Flag Frame

[mitretight]

I am new to the Framers Forum so I'll be interested on your thoughts on the following:

I have a 4ft x 3ft Union Jack to frame. I was going to present it in a frame using 5mm fillets to create a gap between the flag and the glass and attach to the mount board using either fuse wire or cotton stitch.

I would be greatful if anyone has any comments on the above and wether this is a suitable method.

Thanks in advance

[Bill Henry]

While we have no experience with a Union Jack, we’ve done several American flags roughly that size.

I’m not familiar with “fuse wire” but you want to insure that the thread material is weaker than the fabric of the flag so that the flag itself won’t tear if the frame gets jarred. Spacers are always a good idea.

Stitching any flag of that size will be time consuming. You might wish to investigate a “tag gun” specifically designed for attaching fabrics e.g. Attach-EZ.

We’ve been using one for several years. IMO, it is the greatest invention since cream filled cupcakes.

[mitretight]

Thanks Bill,

I have a tag gun so will consider using instead of stitching. Any advice welcome. Not sure if we get cupcakes over here but they sound delicious!

[markw]

Make sure you get it the right way round. Tag gun works well - paint the heads to match the material colour - when tagged. I had to do a very damaged flag roughly that size a few weeks ago - It had been flapping in the wind for the last few years and was completely shredded. The tag gun was fantastic - but I had to use hundreds of tags to keep the frayed edges in place. Unfortunately my customer wanted to use a moulding that was too light for a job of this size - and I spent a lot of time building a inner frame to carry the loading. My customer was very pleased with the result.

[mitretight]

Thanks markw, I like the idea of colouring the tags, I suppose felt pen will do the trick. My only reservation on using the tag gun is that, on my gun, there is a 5mm gap between the front and back of the tag, so I would lose some tension. Maybe I could put a thin layer of foam board behind. I'll let you know how it goes.

[markw]

I looked at my record of the large flag - it was bigger than jumbo sized board so I spliced boards onto a foamcore carrier - then tagged through that. Tags come two lengths 5.4mm and 4.4mm. The longer ones work well on a foamcore / mountboard combination. I colour the tags with acrylic paint mixed to get a close colour match and applied with a very fine brush.

[birdman]

I’m not familiar with “fuse wire” but you want to insure that the thread material is weaker than the fabric of the flag so that the flag itself won’t tear if the frame gets jarred. Spacers are always a good idea.

Bill having said what you have above, are the micro tags not stronger than the flag fabric?

I have to say we favour thread but would welcome your comment because we do have a tag gun, we just haven't used it.

For your information "fuse wire" is what was used in the fuses of the household fuse box. There are different thickness's which melt under a heavy load and we use it for attaching heavier objects to the mount or backing board. Fuse boxes that use this wire are almost museum pieces, but there are still some properties with them hence the availability of fuse wire.

[markw]

Micro tags pull out very easily. The only real problem with them is that the needle head on the gun is quite thick and could damage some textiles.

[Nigel Nobody]

You could stretch a piece of muslin/calico or other inert fabric to a stretcher frame then baste the flag onto the fabric. This would take some time as it would need to be stitched at intervals over the entire flag. It would offer a good support though.

You could also use Jim Miller's method where you use a sheer fabric like crepeline as an overlay on the flag.

Another Jim Miller method is to have some padding on a backing and cover with muslin/calico. The flag is held up against acrylic glazing by the padded backing.

I suggest every framer should have a copy of Jim's book in their library. There are enough excellent "How To's" in it to make you a lot of money every year!

[markw]

You could stretch a piece of muslin/calico or other inert fabric to a stretcher frame then baste the flag onto the fabric. This would take some time as it would need to be stitched at intervals over the entire flag. It would offer a good support though.

You could also use Jim Miller's method where you use a sheer fabric like crepeline as an overlay on the flag.

Another Jim Miller method is to have some padding on a backing and cover with muslin/calico. The flag is held up against acrylic glazing by the padded backing.

!

It would be interesting to cost out these methods and compare them to Bagpuss's original thoughts - Much as I can see a place for these techniques when conservation framing a particularly valuable item - I doubt the average customer who just wants to display a flag would be willing to pay the inflated cost. The suggestions however are very clever - The padded backing against acrylic would have worked well with the frayed flag I framed the other week - and would probably have proven to be less time consuming than tagging and therefore more cost effective.

[mitretight]

I've done a quick test and a 1.4mm mount board with a 3mm foam board behind and using 5mm tags (coloured) seems to be my best option here.

Thanks everyone for their valuble comments

[mitretight]

Flag finished! looked ok in the end but very big (approx. 5ft x 4ft) and very heavy. After tagging to the back-board it didn't lay flat so there were the inevitable waves in the material but you could say this added to the effect. (sales talk)

MT

[mikeysaling]

another excellent 'big job' ! you can have an hour off now. well done

[Merlin]

Glad to see that you have got it the right way up....

[mitretight]

Phew! that's a relief

It did actually look better on the other side of the flag ie. the stitching looked more finished, "Tel Aviv" as Del-Boy would say