I wrote a blog on framing with stretcher bars in 2017, and I am surprised that it is my most read blog post. I am in the middle of framing felt pieces for an exhibition so I thought I would show some more photos of the framing process I use.
What are stretcher bars?
Stretcher bars are made for artists to stretch their own canvases on prior to painting but I don’t think they are intended for textile work. That is not a problem for me.
These are the ones I have just bought from Great Art
Stretcher bars are made in a huge variety of sizes and they are really quite cheap. The bars to frame this picture which is 68 cm long x 32 cm wide cost £7.18. Plus a bit of postage.
Measuring
First, measure your felt piece. I normally start right at the beginning and design the piece to a specific size. To wrap around the stretcher bars you need a minimum of 3cm on each side Looking at it the other way this means that the size of the bars needs to be 6cm smaller in width and length than the piece of felt.
Making the frame and covering
Fasten the stretcher bars together. You need a hammer and go from corner to corner tapping ensuring the frame is square. I then cover the frame with a piece of calico. This does two things, it covers the back of the felt , which might be untidy and it provides a little protection between the stretcher bars and the felt art piece. I use a staple gun and either 6mm or 8mm staples to fasten the calico to the bars. Start in the middle of each bar and staple out to the corners, swapping from side to side to ensure the calico is stretched evenly.
Here are the details of how I staple the corners of the calico.
Adding felt
Now is time to start stapling the felt piece to the calico covered stretcher bars. The process is the same. Position the felt, turn over the extra behind the stretcher bars and start stapling in the centre of each side. I do the corners a little differently on the felt. I fold the corner under the side of the piece and carefully trim some extra felt away to minimise the bulk. Any extra bulk that is left is on the vertical edges of the felt picture.
Final touches
The final activity is to trim any extra felt and calico to give a nice neat edge and then cover the back of the stretcher bars, calico and felt with tape.
Piece is now framed ready to add the hangers.
I hope you have found this additional detail on framing felt art useful.
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