Question Framing a Rug

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kajframer

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A customer brought in a 50X73 antique rug to frame. I am planning to wrap duck cloth around a stretcher bars like a canvas then sewing the rug to the canvas. Any ideas? They are not sure they want to put a frame on it. They may just hang it by the stretcher bars.
 
If there's no frame involved, why sew it to a stretched fabric background?

The rug could be most simply hung by a curtain rod slipped through a fabric sleeve sewn to the back of the rug near its top edge.

Of course, unframed display provides no protection from soiling, but unlike the rug sewn to a stretched fabric, the rug hing by the rod/sleeve method could be taken down and sent to a professional for cleaning.
 
kajframer said:
The rug is very old and will not be able to hold its own weight
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And they want to hang it unprotected?

If that old rug has any monetary, personal, or cultural value, you might want to have a special conversation with its owner, about the benefits of closing the rug into a protective frame:

1. Keep it clean

2. Protect it from light damage

3. Protect it from mechanical damage

4. Protect it from airborne exhaust/fumes/contaminants

5. Slow the rate of temperature and humidity changes.

6. Buffer the flexing caused by sounds, vibrations, impacts
 
We did discuss framing. I figure getting it mounted was the first step. Once that is done we can put UV plexi , spacer and a frame. But first things first.
 
Yes, you can do it the way you have planned. You might want to wash and rinse well the mounting cloth first to remove sizing. You can also fit the reverse with a solid backboard e.g. Coroplast so that dust etc. doesn't filter through the backing fabric and rug.
 
The coroplast would also provide additional support if the stitching passed through it. This would prevent sagging in the backing fabric which could cause future stress points in the rug.
 
Jeff Rodier said:
The coroplast would also provide additional support if the stitching passed through it. This would prevent sagging in the backing fabric which could cause future stress points in the rug.
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Jeff makes a good point about preventing sagging. Another way to accomplish the same end would be to stretch fiberglass (not metal) window screening over the stretcher frame, under the fabric, and it would be easier to sew through than the Coroplast. You could still do as Rebecca suggested, and attach the Coroplast to the back of the stretcher, as a reinforcement as well as a closure.
 
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