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I found this beat-up Chelsea jersey buried deep in my closet last Thursday while reorganizing. Hadn’t touched it since moving apartments five years ago! The white trim around the collar had yellowed like an old book page. Thought it was a goner for sure.
First step was getting it wearable again.
- Threw that fabric revive powder everywhere.
- Used an old toothbrush to scrub at the name patch stains.
- Left it soaking for two whole days in the bathtub.
Drying it took forever. Almost flipped it inside out thinking it was ruined when watermarks showed up, but pressed it with a warm iron later. Looks almost new now!
Then came the accessories hunt.
Dug through boxes in the garage. Found a 2008 scarf but the ends were fraying. Took forever to stitch them together by hand – fingers were raw next morning. My old keychain trophy replica from eBay? Broken in half. Had to glue it back like some dumb puzzle.
Worst part was finding a proper picture.
- Wanted that iconic celebration shot against Man U.
- Scanned old magazines with the phone app.
- Colors kept coming out washed or blurry.
- Spent three hours editing it on my cracked laptop.
Almost blew it putting it all together. My heat press machine sputtered smoke halfway through transferring the picture onto canvas. Tripped over the damn power cord running to shut it off. Thank god it worked after cooling down. Frame’s wonky though – hammered the corners crooked like a toddler did it.
Finished it finally this morning.
Hanging it in the hallway now. Light catches Ballack’s face different times of day. Still mad about the crooked frame, might fix it later. Whole week down the drain basically. Wife says I look ridiculous posing with it in Chelsea shorts. Worth every damn second.