The Project is Completed

The framing was done by Square Corner in Marshall, Missouri. It took a bit of doing to find a frame with the right depth so as not to squash the bows and the right archival-quality mat board but Lee Hamilton came through for us. We opted for museum quality glass for its exceptional clarity.

These photos do not show the depth of the frame and make the piece appear to be slightly off center due to the angle, but in person it is nicely centered.

I'll take more photos when the piece is hanging in New Orleans. For now, this will have to suffice.

Although the title of this entry indicates completion, the search for the uncle who brought this home from the War continues. The search is complicated due to the destruction of many service records in a fire at the St. Louis repository.

If you recognize this souvenir and can shed any light on its origins, we would be pleased to hear from you.

Mounting the Textile to the Backing

By folding the lace back over the textile face, a narrow strip of the silk fabric is accessible. I whipstitched the textile to the backing. I stitched one full side, then turned the frame and did the opposite side, carefully smoothing out the folds and wrinkles as much as possible.

The next step was to tack down the lace. I didn't want to break any threads in the lace, so I stitched in the openings. The lace along the sides lies flat. That was no problem. At the corners, however, it is folded, so I had to tack down just the part of the fold that touched the backing. The little quilting iron came in handy here, too.

This is the back of the piece. There isn't much contrast in the picture, but the stitches can be seen.

Finally, all of the stitching was completed. The photo is blurry, and I apologize. Took it with my phone camera as we were getting ready to take it to the framer. The bows are ironed and looking perky. The little bit of padding behind the silk gives it some definition and helped to smooth the fold lines.

The Bows

After preparing the backing, I wanted a change from stitching, so I turned to the bows. Each corner of the textile is decorated with a rayon bow, smashed from being folded for so many years. I figured out how to press them, using my tiny quilter's iron and the stuffing from a super tampon as a mini ironing "ham". I dampened each bit by wetting my fingertip with water and blotting gently on the fabric, then ironing it with a warm iron. It worked well. I only did one bow, as they'll have to be freshened again right before framing.

Preparing the backing

A layer of muslin was cut larger than the frame and stapled on the backside, so the staples will not contact the surface fabrics.

A layer of batting was cut to fit the frame and basted to the muslin; this photo shows it pinned, prior to basting. The smaller pieces of batting are the beginning of a pad that will support the center of the textile.

The purple broadcloth was stretched over the padding and stapled to the back.

Since I wanted the textile to be centered side to side and top to bottom, I used black threads to square up the corners.

 The muslin-covered pad was pinned in place and then stitched to the backing. You can see how the layers of padding, graduated in size, form a nice mound.

 

The backing was taut, the pad stitched in place. It was time to stitch the textile to the backing.

Getting Started: the Mounting Frame

The lengths of muslin and broadcloth went into the washing machine and dryer (no softener added) to remove any sizing or other impurities. After they were dried and ironed, I discovered that they really need to be washed three times and double rinsed.

While that was going on, I assembled the mounting frame from the canvas stretchers and glued the corners with Aileen's Tacky Glue. I probably didn't need to glue it, as the stretched cloth and an external frame will keep it square, but the glue was handy, so I used it.

The frame was then coated with gesso. It will take two coats.

When the gesso is dry, the mounting frame will be ready to have the muslin stretched over it, like an artist's canvas. Only in this case it will be functioning more like an embroidery or quilting frame.



Gathering Materials

Toni Kiser, registrar at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, gave me some additional tips for mounting this project in an archival manner. She said they would be delighted to have the piece donated to them when I no longer want to display it. They often receive beautifully mounted items but have to tear up the framing because they can't tell if it is archivally safe by just looking. I told her I was planning to blog the process, and she said that would be great. A copy of the blog information with the piece would mean they wouldn't have to take it apart.

The backing materials need to be 100% cotton. One of the textile conservators told me that although one might think of linen as backing, it tends to absorb moisture more readily than cotton. In humid New Orleans, this is an issue.

