Hanging photographs with cheesecloth.

July 6, 2009 8:05 AM

A two part kitchenware/decorating question. Ok, the two parts have not much to do with each other. Except they are both in my house. a) how to hang large photographic prints without frames in a way that looks cool and b) I'm making a lot of yogurt these days and straining it with cheesecloth. The cheesecloth gets kind of funky after a while. What can I use instead or how can I wash it?

Hope this is kosher. 2 small questions for the price of one.

a) I'm a photographer. Both at home and for shows I'd like to be able to show photographs in a way that looks good and is cheap (aka no frames). In the past I've seen prints hung from wires strung horizontally against the wall, with the prints clipped to the wires. I've also seen little pieces of metal attached to the wall and then prints attached with magnets.

My prints are generally fairly large (13x19) with a white border around the print.

Are there any examples online about how to pull this off and make it look hip and nice? Basically the cost of frames is preventing me from doing a lot of things, both at home and for shows and I think this would be a good solution.

b) I'm making a lot of yogurt these days, based on this article by Howard McGee. At the end I strain it with cheesecloth in a strainer.

The cheesecloth gets filled up with yogurt. Normally I soak it in a pot with hot water and then squeeze it out multiple times, then let it hang to dry. It gets kind of stiff and I can never get it totally clean.

I tried putting it in the washing machine and that made it bunch up and basically ruined it. Is there anything I could use instead of cheesecloth that would work as well? Coffee filters or something? Or is there a better way to clean it?

posted by sully75 to home & garden (11 comments total)

Hope this is kosher

No, it's really not. Please don't do this again.


Photos: the biggest issue with unframed prints is that they tend to curl up at the corners. One inexpensive solution: it's possible to buy plastic clips similar to these in larger sizes, which you can put at the top and bottom of the print; the bottom one will weight it down and keep it from curling and the top one can be used to hang it on the wall.

Cheesecloth: this is basically what cheesecloth was invented for. I tend to treat it as disposable, rather than trying to clean it, but boiling and drying it should be good enough (the stiffness won't matter once you get it wet again in re-use.)
posted by ook at 8:22 AM on July 6 [2 favorites]

Yogurt cheese maker.
posted by elsietheeel at 8:22 AM on July 6

You should be able to find a yogurt strainer with a fine plastic mesh that washes up easily. I've used mine for years. (Yes, that photo shows exactly what I have.) You pay a little more initially than you would for cheesecloth, but it's durable, non-disposable and arguably more green.

This Donair model is more expensive than mine, but has good reviews. This one looks kind of cool, and should store easily. Don't forget to save the whey for smoothies, breadmaking and the like.

And may Alton Brown forgive me for recommending a unitasker.
posted by maudlin at 8:24 AM on July 6

13x19 isn't really a large print for photos, in fact I'd say that is a standard size if not on the small side. If you want the cheap way of framing, go for making your own. All you need is a miter saw or a friend with one. I've seen some cool looking frames that are just 1x4s & 1x6s mitered together and then stained. The picture is offset which is very arty.

I have yet to see a frameless system that costs less than a regular frame and looks good. Mounting a print directly on foamcore and without glass/plexi does not look cool by any stretch. Of course, it depends on the print. Some pictures look great borderless and frameless. I'm not convinced a white bordered print sans frame would look good on a standard white wall.
posted by JJ86 at 8:32 AM on July 6

Is "yogurt cheese" the same as "thickened yugurt" re: this product?

Thanks for the answers so far.
posted by sully75 at 8:39 AM on July 6

Yep. Most thickened yogurt products (greek yogurt, labneh, yogurt cheese, etc) are just yogurt that's been strained until the desired thickness has occurred (commercial greek yogurt not so much - most of it has got stuff added to make it thick).
posted by elsietheeel at 8:46 AM on July 6

the cost of frames is preventing me from doing a lot of things, both at home and for shows and I think this would be a good solution.

If you have enough technical know-how to take and print your own pictures, you can do all of your framing yourself.

What you need:

Source for cheap frames and glass. Thrift stores, office surplus stores, hotel surplus stores... you get the idea. Hobby Lobby carries new frames with glass for cheap.

Mat cutting kit. Self explanitory. You'll spend about $100 or so, but it'll pay for itslef the very first time you use it.

Mats. Check your local art supply. $3 to $8 each.

Alternatively, you can get into building your own frames. You'll need a miter saw ($60 new at Home Despot), source for plate glass, glass cutter, good work area, etc.

Alternatively you can go down the road of sandwiching your prints between plexi glass, using swiss clips, and all manner of other cheap and cheap-looking solutions, waste a lot of time and money, before biting the bullet and getting serious about framing.

I'm making a lot of yogurt these days

Oh for fucksakes...

Hope this is kosher. 2 small questions for the price of one.

The funny thing is you KNOW it's not kosher. Hoping for it to be doesn't make it so.
posted by wfrgms at 8:49 AM on July 6

Hope this is kosher
No, it's really not. Please don't do this again.

This is pretty much spot-on.

That said, you can use coffee filters for the yogurt stuff.
posted by jessamyn at 8:55 AM on July 6

Ikea can provide the wires and clips. You'll need to clip something to the bottom to prevent curling.
posted by chazlarson at 8:56 AM on July 6

I actually didn't know if it was kosher or not. That's why I said that. Thanks. I got it.

For the record, I didn't ask how to make frames. I know how to do it. It's prohibitive in many situations.
posted by sully75 at 11:33 AM on July 6

For the record, I didn't ask how to make frames. I know how to do it. It's prohibitive in many situations.

For the record, you a.) slimed up your own askme with completely unrelated questions, and b.) didn't convincingly explain why framing is prohibitive when you're capable of doing it yourself.

There are cheap-ass alternatives out there for framing. They are cheap-ass because they produce cheap-ass looking results. Framing is prohibitive for most people because they either don't have the time, inclination, or know-how to do it themselves. By not providing details, and by derailing your own question with all this silly yogurt talk, you've not only wasted your own time, but more importantly, mine.
posted by wfrgms at 9:25 PM on July 6