I started cross-stitching about 20 years ago (I took a break for about 12 or so years, but I digress.) and I was somewhat of a “what are rules?” kind of stitcher. (I still am, at times.) I had no time for bobbins, railroading, or even ironing my finished pieces.
One of the things I hated doing was finishing pieces. BOR-ING. So, more often than not, I would haphazardly throw it in some kind of frame and forget about it.
Which brings me to today. I’ve been going through some old frames and such when I found this project I finished probably back in ’02. The first thing I thought was, dude, I can’t believe past!Jess didn’t even take the time to iron this huge project. Then I turned it over.
Masking tape, my friends, should never EVER be used to hold a project in place.
NEVER EVER.
I didn’t really think that it was going to be able to be saved . After nearly twenty years, I figured those stains are going to be there forever. I tried to wash them (using a stain remover), but alas, it’s now part of this VERY custom piece.
So, lesson learned. Don’t use masking tape to secure your piece within a frame. Nowadays, I either use a mounting board or use the lacing method (especially if it’s a huge piece). But if you are even considering grabbing that masking tape, just glance back at those previous pics and think twice about it.
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The Crafting Geek 
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