass screen is a great idea. Strangely enough, I had just found some in a drawer and was looking at it it thinking " Hey, this might be something useful.". I was thinking that I could cut it like a matt for the piece and sew the entire perimeter of the bead work to the screen.
If I use a fibreglass screen would using fabric also still be necessary? I plan to have the frame right at the edge of the work with no matt so the frame would be over the screen. Would the power pro warps be a good option to sew the piece to the screen? Not to couch the beads, but to create a seam between the beads and the fabric/screening.

The bead work comes off the loom just as you see it (The power pro is lo vis, so it's hard to get a good photo of it. Darn stuff keeps disappearing on the photo.) with long threads at top and bottom of the piece and none at the sides.
The warps are then managed with various possibilities depending on how you set up and/or need it to be finished:
I could weave a selvedge which leaves me with a flat tab of weaving (with glue it to seal it and the excess threads trimmed) the width of the piece at top and bottom. This would probably make framing much easier but still leaves the edges with no support.
I could pull the threads through the work so the loops snug up against the bead work leaving just two really long threads at either end which would just be woven into the piece leaving a beaded edge and no threads, difficult to frame.
I could weave every thread back into the work from the ends, same result; no threads,
I could just knot them which works really well when the piece has a complete backing but, because I want light to go through the beads, I don't want a backing,
or I could use them to anchor the piece to the fabric/screen frame ( this was the original idea in my mind.)

Thank you for your input, I think I'm starting to see a clearer option.

 

[Rick Granick]

I believe that Wally meant to suggest stretching fiberglass screen material onto a support frame so that it provides support across the back of the entire beaded image.
I can't quite visualize your suggestion of a fabric border, but anyway I don't think it would be necessary if your substrate is the stretched screen material. Having the screen across the back of the whole image might impede the transmission of light very slightly, but no more so than looking through a screen on a window. The sacrifice of this small amount of light would be a tradeoff for the better support for your delicate and heavy artwork.
Rick

 

[RMLawley]

I believe that Wally meant to suggest stretching fiberglass screen material onto a support frame so that it provides support across the back of the entire beaded image.
I can't quite visualize your suggestion of a fabric border, but anyway I don't think it would be necessary if your substrate is the stretched screen material. Having the screen across the back of the whole image might impede the transmission of light very slightly, but no more so than looking through a screen on a window. The sacrifice of this small amount of light would be a tradeoff for the better support for your delicate and heavy artwork.
Rick

That would work except that the piece needs to be visible from front and back, so screen across it will not be what I'm looking for. I'm thinking that I'll sew this piece to a support frame directly. I was gong to use fabric as the support, but was concerned about structure. I think screen might be the answer, just not across the back.

 

[RMLawley]

I believe that Wally meant to suggest stretching fiberglass screen material onto a support frame so that it provides support across the back of the entire beaded image.
I can't quite visualize your suggestion of a fabric border, but anyway I don't think it would be necessary if your substrate is the stretched screen material. Having the screen across the back of the whole image might impede the transmission of light very slightly, but no more so than looking through a screen on a window. The sacrifice of this small amount of light would be a tradeoff for the better support for your delicate and heavy artwork.
Rick

What would a suggestion be for a support frame?

 

[Rick Granick]

A strainer frame made of strainer stock of a size profile appropriate to the overall size and weight.

 

[RMLawley]

I'm not a framer, but my understanding is that a strainer frame is wooden? I'm just trying to figure out how to attach something made of thread and beads to that. I can't sew through wood, so if I was to use a fabric, what would be the best to use?

 

[RMLawley]

How it turned out. Thanks for all the suggestions. I eventually just built a frame with a channel routered out on the inside, slid the three pieces ( 2 of plexiglass and the beadwork in between.) into the channel, and added the bottom to hold it in.