Cival War Flag

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Allen Stover

True Grumbler
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Posts
81
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Hi all,

I'm new to The Grumble and I'm really impressed with the format and topics of discussion. I'm up against a rather unique situation with a current frame job. Well, unique to my 6 years of framing anyway.

I've got a Cival War Flag that is to be framed and I just wanted some input. I'm planning on seweing the flag in four or five places at the top of the flag so it will hang naturally and not buckle as it relaxes. It will be attached to a 4ply rag mat and I'll use a complimentary color as shadow box spacers along the side of the frame. The thread I'm planning on using is a color-fast thread that matches the color of the border of the flag fairly accurately.

Should this be acceptable, or are there any other methods that I should pursue? Thanks for your time and any input you might have.

Allen
 
Allen, it sounds like you're headed in the right direction. If the flag has some weight, you might want to attach a piece of polyflute/Coroplast to the rag. You could do that before or after stitching, but i think it should be attached and not just used as a loose filler.

Also, depending on the size, consider a UV acrylic, like Cyro Acrylite OP-3 instead of glass, to keep the weight down and reduce the risk of breakage.

Oh, and it should probably be cotton thread.

Welcome to The Grumble, Allen.
 
Wow, you guys are fast.

Ok, The flag is about 32 x 20.
Hand Sewn from denim and in rather good shape. I've sewn High School Letter Jackets in place several times before, and this is MUCH lighter than those, so I feel that the thread should hold....
Already have the OP3 on order. I'm a BIG fan of conservation glass and OP3 Plexi. I probably sell it for too little, but I find that customers appreciate being able to upgrade to the good stuff for a reasonable amount keeps them coming back, and they usually don't go back to the standard glass, even for cheap posters.

BTW, I manage one of our two stores here in Columbus, and I think I'll have to keep this forum a little secret from the owner. He hired me for my framing background when he opened this second shop and I get to do all of the framing for both shops. He thought I was a great asset to the company before.... wait until I unload some great marketing ideas on him that I'm finding on here.
 
Welcome to The Grumble, Allen.

About a year ago I visited your Polaris store, just to get acquainted. The manager, whose name I can't remember, seemed suspicious that another local framer would drop in to say hello.

It was a brief visit, but I encouraged him to join PPFA for its Online Exchange, to join FACTS for its framing standards, and to join The Grumble for its wealth of information. I gave him the web addresses, too.

So, your boss might already know about us.

Next time you're in Pickerington, stop in for a visit.

Good luck with your denim flag.
 
Allen, your client should be informed that long
term display of antique textile is not in the
best interest of its preservation. Light is very
hard on textiles and being upright also causes
the fibers to "creep" as gravity pulls on them.
The Smithsonian Museum of History used to have
dresses from all the first ladies on view, now
they have taken the older ones away for flat
storage in the dark.
Having said that, if the client still wants to
keep this item on view, you can get some unbleached linen and wash it in washing soda,
several times and rinse it thoroughly. This can
be stretched over a wooden strainer (sealed with
water base polyurethane) with a sheet of conservation quality board laid between the strainer and the muslin, but not glued. The flag
can be basted to the muslin, around the perimeter
of the flag with unbleached muslin thread and
the placed in a frame, with a spacer and the
UV absorbant glazing, as you suggested.

Hugh
 
Thanks for all of the advice everyone.

Jim, You probably don't remember me, but I started out framing with Scot at the Frame cellar. I'm now managing the Upper Arlington location that he sold recently.

When you visited the store in Polaris, it was still a rather new operation (actually still is...). Jon was new to the industry and probably still getting used to the idea of other frame shop owners visiting. I find it's an invaluable way to get to know what is going on in the industry. If there's ever a time I can't complete something for any reason, it's nice to know who might be able to do something in a pinch. For instance, we have to ability to scan photos and re-produce them on canvas in-house. I realize that there are other resources that can accomplish this, but it's nice to know where a local one is.

Sorry for rambling. I tend to do that quite a bit.
 
I also remember reading about tilting the backing board so the top is further back in the frame [/]
to help with the gravity issue.
 
Dave, that's one that I hadn't thought of in the past. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks
 
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