We have a family heirloom crochet piece (large. almost 3 foot tall by 6 foot wide) and want to frame it so we can display it without worring about damage. My local frame shops say they cannot get archival quality matboard that wide so if they mount it there will be a noticable seem in the middle. So, I began researching and learned how to couch by sewing around the key points of the patterns and thought I‘d buy acid-free fade/bleed resistant cloth to sew to and mount that to a pieced together foamboard to have no seams. I have not been able to find such a fabric after nearly a month of searching. To make matters complicated, the room where we want to hang it has a burgandy color scheme, so we are looking for a burgandy fade/bleed resistant fabric. I am confident we can get the frame built and have a source for the uv blocking glass, however, I cannot find the fabric. Does such a thing exist or am I going down a wrong path? What should I do to preserve this and display it?
Phew! You're in for a project. A few of things that I want you to know: 1. Polyester fabric is a good choice because it seldom bleeds. However, I would wash it in warm water first to get all factory dust out of it and also to double-check that it will NOT bleed. 2. Never put glass directly on your antique cloth. It will cause the cloth to hold moisture and cause it to mold and/or rot. The real tragedy is that when it rots, you won't know it until you go to remove it from the frame/glass. At that point, it will fall apart in your hands. Make sure that whoever frames it for you has the piece recessed away from the glass at least 1/4, but ideally 1/2. 3. You are doing the right thing mounting the piece. DO NOT change a thing in that regard. For others who read this and want to know, plain cardboard is usually treated with pesticides and other chemicals so that when goods are stored in a warehouse, the boxes are resistant to pests of all kinds. These pesticides will bleed through your project. As the questioner has stated, key words are ACID FREE. I hope these answers help you.
I used to work in a frame shop, and I cringed at some of the techniques my boss used (I'm also an artist). So, you might want to visit all the frameries in the area to get an overall view on how they'd approach it. For one, don't sandwich it in glass. You need the piece to breathe, else it will fester and mold if in a humid area. Also, you need to avoid putting this on a wall that is close to the exterior, humidity and temp. fluxuations will wreak havoc on it no matter how well you archivally you frame it. I also suggest that you not match the burgandy. Over time your wall will fade and the fabric will fade in different ways, depending on the base colors in each dye lot. I assume you've got a nice cream patina to the thread, so I would actually suggest either a warm charcoal or black as a background to really get some classy drama. Most people starch their crochet pieces that they wish to preserve, but I'm against this. I think you're going in the right idea, but it might be hard finding a dyed piece of fabric that won't, in time, potentially transfer pigment to the back of the piece. So I may even lean towards a 'virgin' piece of good-quality cotton. (layers of it behind so that the acidity in either a cardboard backing --usually standard in framing-- or even a wood backing wouldn't affect the piece, at least for 75 years or so.)
