The Framers Forum

Hi Folks

I hope you are all well. I have a rather special job coming up and am looking for a bit advice/suggestions.

I have a kilt to frame, which was worn during the Battle of the Somme. I've never framed a kilt before and am wondering if anyone has any experience in doing such a job? Any tips/tricks or recommendations for fixings etc?

Thanks

That’s awesome. What a privilege. I’m sure others on here will have good advice for you but. They are rather heavy items and need to be folded in a certain way. I would make sure the substrate is good and strong and can support the weight and then I would treat it like any other fabric/ garment in terms of stitching and fastening. The pleats are on the back and I would advise first stitching the front/flat part to the back (pleated part) to keep them together as neat as you can. Would love to see it once done.

How about framing it in a deep box frame, lined with a map of the are where the battle of the Somme was fought? Are there are other artifacts which could be frames with this Kilt?

Thanks folks, yes I'll make sure the substrate is strong enough to last and thanks for the tips on stitching and I really like the idea of the map, I'll look into that.

Appreciate the thoughts on it

A map would be quite a lot of work and maybe the kilt would hid too much of the map. I don't really know, but I thought that it sounded like a good idea at the time. I guess if you cat get a map which has enough of an adjoining area to the battle area, which would not matter if that bit was obcured by the kilt, then that would then be easier!

You can get prints of original WW1 trench maps through the National Library of Scotland at https://maps.nls.uk/geo/find/#zoom=8&la ... =101465071
So long as you can find out where he served, you place the modern place French placename in a search box and it then produces an overlay of the original WW1 trench map. Once you're happy you can then click on the red 'order this map' button and buy a copy in any size from A4 (for about a tenner) to AO (for about £40). I'm currently working on a frame as a personal project which will include photos, badges, medals etc from my great uncle, who died after being wounded at Vimy Ridge in 1917. I was able to identify the very trench he was in at the time and am thinking about using the AO trench map as a background. Provided you can square the cost with your client, it might make a rather authentic background.