If you are here, I’m guessing you are in the same place I was. You have a rolled canvas but you don’t know how to mount it. We recently purchased this Reflections of Christ rolled canvas because the rolled option was much more affordable than the already mounted option. But once it arrived, I second guessed how I was going to mount it. I searched the internet high and low to try to find a tutorial on how to mount this the proper way (because I didn’t want to screw this one up!) I was unable to find a blog or tutorial showing how to do this, that’s why I’m here to show you how we did it!!
*Disclaimer.. I’m not a professional at mounting canvas’. This is form informational purposes. I am not responsible for damage caused by attempting this project.
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I did check in with a professional at our local Hobby Lobby and priced out having this mounted by a professional. It was going to be roughly $125. It was a little more than I was wanting to spend. The worker at Hobby Lobby was so kind and showed me exactly how to do this myself and what tools to purchase, etc.
The dimensions of my rolled canvas is 30″ wide by 40″ in height. Hobby Lobby actually sells the framing material to do this project yourself. They are called wooden stretcher bars. Each piece is precut to set dimensions, they have an angled corner that locks together and are very beginner DIY friendly. I originally planned on going this route and purchased the 4 pieces to it myself. However, they did not have 40″ long pieces, the next closest dimension was 38″. At the store, I didn’t think this was a big deal to be 2 inches shorter. But once I got it home (and assembled it) I realized 2 inches was a bigger deal, especially considering where I was wanting to display this canvas was in a room with tall ceilings so I wanted as much height as I could get.
Since I could not find canvas stretcher bars in the dimensions I wanted, I decided to go with the next best method (which is what I originally planned before I realized they made the stretcher bars). With this method, I was able to make it custom to the size I wanted. I used 1×2 pine boards, cut them to the dimensions I needed and pocket hole screwed them together to make a sturdy frame.
I’m going to show you both methods so you can decide which one works best for you.
The first step is you need to make your canvas frame.
METHOD 1:
You would buy your canvas stretching bars in the dimensions you need for your project.
Amazon has these kits in common sizes.
Hobby lobby has these stretcher bars as well. These are what I purchased originally only to realize I had the wrong sizes and my local store didn’t carry the sizes I needed.
When assembling these, I used just a little bit of wood glue, then slid each corner together, using a square to make sure they were at a 90 degree angle.
I did this same process with all 4 corners until I had a frame. I again checked all 4 corners to make sure they were square, then let this lay flat to dry for at least 3-4 hours. Assembling this was a very easy task that took less than 20 minutes total to do. After I assembled this and let it dry, I went to mount my rolled canvas and realized I really wanted those 2 extra inches so that takes me to other way to do this…
METHOD 2:
For this method, you would need the following tools and supplies:
1×2 pine board/boards
Steps to complete this method:
- Cut the boards to the dimensions you will need your frame. The boards you cut to the width of your frame, make sure you account for the 1 1/2 inch thickness of the 1×2 boards you cut to the height. Essentially you will cut these approx 3″ shorter than you actually want the width. For my 30″ x 40″ frame, the height boards I cut to 40″ but the width boards I only cut to 27″ to account for the extra 3″ from the other two boards, then when I attached them all together, I had the 30″ x 40″ frame.
- Next, I pre drilled pocket holes on both ends of the two 27″ boards.
- I then setup my frame on a flat surface and measured once more to make sure I had the dimensions correct and attached the 27″ boards to the 40″ boards with 1 1/2″ pocket hole screws.
I measured once more when they were all attached and had the frame at exactly 30″ by 40″, which was my goal.
Once you get your frame made with whichever method you choose to use, the next step is to actually mount the canvas to the frame.
For this, I needed a few additional tools:
Staples (I used 3/8 inch staples)
Steps for mounting the canvas to the frame:
- Lay your rolled canvas face down on a flat surface.
- Align your canvas frame on top of the rolled canvas (should be on the backside of it)
- Start by stapling all 2 sides adjacent from each other, right in the middle of the frame board. Be sure to pull as tight as you can when doing this first initial staples. Then, staple the other two sides adjacent from each other the same way, pulling tight to get it stretched. You should have 4 staples in now, one in the middle of each side.
- Next, grab your canvas stretching tool. Start on one side, about 2″-3″ away from the middle staple, stretch the canvas and staple. You continue this down the way leaving about 2-3″ between staples until you reach the corner. Once one side was done, I always went to the adjacent side, being sure to pull as tight as possible with the stretcher tool on each staple. Complete these steps until all 4 sides are complete.
- Flip over and your canvas should be mounted and stretched beautifully.
