Ordering Custom size Canvas stretching bars (canvas stretcher)

This article provides guidance on various aspects of preparing your artwork, including techniques for accurately measuring your artwork, determining the necessary margins/borders, selecting appropriate wrapping styles, identifying common mistakes to avoid, and tips on where and how to order the proper canvas stretcher set for your rolled canvas.

Making the mistake of ordering an incorrectly sized frame for your canvas can lead to disappointment and unnecessary expenses. To ensure a positive experience, it is crucial to avoid these common mistakes.

About Canvas and Wrapping Styles

Canvases can be different in size, thickness, shape, condition, and more. But all of them have a Face area. The Face area is the area you want displayed on a wall. At the same time, it is the actual frame size. Canvas is always larger than a frame; an edge-to-edge size includes the Face area and the margins or borders around it. How much larger should the canvas be compared to a stretcher frame? That depends on the frame thickness, wrapping style you want to use, the canvas border (margin), and the canvas itself.

There are two ways you can wrap canvas. “The Gallery” wrapping is when the canvas is secured on the back side of a stretching frame. “The Standard” wrapping is when a canvas is secured directly on the sides of the stretching bars. You can use different wrapping styles depending on the margins on each side. Sometimes, you need to combine both types depending on the situation.

Gallery wrapping is the best way to display a canvas. You can display a canvas without a frame, and the edges will always be covered by the canvas margin, free of cuts and staples, or you can use a floating frame to hide all the mess on the edges. But make the Gallery wrapping not always possible. A canvas print can be printed with a small margin or without margins at all, or part of the margin could be cut off when the artist removes the canvas from the original stretcher. You can subtract a couple of inches from the Face area to make the Gallery wrapping, but very often it results in cropping the painting's composition. For abstract painting, it could work, but not always, and sometimes it breaks the design or the idea. So it is a good idea to avoid cropping the original art.

Getting a measurement of your artwork

Depending on the size of the Face area of your art and the size of margins/borders, you can calculate the right size of a stretching frame. But it is crucial to take measurements correctly. If the canvas was printed, the geometry of the print would be suitable, so the print is square, but painting on canvas very often is out of the right proportions and sizes. When you get a painting in a mailing tube, probably your artwork was never stretched on stretching bars. Sometimes, artists attach a canvas to a board, and the margins can vary in width around the art or be smaller than needed; the geometry can also be off.

Rule #1: Double-check high and length by getting measurements from both sides of the face area on the painting. Even if the canvas was previously stretched on stretching bars. For example, check high on the left side (from the left-top to the left-bottom corners) and the right side (from the right-top to the right-bottom corners), and the same for the second dimension. If there is a difference, use the smaller size.

Rule #2: order stretching bars only when you have a canvas on your hands.
Please re-measure your srt size. Sometimes the artist can round up the canvas size, and 35.75” becomes 36.” And if you order a 36” long bar instead of a 35.75”, you will get a stretcher larger than the painted/printed area, revealing a part of the border when stretched. That is why when you come to the framer service, it double-checks all sizes, even if the size is printed on a canvas.

Margin is matter

The margin should be big enough to cover the frame thickness. If the margin overlaps the frame thickness and you have an additional 1 inch or more for stretching, you can make a gallery wrap. The Gallery wrapping is the best option.

So, there are three possible situations:

#1 Your canvas has enough margin

The thickness of a stretching bar plus one+ canvas on each size. Order a stretching frame the same size as the face area of your canvas.

An example for a 1” thick stretcher. The face area of a painting is 24”x36”, on each side 1.5-2” black border and an additional 1-2” of a blank canvas. So, so the total edge-to-edge size is 29+” by 41+”. The needed frame size is 24”x36”x1”, and make Gallery wrapping.

#2 The margin is too small

For a canvas print, there can be a couple of scenarios.
An example for a 1” thick stretcher. For example, the face area is 24”x36”, on each side one inch of a blank canvas. So the total edge-to-edge size is 26” by 38”.

• Plan A: Get the 24”x36”x1” frame and make Standard wrapping. So, the canvas would be secured directly on the frame sides. Paint the edges, or use a floating frame to hide the edges.
  
  
• Plan B: Get the 22”x34”x1” frame and make the Gallery wrapping. So, the edges will be clean and free of staples, but the main image will be cropped; sometimes, it is a problem.

#3 no margin (borderless print/painting)

An example for a 1” thick stretcher. The face area of a borderless canvas print is 24”x36”, so the total edge-to-edge size is 24” by 36”.

• Plan A: Get the 22”x34”x1” frame and make Standard wrapping. So, the canvas will be secured directly on the frame edges and slightly cropped.
  
  
• Plan B: Get the 20”x32”x1” frame and make the Gallery wrapping. So, the edges will be clean and free of staples, but the image will be significantly cropped; sometimes, it is a problem.

Conclusion:

• Measure the face area of your canvas and get it right.
• Check margin/borders.
• Get stretching thickness (standard thicknesses are 0.75", 1", 1.25", 1.5", and 2").
• Make a simple calculation based on the size of the face area, the margin/border size, the thickness of stretching bars, and the wrapping style (Gallery/Standard/combined if everything is wrong).

If 1” or heavy-duty 1,5” thick stretching bars fit your needs, you can order them as a set. The set means a package that includes all you need to assemble the stretcher (braces if needed, corner keys, and hangers). You order the size. I’ll prepare the rest.

For regular use as oil/acrylic painting, canvas print, or another light type of canvas with bars less than 70” long, you can use a 1” thick Classic American Canvas stretching bar set. Get a quote on my Etsy shop*.

For a large application with bars longer than 70” (for example, 9’x12’) with heavily textured painting, use 1,5” thick Heavy-duty Classic American Stretching bars. You can also find them in my Etsy shop.

To get the quote on Etsy, you need to calculate the Face area's perimeter and select the perimeter range from the drop-down menu. Please add the exact needed dimensions to the "personalization" field.

For example, after all measurements and calculations, you know that you need the 27” by 42” stretching frame (the perimeter length is 42+27+42+27=138”), go to my Etsy listings, select the correct perimeter length option (“130-139 inches” - for the 27"x42" frame) and add 27“x42” to a "personalization" field.
Note: you can order in inches or in centimeters, and fractions of an inch work too (for example, 34.5”, 34 1/2”, 52cm).

* - Etsy service is trusted, friendly, insured, and safe place to make online transactions.

I hope this guide is helpful and that you made some notes. If you still have questions about your unique situation, you can contact me directly via my Etsy shop or ask in the comments section.

Framing should be fun and satisfying, which is why I am here to help you to make your art stand out!

- Viktor.