They need to be fine & rust-proof. Pin beading pins are good, when you can find them. Otherwise look for Stainless Steel. Even Jo-Ann's will have some. If they stick out the back, you are not sticking them into the foamcore straight.

I especially like pins for those linens that are unstable & wiggly. A pin every 1/8" or so for the worst fabrics.

Hi,
I watched a tutorial last week on teaching on how to frame cross stitching and the woman on the video said to use stainless steel "bridal/lace pins" to pin into the mounting board. You can find them at Michaels and Jo-Ann fabrics. There are about 200 in a pack.

The pins are actually longer... they go side to side not front to back. hope this helps.

Does that mean that the fabric is pinned to the sides of the mounting board?

I had a piece framed at Hobby Lobby once (they tried twice) and it was a really poor job. I asked the guy to take it apart and I saw that the pins were placed in the back. I can't remember what they looked like - it was a year ago! They wrapped the fabric around the board to the back. I don't know if that's the correct way to do it.

From what I have seen in the past (going to the frame shop and asking what they were doing to my project), the fabric is wrapped around the back side of the board. You are going to tack the center of each side on the side or narrow edge ( if your project/back board was like a book, the pins would be going into the pages and book binding). Then work your way out to the corners. Always working opposites (sometimes I wish we could draw pictures). I prefer to use sticky board. But my special ones I have had done at a frame shop.

You pin into the foam on the narrow edges, not touching the board at all. I pick a fabric thread on each side and try to keep it at the edge of the board so I know my picture is straight. Sometimes I baste a thread around the fabric to mark the edge of the foamcore.

I wouldn't let Hobby Lobby take out my trash. Many framers use framing tape. It's acid free & quick. If your framer pins, you've got a good framer.

thanks for all your help. I will check joanns or michaels -- see what they have. I like that framing tape idea. Then I would not have to be concerned about pinning. Just concerned how long the tape will hold before coming loose. This is my first counted crossstitch project. Didn't realize how addicting it can be.
Denise

Denise - before going to Michaels make sure that you go on-line and get a 40 or 50 percent off coupon. Have fun with your future projects.

Joanne has them in their stitching supplies section -- needles, pins, hooks, etc. Don't know if Michaels would carry. Aaron Bros. Or other art supply stores have the framing tape.

Trust me, jl, they won't frame anything for me ever again. I was way behind schedule with this gift and our local cross stitch shop takes FOREVER! So I took a chance! That's what happens when you fly too close to the sun! LOL It wasn't even centered, the corners were folded every which way. I could have done as well on my first framing job. I had to take to the local shop after all and the HL experience caused a 4 week delay. I hope that someone will take over when Kathy decided to retire. Now I have a better understanding of why framing is so expensive.