OCTOBER 26, 2026

HOW TO FRAME A FOOTBALL SHIRT (AND WHAT IT SHOULD COST)

Every collection has a few shirts that are just too good to stay folded in a drawer. Your first away day, the season it finally clicked or the gloriously daft kit from a club you’d struggle to find on a map. They belong on a wall, and getting them there costs anywhere from £15 to £200.

There are three routes: an IKEA hack, a proper DIY kit, or handing it over to a professional framer. Below you'll find what each one costs and what you get for your money, plus which shirts are actually worth it. It's rarely the Premier League ones.

How much does it cost to frame a football shirt?

Here's how the three options stack up:

Prices climb further for predictable reasons, such as bigger frames for an adult XL over a kids' shirt, real glass over acrylic and UV glass costing more. Plaques, cut-outs for photos or ticket stubs are another factor.

Before you commit to any of those figures, it's worth knowing more about each option.

Option 1: The IKEA hack

If you want something budget friendly but don’t know which specific shirt framing kit to buy, an IKEA frame could be your answer.

What you need to get started

• A frame: The RÖDALM range is likely the best option. Go for the 61 x 91cm for an adult shirt.

• The shirt, washed, fully dry and ironed flat on a low heat if the fabric allows.

• The frame, 61 x 91cm for an adult shirt.

• Acid-free mount board or foam board to go inside the shirt and hold its shape.

• A second acid-free board to sit behind it.

• Pins, clips or mounting strips.

• A craft knife or sharp scissors to cut the board to size.

• Clean, dry hands.

One thing we'd steer you away from: the cardboard out of an Amazon or similar box. It's acidic, and within a couple of years it'll start yellowing the fabric sitting against it. Acid-free board costs a few quid and it is a necessity, not an upgrade, if you want to protect your shirt. Give tape a miss too, because adhesive leaves residue on polyester that's a nightmare to shift.

How to do it

1. Cut your acid-free board to sit inside the shirt, a couple of centimetres narrower than the shoulders so it doesn't show.

2. Lay the shirt face down and slide the board inside, working it up to the shoulders.

3. Turn it over, smooth the front and pull the fabric taut from collar to hem so the creases drop out.

4. Fold the sleeves and side seams round to the back, checking the badge, sponsor and number stay visible.

5. Pin or clip the folds at the back. There's more on getting this right further down.

6. Lay the second board behind, drop the whole lot into the frame and close the backing clips.

Option 2: DIY with a shirt frame kit

A purpose-built shirt framing kit is the easiest route to a tidy result and you can expect to pay £40 to £60 for a single kit, and less per shirt if you buy a twin pack. A typical kit gives you an MDF backing board, a pre-cut mount, an insert card for inside the shirt, an acrylic or glass front, clips and hanging string. Some chuck in a personalised plaque. The method is much the same whichever kit you buy:

1. Lay the shirt face down and slide the insert card inside, working it up to the shoulders.

2. Turn it over, smooth the front and pull the fabric taut from collar to hem so the creases drop out.

3. Fold the sleeves and side seams round to the back of the card.

4. Secure the folds at the back with the fixings the kit gives you, not whatever's in the kitchen drawer.

5. Lay the mount over the front, sandwich it all between the backing board and front panel, then close the clips.

Kits vary, so the instructions in the box beat anything we can tell you here. The one thing to watch is tension. Pull too hard and you'll distort the badge and numbering, too little and the shirt sags within a few months.

Option 3: Professional framing

Professional framing starts around £80 and runs to roughly £200 or more once you add plaques, double mounts and cut-outs for photos. What you're really paying for isn't the frame, it's the method.

A good framer won't use staples, glue or tape on the shirt at all. Instead they'll stitch it into place using a technique borrowed from the clothing and embroidery trade, mount everything on acid-free board, and keep the whole job reversible, so the shirt comes back out exactly as it went in. You also get a proper deep frame and a choice of standard, safety or UV glass.

