Introduction: Soccer Shirt Art

Welcome to my very first Instructable!

After rummaging through the attic at the weekend I uncovered a plethora of old replica football shirts - some i hadn't worn in the last 10 years! I am a big football fan and couldn't bring myself to place the shirts in the "burn" pile and so the idea to frame my favourites was born.

Of course this can be done with any of your favourite t-shirts! I decided to use £5 frames from Ikea (Lomviken 12"x12" square) and I found that these were a great size to show off the main branding of each shirt as well as being cheap and cheerful!

Step 1: Iron Your Shirt!

The first step is to get the ironing board out and iron the front of your shirt. This will make the shirt look great when it's on the wall (nobody likes creases) and will make it easier to pull taut in the frame.

Step 2: Prepare the Frame

Remove the border and back from the frame. This will be used as a guide to position the shirt before it goes into the frame.

Step 3: Position Shirt

Step 3 involves positioning the shirt around the frame border allowing you to see how the shirt will look in the frame. I wanted to make sure that the team badge and sponsor could be seen and this allowed me to make sure they lined up well before I put it in the frame.

Step 4: Place Frame Over Shirt

Keeping the shirt wrapped around the border, gently place the frame over the shirt, ensuring no creases or folds appear on the shirt front.

Step 5: Secure the Shirt in Place

Flip the framed shirt over and use the tags to secure the shirt in place. This may require a bit of perseverance, as they can be quite fiddly to latch through the shirt under the frame but don't give up!

I then cut away the excess, leaving some fabric to be folded over and secured using parcel tape. I contemplated using a staple gun, but the staples went all the way through the frame backing. I also thought about using hot glue, but figured that I may run into issues trying to glue down a porous t-shirt.

Parcel tape worked well to secure the excess shirt and provide enough tension to keep the shirt taut under the frame.

Make sure you don't tape over the picture hook though, as this will be needed to affix the frame to the wall!

Step 6: Voila!

And there you have it. A professional-looking collection of shirts done at a fraction of the price!

If you have any old shirts that deserve a place on your wall, give this a try!

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