Textile & Fabric Art Framing in Wakefield, RI

We are experts at mounting textiles of all kinds, both handmade and manufactured. Fabric behaves differently than paper. It stretches, sags, and reacts to humidity, so textile framing calls for mounting methods chosen specifically for the material in front of us.

We avoid adhesives entirely on textile work and use reversible mounting instead.

Textiles We Frame

• Flags
• Vintage doilies and embroidered linens
• Jerseys and t-shirts — see also jersey framing
• Christening gowns
• Sports pennants
• Handmade fiber art, including needle felted wool
• Cross stitch, embroidery and needlepoint

A Piece We're Proud Of

We recently framed a vintage doily handmade by a customer's grandmother. It arrived folded and soiled, brittle enough that we had to work very carefully to avoid adding to the damage already there. We cleaned it and hand-sewed it onto a fabric-covered substrate.

She was thrilled with the result. It now hangs in her kitchen, where she can see it every day and think of her grandmother.

What Textiles Need From a Frame

Fabric is not a stable material in the way paper is, and framing has to account for that.

• Support Across the Whole Surface: A textile hung from its top edge alone carries its entire weight at that edge. Over years, that produces sagging, distortion and stress along the line of support. Full-surface mounting distributes the weight evenly so no single area bears the load.
• Humidity: Natural fibers absorb and release moisture with changes in humidity, expanding and contracting slightly as they do. A mounting method with no capacity to accommodate that movement will eventually show as rippling or tension damage.
• Light and Dye: Textile dyes are generally more fugitive than pigments used in painting or printing. Fading is uneven, since different dyes in the same piece degrade at different rates, which is why an old textile often looks not just lighter but subtly wrong in its color relationships. UV-filtering glazing is worth considering for any textile intended for long-term display.
• Reversibility: Sound conservation practice for textiles favors mounting methods that can be undone without trace. Anything permanent forecloses future options, including any conservation treatment the piece might need decades from now.

Mounting Built for the Material

We assess weight, weave, flexibility and condition before choosing an approach, because a heavy wool piece and a fine silk panel need completely different support. Spacers keep glazing from resting directly on the surface, and conservation materials protect against fading in dyed and natural fibers, which lose color faster than most people expect.

For dimensional textiles and garments, a custom shadow box often works better than a flat frame, and we'll say so if that's the case.

The Most Common Mistake

The issue we see most often is customers using adhesives to mount fabric themselves before bringing it in. Adhesives seem like a reasonable solution in the moment, but the residue is very difficult to remove fully and can permanently damage delicate fibers. If you're considering framing a textile, bring it to us before you mount it.

Common Questions About Textile Framing