This signed football shirt was commissioned by a lady for her sons Christmas Present (2022).
I started by laying the shirt on brown paper, putting it in its final position with the bottom and arms folded, and draw its outline. I cut a template out of the paper a few cms bigger than the shirt outline to allow for the stretchiness in the material.
Using the paper template I then cut a template of white 5mm foamboard out a sheet and placed this inside the shirt to keep it tight and flat.
The tricky and time consuming part is getting the shirt sewn through the foam board onto the mountboard which is done at a few key positions. The arms and bottom can then be folded and sewn in place. Whist tapes, staples and glues can be used I avoid them due to the damage they can cause.
The blue window mount is raised up to the glass by using strips of foam core under the mount. Once the glass is cut and frame is made the last tricky part is putting the shirt in the frame without any bits of dirt and fluff, despite the shirt and anti reflective glass being brushed prior to this it can take several attempts before the frame can be sealed up.
Framed to level 3 of the Fine Art Trade Guild Standards, incorporating advanced conservation level techniques in the mounting of the shirt – fully reversible with no damage to the fabric.