Football Shirt framing

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Pittsburgh
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Joined: Thu 16 Apr, 2020 2:52 pm
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Football Shirt framing

Post by Pittsburgh »

Hi can someone help please?

I have a client that wants some shirts framed sleeves displayed. I normally hide them behind the mount board cut out.

What is the best method to achieve a really good product with the sleeve badges displayed? Also how is the shirt (once prepped) stuck to the mountboard ?

Thanks in advance....
Justintime
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Re: Football Shirt framing

Post by Justintime »

Sewing or a tag gun can be used. Sticking down is never recommended as it will damage the shirt and render it worthless.
https://www.lionpic.co.uk/p/11244/Fine-Fabric-T-Tag-Gun
Some framers buy forms, others make their own out of foamboard.
I'm sure there'll be some shirt experts along in a minute.
Justin George GCF(APF)
Insta: georgetheframer
Not your average framer
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Re: Football Shirt framing

Post by Not your average framer »

I make my owm foamboard forms to go inside the shirt. I use 5mm foam board, I alway try to keep things nice and flat. My technique with the neck is to have a cut off neck sticking out out the top this is radiused at the top corners are painted a simulated skin colour. The neck section hide the floppy sticky out garment lable, which I think looks much nicer. I like to turn the bottom of the shirt over at the bottom and hide the fixing tags behind. For me it is very important to not have the shirt to tight, I need to get my hand down insind the neck to fix a small piece of pH7.70 tape over the end of the tag to smooth out the area where the tab comes trought the foam board and this helps to kill the visible appearance ofthat little lump to is too easy to see.

I like to fold the short arms across the front and position these so to display important logos, etc. Getting the shirt dead square in the frame is a real game changer and just doing it by eye and hoping for the best, I don't quite think is good enough. Personally for me, it never felt like two hands was always enough, when needing to do the fiddly bits. I like to cut some foam board spacer pieces, which I can clamp in place to provide accurate positioning of the shirt before using the tag gun to fix the shirt to the piece of mount board behind the shirt. Trying to pull a slightly out of line shirt back to straight with extra tags makes a total mess, as far as I am concerned and it's never going to look right. Claming every thing nicely as it should be before fix the shirt in place with the tagsworks much better.

I have lots of dfferent length tags in both gauges of tags. Having extra long tabs is a big game changer, you can get these tags tentioned properly after all the tags are already all inserted in to position. The tags only need to be just tight enough, too tight just makes you pull tags in other places tighter still and things start to distort. Tag the shirt in place down the middle first. Top, bottom and two in the middle is fine, don't put the bottom tag too close to the bottom! Three inches from the bottom, will mean that you are not going to have to much difficulty, putting your hand inside the neck to hide the end of the tag under a piece of pH7.70 tape to present a nice smooth covering of the otherwise a sharper indent caused by the end of the tag will show through. Fix down to middle before attaching the tags in position any where else. Keep tags about three inched in from the edges of the shirt and take care not to stretch the shirt fabric.

I find it very necessary to see down through the neck apperture to see what I'm doing, this may be not the case with othes! Little block of layers of foam board are very useful to side into position to give easy vision inside the front of the shirt. I find that I can lightly stick a piece pH7.70 tape onto the end of a longish plastic rule and use the rule to manover the tape over the end of the tag, then to apply pressure through the shirt material to stick the piece of pH7.70 in place. dont not snug the tape down to snuggly as to reveal too much of the shape of the end on the tag though the pH7.70 tape. The rest of the piece of tape lightly stuck to the end of the plastic ruler now need to be gently eased off from the end of th ruler. Sometimes this is easier and other times less so.

I always find it necessary to insert separate shaped foam board inserts in to the short sleeves. Getting these foam board inserts cut and shaped just right will drive you mad, it is far from easy. I find it very difficult indeed! You don't want the shape of these insert to be discernable through the sleeve of the shirt, believe me this is not easy at all. I don't like to have the insert coming down too close to the elastic bit at the bottom of the sleeve. Truthfully, I find getting the sleeves on football shirts really difficult and can spend a really long time trying to get this part right. I can spend a really long time getting the foam board former in side the shirt just right, too tight in just the wrong place easily pulls any lettering on the shirt out of line and it stands out like a sore thumb. It is so important to get this right, before moving on to do any of the rest!

This was very difficult to explain! I that hope it makes some sort of sense. I really do not like doing football shirt framing, but I might still need to, whether I like it, or not! I suspect that we may be n a less easy economy now and I may need to take whatever jobs come my way, because I may need the money.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Pittsburgh
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Joined: Thu 16 Apr, 2020 2:52 pm
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Organisation: OP Framing
Interests: Golf

Re: Football Shirt framing

Post by Pittsburgh »

Thank you for a very detailed reply Mark. Very informative.
Not your average framer
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Joined: Sat 25 Mar, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Devon, U.K.
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Interests: Lost causes, saving and restoring old things, learning something every day
Location: Glorious Devon

Re: Football Shirt framing

Post by Not your average framer »

I'm not really an expert, but that's how I find works best for me. I somewhat diabled and I have to figure out ways of doing things that enable me to do difficult tasks and still produce something that looks really professional. After a while everyone ends up doing things the way that work best for them. That's when i usually know that you've really got it!
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
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