How to Frame Unstretched Paintings

Remember the old carpenter's rule: measure twice, cut once.

Painters work on unstretched canvases for budgetary reasons or for ease of transport. Sometimes a painting that had been worked on a stretched canvas is removed from its frame. If you have an unstretched painting to frame, a little time with some wood and tools can save you the expense of taking your painting to a framing shop.

Things You'll Need

• 1-inch-by-1-inch square lumber
• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• Saw
• Hammer
• Wood glue
• Casing nails
• Staple gun
• Staples
• Painting
• Frame

Instructions

1. Turn the painting face-down on a clean flat surface and lay the frame centered on top of it. Use a pencil to trace the inside rectangle of the frame, which will be the visible area of the painting once framed. Compare the painting's front and back to make sure that the visible area is the section you want showing.

2. Measure the dimensions of the traced rectangle. Mark two lengths of wood to the longer measurement and two to the shorter measurement. Cut each end of each length at 45 degree angles slanting in opposite directions.

3. Fit the pieces of lumber together to form a frame and measure again to make sure the dimensions are correct. Glue the angled ends together and allow the glue to dry overnight.

4. Hammer in one or two nails at each corner of the stretcher frame for extra strength.

5. Lay the stretcher frame onto the back of the painting, over the marked rectangle. Bring up the center of the canvas edge on one of the longer edges and staple it to the frame on the back. Move to the opposite side and set a staple in the center of that bar of the frame. Repeat with the center of the top and bottom bars of the stretcher frame.

6. Pull the canvas up snugly around the stretcher frame on the first side and set in a staple about 1 to 1 1/2 inches over from the center. Keep moving out along the frame from the center outward to the corner, then again on the other end of the same stretcher bar.

7. Repeat Step 6 for the other long side of the stretcher frame, then for the two shorter sides. Keep moving from the middle outward to the corners.

8. Trim the corners of the canvas only if you have no other choice. Fold the canvas around the corner and secure it with staples, if possible.

9. Fit the stretched painting into the frame and secure it in place with the clips on the frame, if there are any, or with more casing nails if the frame doesn't have clips or tabs.

References

• The Accidental Artist: How to Frame a Canvas Painting
• Final Frame: DIY Canvas Stretching
• Passion for Paint: Painting Surfaces