Framing a cross-stitch the proper way (Lacing)

A new customer came in the other day bringing with her a nice cross stitch for me to frame. There are many picture framers closer to where she lives, but she chose to travel to my shop (which is further away) as she wanted me to frame it for her. After I talked to her, I realized that she recently found my company's website on google and one page discusses picture framing of cross-stitch the "proper" way.

Mounting
There are many different ways of mounting a cross stitch for framing. But what I always use is the process called lacing. It takes more time than pinning, stapling or even using attach-ez, but I think (I know) that it will stand the test of time. When lacing, make sure that the boards used are of the archival/preservation/conservation type. This will ensure that they will not have an adverse reaction to the cross-stitch in the passage of time.

Archival Boards
As I already mentioned, make sure that your framer uses the right kind of boards. Many mat boards and backing boards are of the decorative variety. These are what many picture framers use by default. Not me, I always use the archival variety (Crescent RagMat in particular), unless the customer decides otherwise.

Use of fillets
For this order, I will be using fillets to enhance the framing package. In my opinion the use of fillets makes a framing piece look about $100 more expensive than its actual value, that's why I always recommend this to my customers.

UV Filtering Glass
If you have gone through the trouble of using archival type mat boards, then it makes sense to use UV filtering glass (I use True Vue Conservation Clear) to ensure that the framing package is protected from UV rays which reacts with the framing package by making colors fade after a few years.

Finished Frame
Here is the finished frame, take note of the gold fillet used to enhance the presentation, the perfect choice of mat board colours, it simply looks beautiful.