It works, it works! I’ve just finished stitching a project on linen and it was increasingly puckered and bumpy every time I released it from the hoop after a session of embroidery.
I was worried I’d never get the background linen to flatten out while keeping the heavily embroidered flowers from getting completely destroyed by an iron. Mary Corbet to the rescue. This was a project kit I purchased from her and in the instructions it says not to press the completed embroidery before finishing it into a scissors keeper envelope, but to damp stretch instead. Instructions for doing that are available on her site here.
So here goes:
The finished product is nothing short of amazing.
I highly recommend this procedure. When I get the project finishing completed, I will post an update. Getting the embroidery done is about 2/3rds of the battle.