I bought 100% cotton unbleached muslin at Hancock Fabrics in New Orleans to stretch over a wooden frame for backing. On top of the muslin will go a layer of Quilters Dream Cotton 100% pure cotton batting purchased at D&T Quilt Shop in Sedalia, Missouri. It contains no scrim, glue, or binders. It is a nice, thin loft. A piece of batting will cover the entire frame. In the center there will be a second layer the size of the silk part of the piece. When the piece is stitched it will be slightly raised and gently stretched to pull out some of the slight wrinkles.

A piece of cloth will be stretched over the batting to act as a background for the piece. I auditioned several colors and settled on Moda Bella's 100% cotton broadcloth in a lovely Hyacinth purchased from fabric.com. It complements the peachy color of the silk, pulls out the intense purple of the flowers, and makes a nice contrast to the lace.

To hold it all together, I'll use 100% glazed cotton quilting thread by YLI. (Hmmm. The YLI website says  GLAZED is a process in which cotton threads are treated with starches and special chemicals under controlled heat and then polished to a high luster. The glazed process results in a thread with a hard finish that protects the thread from abrasion and enhances ply security. I may need to rethink this.)

[Update: I did a little more research and discovered that glazed thread is simple mercerized (or perle) cotton that has had a finish added. The mercerized cotton is treated with chemicals that are then rinsed out, leaving no residue, just 100% cotton. As it happened, there was a quilt show in town with several vendors, so I hied on over and found some 100% mercerized cotton by Sulky. It is ecru, closer to the lace color than stark white would be. The description is "a premium quality, strong, long staple, 12-weight, highly mercerized Egyptian Cotton thread with a matte finish that creates a soft and warm look and feel." This will work.]

I bought four 30" canvas stretchers at Michael's in New Orleans. They will form a sturdy mounting frame to work on. The wood will be sealed with a couple of coats of acrylic gesso from Dick Blick so the natural acids in the wood will not compromise the cloth.

A shadow box frame with anti-ultraviolet, non glare glass will complete the unit.

At the National World War II Museum

Well, since the photos and information for this entry are on the computer in New Orleans and we're in Missouri, this entry will be added later. Sorry about that!

Out of the cedar chest

While sorting through contents of a cedar chest recently, my siblings and I discovered a souvenir of France dating from World War II.  I vaguely recalled my mother saying that it was given to our grandmother by one of her sons who served in Europe during the war. Neither my brother nor sister were interested in having it, so I took it with thoughts of having it mounted and framed. My husband's family has ancestral French connections, and a distant cousin and family from France are coming to visit in November 2012. My goal is to have it hanging on the wall by the time they arrive.

Here are photos of it as uncovered. The textile item appears to be made of silk in the center with a delicate cotton lace border. The center piece measures 18” x 18”; the lace is 3-1/2” wide. It has been stored folded, but the fabric does not appear to be compromised. There is no discernible discoloration. The backing is one solid piece of fabric. There is no opening that would indicate it was meant to be a pillowcase. There are ribbon bows on each of the four corners. The colors in the photos are not true. The background silk is a pale peach.

The photo below shows detail of what I have been told appears to be a thin gauge wire wrapped with embroidery floss forming the leaves and flag standards. The stitches on the whole item are so regular in size and tension that I assumed it was machine manufactured.

The pink bows on each corner appear to be rayon. The lace is in remarkable condition; not a snag to be seen.

 The next two photos are of the back of the piece.

I contacted several textile conservators via email with questions about how to go about conserving and mounting the piece. The recommendations included

• don't try to clean it
• use archival mounting materials
• use cotton instead of linen for backing (linen absorbs moisture more than cotton, and it will be displayed in humid New Orleans)

A couple of the conservators indicated they had seen similar items in less than pristine condition. None were able to suggest what its intended purpose might be.

Since we winter in New Orleans, I contacted the National World War II Museum to see what I could find out about the history of the piece and get further suggestions on how to conserve it responsibly.