I have had my needlepoint floor frame for about ten years now, I think. I used to stitch by just rolling the fabric up in my left hand, and stitching with my right, without using a frame at all. But my chiropractor warned me that if I kept on like that, with the amount of stitching that I do, I wouldn’t be able to stitch at all in a few years, as my left shoulder would seize up completely. I was already getting back pain and headaches :0(
So, I invested in this StitchMaster wooden floor frame – this is it, proudly standing in my conservatory. It cost about £35 at the time. I found it useful from the start. For one thing, I could stitch quicker, as I could use both hands at once!
I bought the Daylight bulb attachment with removable 2.25 magnifying lens almost immediately, as I love to do miniature needlepoint. That’s what I sell in my doll’s house embroidery kit business, so I do a lot of stitching on 32 and 40 count silk gauze fabric, and it’s a lot more comfortable to do with a suitable magnifier. The one for this frame is good, as it is right there attached to the lamp, so I always have good light and magnification at the same time. The lens is rimless, which is more restful on the eyes.
The frame can take hoops, rotating frames (both of which just rest on the dowels at the end of the ‘arms’), and, with the help of my husband and his woodworking shed, my stand has a special attachment that slots over the dowels so that I can clip my silk gauze in its card mount onto the frame, too.
Recently, I decided to get the other attachment that goes with this model – the chartholder clamp. Before that, I’d used a bulldog clip to attach my charts to the arms of the floor frame, but I decided I’d like the ‘proper job’. However, once I started searching online, I realised that almost all websites were mysteriously ‘out of stock’ of the attachment. I found a couple of sites that said they had them – until I tried to order from them, and then I was told that, actually, they didn’t have them in stock at all. So, I looked on the manufacturer’s website, and, sure enough, the chartholder and lamp attachment had both been discontinued – because the frame seems to be on its way out, too.
What a shame! It’s a wonderful product, and does just what you need it to. The floor frame itself is very adjustable for all kinds of needlework frames, as they just rest on the ‘arms’. It doesn’t slowly collapse, like several other makes of floor frame tend to, as it has a nifty ‘wedge’ that supports the main upright piece. The wingnuts stay tight – there’s even a wooden block that comes with it, to help you tighten the wingnuts without hurting your hand.
So, why should it be on its way out? Well, because there’s a shiny new METAL floor frame that’s been introduced to replace it. It’s called the new StitchSmart metal stand – the blurb about it on the website starts with the words ‘Wooden stands are over’. Oh dear, I do hope not. Apart from anything else, this shiny new metal one costs £80, with the chartholder and lamp/magnifier accessory pack (only available as a set, now) costing an additional £90. It all seems to be getting a bit expensive, and ‘modern’ for the sake of it …..
Anyway, back to my search for the chartholder attachment for my nasty, old-fashioned, wooden StitchMaster frame –
I looked on Ebay (always a good place to look for discontinued things), and found someone selling one for £4.99. So I bought it, got it within 3 days, and have been using it ever since. Lovely.
So, if you fancy getting a very good floor frame to help with your stitching, I wouldn’t leave it too long, as even needlework accessories seem to be getting a bit trendy!
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Janet Granger's Blog 
I’m not sure that trendy is the right word. I find it odd that they suggested that the wood frame wasn’t ‘in’ anymore and don’t understand why they wouldn’t carry both. A metal frame certainly wouldn’t work in my house. Or my daughter’s (in case anyone thinks that I’m oldfashioned.) The company is losing a chance to serve more than one type of customer.
Yes, a metal frame would look dreadful in my house too – I loathe the ‘contemporary, metal look’. At the moment they carry both, but for a few months they were only pushing the metal one. I wonder if they brought back the wooden one due to complaints? I also think that people aren’t made of money, especially at the moment, and to expect people to fall for the idea that ‘this is new, and it just happens to be double the price of the previous version’ is naive in the current economic climate. Apart from the look of the metal frame, the wooden one *worked*, which is the main thing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Do they have a site? I couldn’t find one. A frame is an investment but people shouldn’t have to pay more for what isn’t as nice as the original.
