In this tutorial, I am sharing how to mount cross stitch onto a canvas. Although this is a relatively easy thing to do, I break it down step by step and share the small mistakes I made so you don’t make them too!
*Affiliate link, but I only recommend something I use myself. I may make a small commission if you purchase through my link but this is of no extra cost to you.
The Materials You Will Need to Mount Your Cross Stitch:
- A finished cross stitch piece. (When stitching leave a good 3-4 inches around your design). In this tutoiral, I am using my Hello Spring design and you can buy the kit for this design here or get just the PDF pattern in my Etsy shop.
- A canvas to mount it on (a little bigger than your design).
- A staple gun. I use this Backspur Heavy Duty one from Amazon*.
- A little bit of blue tac.
- A ruler.
- A pencil.
How to Mount Cross Stitch onto a Canvas
Now let’s dive into the how-to! And if you don’t have time to read this whole post now or want to come back to it after gathering all the materials just scroll to the bottom to pin for later!
Step 1:
Wash and iron your finished cross stitch design. To be totally honest, I skipped washing it for this tutorial but I would recommend you do it if this is something you want to last for a while.
Step 2:
Mark the centre of your canvas with a pencil (or a crayon like me haha). You just want to avoid using something that will show through your aida such as a big black marker.
Then find the centre of your design and stick some Blu Tac in the centre on the back and stick some on the dot on the canvas.
Line the 2 dots of Blu Tac up and stick them together.
Step 3:
Flip your canvas over carefully and lie it on a hard, flat surface. The first staple will go in the middle of the top edge.
For your first 4 staples, I recommend popping some Blu Tac down either side of where your staple will go to hold it in place.
Pull your aida around the canvas tight enough that it sits flat against the canvas, but not so tight that it distorts the design on the front.
The next staple should be the middle of the bottom edge and the third should be the middle of one of the side edges. And don’t forget to take the Blu Tac off once the staple is down.
Have a check between each staple of the front to check it’s all still in place (I didn’t do this as often as I wish I had). Then stop stapling and do step 4 first.
Step 4:
Flip your canvas back over and push your hand between the aida and canvas (the side that has no staple) and pull out your Blu Tac from the middle.
Step 5:
Go back to the back of the canvas and do your fourth staple which will be the middle of the last edge.
After those first 4 you work out from the middle staple of each edge, but leave the corners. You shouldn’t need the help of the Blu Tac for stapling now the first 4 staples are in, just use your hand to fold the aida around.
Step 6:
The corners are the trickiest part and I tried a few ways before deciding that folding and tucking worked best.
I recommend keeping the top and bottom edges as flat at your can and do all the folding and tucking on the side edges.
Use your finger to really tuck as much fabric in as you can.
Then pull it pretty tight around the back to try and flatten all that extra aida and put a few staples in the corners to keep it secure.
Step 7:
Hang it up! Or display it in some way. I put this as an actual step because it’s usually the one I miss when I have made a new cross stitch piece.
You could also jazz up the edges with some funky pins, pom-pom trim or just some ribbon. I’m leaving mine for now though. I may come back with a jazzed-up update soon!
Want to hear about all the cross stitch tutorials I add? Make sure you are signed up to my Hannah Hand Makes Happenings email list to read when a new one goes up! Plus I send out regular free patterns and other fun cross stitch resources!
Extra Cross Stitch Tutorials:
- How to Back an Embroidery Hoop With Felt
- How to Make a Cross Stitch Lampshade
- How to Make a Cross Stitch Mug Cosy
- How to Cross Stitch Course for Beginners
Pin for later!
