Scream House: Fear of Finishing

I realized this week that I was putting off finishing Scream House because I was afraid of messing up all the work I had done cross stitching it.  It took me a long time!  Not because the pattern was so difficult but because there were so many color changes in ever piece.  The linen was unusually limp, and the margins of the linen were too small to let me use a q-snap for the whole thing.  If I had to do it all again,, I would have ordered linen that was 2 inches wider in every direction.  As it was, I ended up stitching a lot in hand, which always slows me down.

Yesterday I got up my courage and started the finishing.  The directions suggest using a lot of glue, which is something I usually don't do.  For this piece, though, I decided to what the directions said. I tend to get into trouble when I'm making up things as I go.

First I starched the pieces. I tried using Best Press, but spray starched worked better.

Then I cut a piece of fusible interfacing and a piece of skirtex the same size as each little shape.  The directions said they needed to fit just inside the backstitched lines, and I did my best.  Cutting these little pieces was a lot easier with my rotary cutter.  I don't think I could have done it accurately with scissors. Templates were provided, but my stitched pieces were not the same size as the templates, so I had to do some sliver trimming.  It took me about an hour and a half just to cut these pieces.

Next I fused the interfacing to the back of each piece.  I have found that fusible interfacing doesn't stick as well to unwashed fabrics as it does to washed, and I was surprised at how well the interfacing stuck to the back of my stitching.  

Cutting out each piece and wrapping each around skirtex so that the backstitching was just along the edge took me the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening.  I worked slowly and was careful with the glue.  I used my generic clover clips to hold the pieces together while they dried, and by the end, my technique had improved quite a bit.

  

 I would never finish this piece for anyone else.  It is too easy to mess it up!

By this morning, everything had dried.  I need to to the store and get the supplies for finishing the inside today.  

So far, I'm happy with my progress, but a little worried about the lacing.  The backstitching looks very small to me, and the pattern says to use pearl cotton for the lacing, which seems thick.  But my plan is to follow the directions and get this thing done before Halloween!

Linking up: http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2016/09/finished-or-not-friday-linky-party_9.html

http://www.supermomnocape.com/2016/09/12/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-75/