If the shirt's signed, match-worn, rare or tied to a day you'd rather not forget, it's money well spent. For the fourth-choice away shirt you grabbed in a charity shop, probably not.

Getting the details right

If you decide to go down one of the DIY routes, this is where a framed shirt is won or lost. Go professional and it's all handled for you. It's also where most home jobs go wrong, and none of it is difficult once you know what to watch for.

How do you fold and pin a shirt so the badge shows?

The short version of how to frame a shirt neatly: flatten it, support it from behind, fold the excess to the back, and fix it without adhesive.

Start with the shirt properly flat, not roughly flat. Slide your board inside so the shoulders sit square. Then work out what has to be on show before you fold anything. Usually that's the badge, the sponsor, and the name and number if you're displaying it back to front. On a shirt from somewhere further afield, the sponsor is often the bit people stop and ask about, so give it room.

Fold the sleeves behind the body first, then bring the side seams in until the shirt sits at the width you want. Pin through the folded fabric at the back, aiming for seams rather than mesh panels or printing, since a seam takes a pin without leaving a mark. Step back, check the badge is clear of the sleeve fold, and sort it now. Nobody wants to close the frame and then spot half a crest poking out from under a sleeve!

Do you need UV glass?

For most shirts, no. Standard glass is fine for a shirt hanging on an internal wall out of direct sun.

UV glass earns its keep in two situations. One is a room that gets proper sunlight, where the colours will visibly fade over a few years. The other is a shirt you simply can't replace, like a signed one, a vintage kit, or something with real sentimental weight. Autographs fade quicker than the shirt does, especially marker pen.

A related tip from the trade: skip diffused or non-reflective glass on a signed shirt. It cuts glare, but it also softens the signatures, which are usually the whole point.

Which shirts are worth framing?

A framed Premier League home shirt is a nice thing to own and nobody will ever ask you about it. A framed Forward Madison kit, on the other hand, starts a conversation with everyone who walks past it.

The shirts that earn a frame fall into two camps. The first is the sentimental ones: a first match, a promotion season, something signed, a kit tied to a person rather than a club. Those are the ones to spend properly on.

The second is the ones that simply look brilliant on a wall. Odd crests, sponsors nobody can pronounce, and designs from leagues most people have never watched. The wild kits coming out of Guadeloupe are a good example of what we mean. Four of those in cheap frames beats one expensive frame around a shirt half your street already owns.

If you're building a collection worth hanging up, our guide to growing your football shirt collection covers where to hunt them down, and our mystery football shirt boxes are the easiest way to end up with something nobody else has. A few months of a subscription and you've got a wall.

And if framing the lot sounds like a lot of effort, our football artwork prints sit nicely alongside a framed shirt for a fraction of the price.

FAQs

Can you put a football shirt in a normal frame?

Yes, and plenty of people do. A shadow box or deep frame gives a better result, because the shirt isn't pressed flat against the glass  and keeps some shape. A standard 3cm frame works for a thin shirt, but a heavy long-sleeved kit will bulge.

Can you frame a football shirt without damaging it?

Yes. Use acid-free board rather than cardboard, keep pins in seams rather than printing or mesh, and use no tape or glue anywhere. Done that way it's completely reversible and the shirt comes out unmarked.

Where should you hang it?

Wherever it ends up, keep it off a wall that catches the afternoon sun, and out of bathrooms and kitchens. Damp does more damage to framed fabric than most people realise.

How long does a framed football shirt last?

A shirt framed on acid-free board and kept out of direct sunlight should look good for 15 to 20 years or more. In a sunny room behind ordinary glass, expect noticeable fading within about five years, and quicker on bright reds and yellows.

What size frame do I need for a football shirt?

Around 60 x 80cm covers most adult shirts once folded, and 40 x 50cm suits kids' sizes. Fold the shirt the way you plan to display it and measure it first, because folded width varies a lot between a slim modern fit and a baggy nineties kit.