Framing a really old baby's gown in a shadowbox...

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J

Jin Wicked

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Jul 14, 2002
Posts
209
Loc
Houston, TX
Today a lady brought in a really old Christening gown (100+ years old), and wanted to ask me how we'd frame it. Usually I sew these things down on a suede matboard and then do them like a regular shadowbox, but typically they're in better condition. It wasn't falling apart, but it was very brittle and made out of some kind of netting material. I probably could have sewn it the way it was, but I'm afraid of it getting worse and the nylon thread ripping through the fabric or having it start to fall apart. Am I worrying for no reason? I was also wondering what perhaps the best thing to do in a situation like that is. With the newer fabric, sports jerseys, and stuff I'm comfortable, but not brittle antique netting. Is there anything I should do differently for an item like that?

I had pondered just mounting the decorative hanger it was on inside the box, and letting it hang loose or tacking it down in only one or two places, but I'd like a better solution. Is there any kind of treatment I could recommend to the customer prior to framing that would help preserve the thing? I've had to turn down customers with items like this before, because they were simply too fragile for me to work with given my experience level and what I have in my shop.

I'm also wondering if anyone can recommend a conservator-type person in the Houston area that I could refer some of these people to. I've had people bring me old photographs that were damaged or miscoloured, and the best I've been able to do for them was to bring it home and scan it onto my computer and digitally 'repair' them and make a new one, but that doesn't work for everything, and I've had people ask me if I knew anywhere they could go for restoration & heavy-duty conservation.
 
1. When sewing down fabric objects it's best to use thread of the same material as the object. Nylon thread should only be used with nylon, it is too strong for most applications and will rip most fabrics over time. Use cotton with cotton, silk with silk, etc. Displaying it on the decorative hanger is actually not that far fetched an idea. It would be less invasive than sewing it in multiple places. The question though is is this piece too fragile to even be hung by the hanger or anything else?

2. As a photographic retoucher, there is no way that I know of to repair photos other than to scan them or make a copy negative and repair them either digitally or with retouching on both the negative and the prints. The important thing to giving a customer a good restoration is the type of paper the photo is printed on. It should be good quality, photographic paper not an inexpensive inkjet print with inks of questionable fade resistance.
 
When people want to frame the "original" old photo that is falling apart, I mylar encapsulate it and then put a mat around the encapulation.

For the Christening gown, in the past I have made a conservation form, out of cotton rag mat, that fits the gown, put it inside and then stitch through the form to the backboard. Of course a few stitches still go through the gown, but I use as little as possible. I predrill the holes.

I wonder if a gown could be mylar encapsulated.
 
Anne is right about the proper use of thread on these old pieces. And, if you can stitch the item down through the seams in the shoulders and down the sides of the fabric rather than simply through the material, it will offer more support to the hanging piece.

I recently did a christening gown that was made out of snow white satin from the grandmother's wedding gown. I took a shaped plastic hanger like you find in better clothing stores and wrapped it in white satin and hung this gown on the hanger. The client wanted to possibly use the gown again should her daughter have another baby so the shadowbox had to be hinged for easy entry and the gown had to be removable, hence, the satin wrapped hanger.

I have a christening gown similar to what you describe in my shop for display and it is sort of a sheer taffeta and very fragile. I just checked it to see if there is any sign of drooping or damage and it looks fine after over 4 years of hanging on display. I used a fine cotton thread to stitch it through the suede board along the shoulder seams, the collar area, and down the sides of the little dress in the seams.

Mounting old clothing is tricky sometimes and you need to know your limitations and those of the fabric you are working with and use some common sense because each item will probably require a slightly different treatment to get it mounted and have it look natural.

Framerguy
 
I also use seems to stitch through and if there are any buttons, I stitch the button down to the backer. Buttons are my first choice for stability and not harming the fabric.
 
Cool, thanks for the advice. I feel much better handling something like that now... the little hanger she had was quite nice and if she brings it back, I will probably try to incorporate it into the design so that I only have to stitch the actual dress as little as possible and at the very bottom. It's totally see-through, I'm not sure if she wants to frame the slip with it... so anything put inside the dress would show.

I'm glad to have this place to ask things like this.
I know a girl that was PPFA (?) certified, supposedly, but she has a superiority complex and after reading this board awhile, I don't think she knows as much as I thought she knew. The other framer at my store is slightly less experienced than me, so I've got nowhere else to learn...
 
Hey, Jin,
Try to get her to put the slip inside the dress, that is almost certainly how the dress was worn . I have done a couple like this (although not as fragile) and they turned out well. Good luck, working with old fragile fabrics can be quite nerve-wracking!
 
Hi Jin,

The brittle net fabric sounds like it might be silk that is starting to shatter. Once silk gets to that point it's very problematic.

You might suggest that the client simply store the gown using good quality materials (wrapped and padded with unbuffered tissue paper and in a textile storage box available from archival suppliers).

If she still wants to display it, knowing that this will hasten deterioration) the hanging suggestions sound good for this particular gown. Leslie's slip would probably help to distribute the weight/stress too. One other - easy - way of making a nice, archival quality padded hanger is to put that "ethafoam" pipe insulation available at Home Depot etc., over a wire (or other) hanger, and cover that with a washed fabric (Framerguy's satin sounds nice).

Just be sure she knows that the dimmer the display area, the better.

Rebecca
 
The only other thing that I can think of is to use an "anti-gravity" mount. This isn't science fiction (and what framer wouldn't loooove to have that old anti-gravity machine?)but a technique whereby the backing board is mounted on a slant within the frame. That is to say, by putting creases in the backing board, one about an inch from the bottom bending back, and one about an inch from the top bending forward, the larger center part will slant back. The bottom of the mounting board will be closer to the glass than the top of the board, and the garment will have a slanted surface on which to lie. It is amazing the amount of stress removed from delicate objects by just adding a little slant. (Man, I wish I could draw on the screen like some of the computer folks. I am much more Show than Tell)
 
That was the customer's idea. She wanted it kind of pulled out to the side, I guess so that it would appear fuller. If she brings it back I will probably try to get her to frame it with the slip inside... She mentioned that she might want to have some other child wear it, she told me which one but I wasn't paying attention. At first she thought it would be something that she could easily put in and take out on her own, but then I had to explain that once it was in there, it's in there. She hasn't come back yet, so it's possible she reconsidered.

I didn't even tell her how much it would cost...
 
Your use of reproductions of old, damaged photos
is a great idea. If only folks could do this
with documents, too, the future would thank us.

Hugh
 
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