Jersey between 2 acrylic sheets?

Terry Hart cpf

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Sep 23, 2003
Posts
2,084
Location
Excelsior, MN
Here's one I've never attempted before, a jersey between two sheets of acrylic. Anyone tried this? Just press it between two sheets & see what it does? Use a form & spacers? Also wants it in a metal frame so that doesn't make it any easier. I always try to give the customer what they want but I'm not sure how this one will turn out. No monetary value to the jersey, by the way.
 
Here's one I've never attempted before, a jersey between two sheets of acrylic. Anyone tried this? Just press it between two sheets & see what it does? Use a form & spacers? Also wants it in a metal frame so that doesn't make it any easier. I always try to give the customer what they want but I'm not sure how this one will turn out. No monetary value to the jersey, by the way.
Seeing as preservation is not a concern at all I guess you can get more creative with solutions?
How will the jersey stay in place over the long term?
It seems like eventually, it will creep downwards.
Maybe some fishing line or other fairly unobtrusive wire to suspend it from the top?
 
The acrylic will have to bow a good bit with a jersey in between. Keeping if from popping out of a metal frame will be a trick.

And some kind of support from the top to work against gravity.

Your customer may end up spending so much in extra labor that he/she would be better off with a more traditional process.
 
The acrylic will have to bow a good bit with a jersey in between. Keeping if from popping out of a metal frame will be a trick.

And some kind of support from the top to work against gravity.

Your customer may end up spending so much in extra labor that he/she would be better off with a more traditional process.
Exactly. Sometimes trying to "save" by jury-rigging a "simple" design actually is more of a PIA than using techniques that are already tried and true.
 
Hanging it in a box with acrylic both sides makes more sense. But they usually don't look great mounted on the wall unless some neutral color is behind them.
 
If it's the cost that's the issue, guide them to any of the online retailers you find when doing the search I mentioned above.
Somebody else has already figured this out for volume production at a low price.

If they want a unique one of a kind item, that's what you are paid to be a CUSTOM framer for.
You are trying to solve a problem the client has presented to you.

But we are all getting away from the original question a bit:
How would a custom framer handle this project?

You are essentially trying to make a very shallow 2 sided shadow box.
That's not easy, especially one big enough for a jersey.
At that size, would the flexibility of acrylic be a help or hinderance?
It could either conform to the shape and securely squeeze the jersey in place, or bow too much and everything slumps to the bottom.
Some sort of hanging support is almost certainly needed.

Also, from an aesthetic point of view...how will it look?
Usually, jerseys are relaxed if hung loose, or slightly taut if stretched over a form.
Will "squishing" the jersey look weird?

Just some thoughts....
 
I have seen this done and it ain't pretty. Gravity will win and the result will be a crumpled mess at the bottom of the frame. You will waste more time trying to defy physics then re doing it later than doing the job properly the first time.
 
A jersey can be successfully framed between two sheets of acrylic, but in my experience, you'll need a generous spacer between the sheets, to prevent radical wrinkling and creasing of the fabric. To see the effect of pressing the jersey between two sheets of glazing, put it on the table and lay a sheet of glass or acrylic on it.

If you want to do this, I suggest using a Nielsen 100 series (deep rabbet) frame profile with minimum 2" wide mat on both front and back. The spacer between the mats should be about an inch or more. Place a form-fitting, 4-ply filler/support inside the jersey, anchored at the bottom of the frame between the two mats. The mats also help to hide the WallBuddies hangers on the see-through assembly.

If your customer thinks this sort of design would save money, you can give him good reason to think again. I did this only once and it was a lot of extra work. The back of the aluminum sectional frame was ugly, as usual, but the frame allowed viewing the back if the jersey when removed from the wall.
 
This is a radical solution, but I do it regularly for a restaurant owner in town. If the goal is to see both sides of a jersey, you can separate one side seam then sew or pin it down as normal. This does create a larger frame but saves so much in labor that it becomes cost-effective. And it makes a nice presentation. In a public venue, removing a frame from the wall to view from the back is impractical.

Although I would not want to do it on a "valuable" jersey, the fact is it could be restored to its original state by sewing it back together. Besides, unlike college players, those signing "valuable" jerseys know how to sign them so that the signature is visible when it is framed.

Now, if we could only get them to stop using Sharpies. . .
 
I remembered a post about this. Searched the archives and found this.
 
I remembered a post about this. Searched the archives and found this.
I remember that post too.
It's a spectacular jersey display.
Mucho $$$$ I'm sure.
For an item of actual value, it would be worth it.
 
It's a hockey style jersey from the American/Canadian company he works for. Flags on either sleeve, company logo on front and his name on the back. He's not necessarily looking to do it on the cheap but I don't think the budget is unlimited either. I was thinking of inserting a foamboard form that would go to the bottom of the frame to hold it up and spacers between the sheets of acrylicto give it a little space to keep the acrylic from bowing too badly but tight enough to kind of keep things in place a bit (along with a few stitches I think). I was wondering if anyone had tried that before. Sounds like the answer is no (with the exception of Jim, maybe :) . I can't remember trying anything quite like this in my 45 years in the biz.
 
The idea of splitting it is interesting. I may bring that up.
 
It's a hockey style jersey from the American/Canadian company he works for. Flags on either sleeve, company logo on front and his name on the back. He's not necessarily looking to do it on the cheap but I don't think the budget is unlimited either. I was thinking of inserting a foamboard form that would go to the bottom of the frame to hold it up and spacers between the sheets of acrylicto give it a little space to keep the acrylic from bowing too badly but tight enough to kind of keep things in place a bit (along with a few stitches I think). I was wondering if anyone had tried that before. Sounds like the answer is no (with the exception of Jim, maybe :) . I can't remember trying anything quite like this in my 45 years in the biz.
I hadn't thought of having the form resting on the bottom of the frame. That's a good idea.
Would you have a matt to hide the bottom of the form that isn't covered by the jersey?
Or will the edges of the frame be very close the the jersey, so there isn't much of the form showing?
 
I hadn't thought of having the form resting on the bottom of the frame. That's a good idea.
Would you have a matt to hide the bottom of the form that isn't covered by the jersey?
Or will the edges of the frame be very close the the jersey, so there isn't much of the form showing?
"Place a form-fitting, 4-ply filler/support inside the jersey, anchored at the bottom of the frame between the two mats. The mats also help to hide the WallBuddies hangers on the see-through assembly. "
 
Back
Top