Yes, it’s here:
http://uk.daylightcompany.com/category/stitching-stands/
Metal stands? Noooooo!
Thankyou for showing the setup of the extra attachments from the front – it may seem like a small thing, but I’ve never seen a view from the embroiderer’s perspective, only side and “back” shots on the Net.
I really think the people who decided that a ‘contemporary’ style of needlework stand would sell well have got their heads on back to front! Metal just isn’t what you want when you’re embroidering, is it?! I think they imagine people wanting to just put the frame in the corner of their modern living rooms and look at the thing, rather than use it to hold their embroidery!
The way the attachments fit so well onto this frame was what drew me to it in the first place – it’s just so well designed, and very comfortable to use.
I’m glad the blogpost was useful for you!
Hi Janet,
I am agonising over a floor stand, when I came across your post 🙂
Currently, I stitch using a wooden hoop, holding it about 10 inch from my face due to my poor eyesight. As the projects get bigger (27 in to 30 in across in width), I feel that I should use a scroll frame, supported on a floor stand. The wooden Stitchmaster looks like a good idea as I like to flip the roller frame over to start and end.
Would you be able to let me know :
1) what is the full height extension of this wooden Stitchmaster ?
2) I intend to prop a 30in (maybe 10 – 12 in in height) Millenium frame on it, would it fit the Stitchmaster arms ?
3) can the length of the arms be adjusted by moving the screws ?
4) is this wooden Stitchmaster stable ? It looks fragile from pictures in Sewandso site.
Hope to hear from you.
Thanks,
les
Hi, I think the Stitchmaster is great, and I stitch everything using it – from tiny silk gauze pieces to huge ‘Heaven and Earth designs’ pieces. To answer your questions: (1) If you extend each piece of the frame as far as it will go, the main back support is 38 inches off the floor up to the rectangular block piece that the lamp attaches on to – you can then angle the arms that you place your frame on horizontally from there, so effectively you can be stitching 38 inches off the floor.(2) Yes – I am using a 30 inch by 12 inch frame on it at the moment. You just push the two arms out from you, to make as wide a ‘V’ as possible, to support the roller frame on them. It’s a bit fiddly to stitch right at the very edges of your frame with a long frame, but you can always push your frame along a bit to reach to the edges. (3) Yes, you can loosen the wingnuts to re-position the arms either to be short or long, depending on the width of the roller frame, and how horizontal you want the arms to be. (4) Yes, it is stable. I push the legs under the chair I sit on to stitch, but that’s only because I like to stitch up close. With frames 30 inches long it will wobble a bit, but not enough to fall over. With shorter frames, it’s perfectly stable. I can’t compare it with other frames, though, but I love my one 🙂 You may like to consider asking your optician for glasses that are only used for stitching – I have a pair now which focus at only 12 inches from my face, which I don’t use for anything other than stitching on 40 count silk gauze! My optician thought I was a bit crazy to ask for a special pair of glasses like that, but they’ll do it if you ask.
Hi, I have bought the wooden frame from Amazon and quite like it. I also searched for the magnifier, lamp and clamp for a chart but couldn’t find it. I thought that the one that goes with the metal frame could be bought to work with the wooden… Could you help, how do I search in Ebay so I don’t accidentally buy the one that’s for the metal frame? Thanks!
I emailed Siesta Frames via their website to make sure that the metal one will fit into the wooden stand, and they confirmed that it will. They said: “It goes into the wooden block at the back with the two grub screws.
You have to take off the two black washers on the light and it drops in.”
I also checked on Ebay, but there isn’t one on there at the moment, but you could order one from the Siesta website here: http://www.siestaframes.com/acatalog/StitchMaster_Floor_Stand.html (the accessory stand is on the same page as the Stitchmaster floor stand itself). It’s £75 including VAT, but plus shipping.
Great news 🙂 Thank you so much Janet!
Hi Janet. Hope you are keeping well . Was just reading through your articles with great interest. Just to let you know that the Stitchmaster floor stand . Still WOODEN ! And exactly the same as before will be back in stock in a weeks time.
Kind regards Rob
Siesta Frames.
Oh, how wonderful! When it’s on your website, I’ll mention it on social media then 🙂