What is a Slate Frame and How do Wenches Use Them?

Wenches already know about hoops and Q-snaps and scroll frames. I see some Wenches scratching their heads over slate frames. Never fear! The Web Wench has successfully set her happy little self up to use a slate frame and even took pictures to prove it! You may wonder why the Web Wench waxes lyrical over such an odd ball object. First off, she's the first person on her block to own such a thing. Second, they work very well at keeping her ground fabric taut while she slaves away at creating her masterpieces. (Wink)

Slate frames are very old, don't require metal, or much metal at all and can be used for very large pieces of stitchery with good control. I'll bet the Bayeaux Tapestry was worked on a slate frame. I know they are recommended and used by the Royal School of Needlework. A slate frame is composed of four big pieces of wood and four little wooden pegs. Two of the big pieces have canvas tape attached and are called the rollers. The other two have holes in them to hold the pegs and are called the stretchers. See the picture for a general idea. Unlike scroll fromes, they don't rely on you having to tighten a knob to keep them taut. This makes them much easier to keep taut than a scroll frame. No wing nuts or washers, just a tapered peg you stick into a hole.

I put Loara, my Historical Headache on a slate frame. I couldn't get stretchers long enough to hold the entire piece of linen out flat. I rolled the extra around the rollers after I had attached the top and bottom of the linen to the canvas. If your project isn't long, skip that part. Because the linen is loosely woven, compared to a dense twill used for surface stitchery or crewel, I stitched some reinforcing fabric to the sides of Loara, to strengthen the linen and prevent distortion. I used old sheets, 100% cotton and freshly washed. I just used my sewing machine and a long stitch with 100% cotton thread in a light color. Mistress Harvey might not exactly approve, but she won't go screaming into the night, either. So Loara is rolled up at top and bottom and all along each side, there's extra fabric that I don't stitch on, but used to lace through. Before I attached Loara to any part of the slate, I attached the fabric to the sides. When putting Loara into the slate, I handled the fabric I'm embroidering on and the attached stuff on the side as one big piece of fabric.

To attach Loara to the rollers at the top and bottom, I hand stitched the top and bottom edges of Loara, to the canvas tapes of the rollers. Marking the center of the roller (I made a permanent mark, I'll need it again) and the center of the linen then matching the marks, I basted from the center out, pulling the fabric taut as I stitched. It took three hands, but what are friends for? This gave me an odd bellpull like object, but it wasn't done yet. I had to roll up the ends and put the sides on.

I rolled till I got to about as big as I wanted Loara to be to work on her, with some of the already finished area rolled up on the top roller and plenty of blank linen for me to work on below. I have to roll the fabric on both the top and the bottom roller, Loara is that big. Then I slipped the stretchers through the holes in the rollers and put in pegs to keep the bottom from sliding in towards the middle. The fun part came next. I held the bottom roller with my feet and pulled the top roller up as firmly as I saw fit. When the fabric was nice and taut, I shoved in pegs to hold the top roller in place. This might also require the assistance of another Wench, if Honey-do isn't home. Only four pegs are needed when all is said and done. They should be in holes that line up on each side. Using the fifth hole on the right and the sixth hole on the left is not a Good Thing. For smaller pieces, you don't have to use your feet, but Loara is quite big and so required a stronger tug to get started.

Whew! All that work and I still only had two way tension. To get the final tension, I laced the sides, using buttonhole twist and stitching through the cotton sheeting at the sides. I like to lace about every half inch, but every inch will also work quite well. I went through the holes in the stretcher when possible to keep the lacing even. If you don't cut the thread from the ball until you are finished, you can avoid tangles and knots with a long, long thread. Do not start and stop the lacing thread with a sewing like knot. Wrap the thread around the corner of the slate frame a few times and tie it off with a slip knot. Yup, only the free end will slip, so it stays tight, but I can untie it, adjust the lacing tension and then re-tie it if I want to.

I've deliberately fuzzed the area of Loara that I have stitched, but here is Loara, all framed up. The 'daisy band' is almost done.

I also have a larger picture of just the corner of the slate frame. You can see how I tied the knot at the corner of the frame.

Tips About Slate Frames

  • They are often large and a typical American floor stand won't support a large project. Use a trestle or a frame weight and a worktable.
  • Don't plan on looking at the back of your work a lot unless you use a mirror. You don't want to be flipping from front to back often.
  • Park thread ends and bury them many at a time, rather than as you start and stop each thread. You will find yourself parking threads to start them.
  • The set up process isn't much different than for a scroll frame. The pegs hold the tension with much less stress on wrists and wood than knobs.
  • Slate frames don't weigh as much as a scroll frame of equal size. I hauled out my triple beam balance and compared them.
  • As tempting as it is to use the surface of your work as a resting place for your scissors, resist the temptation.
  • I use a 'Grime Stopper' to protect the edge of my project from rubbing against my body as I work. A plain tea towel works well.

    • Envoi

    Loara was a little crooked in the frame. This was because I laced the sides without having the top to bottom tension correct and I had put the stretchers into the rollers with the holes 'zigging' on both right and left. I redid the lacing with the stretchers 'zigging' on one side and 'zagging' on the other. I used the lacing technique from the RSN where the lacing is tied to the frame, you don't make a knot at the top and bottom of the stitching. Think tying a shoe, not sewing a seam. I can untie the knot, tighten the lacing and re-tie the knot to adjust my tension. I am much happier with this configuration and you can see the knots in the larger picture.

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