How to fix a picture in a frame?

It is difficult to imagine a modern interior without decorations - paintings, photographs, sculptures, works of decorative art. Such gizmos are pleasing to the eye, give the room a finished look and create a sense of stability - of course, if they are well selected and correctly decorated. How to fix a picture in a frame so that it looks beautiful and at the same time does not pose a danger to households and guests? This will be discussed in our article.

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What hangs on the walls?

The tradition of decorating walls originated in those days when people had more or less permanent housing, where they could return after hunting or collecting plants. On the walls of ancient caves, drawings of primitive artists are quite common. Of course, the ancient masters depicting animals and hunting scenes did not encounter the problem of how to insert a picture on a canvas into a frame, because they had not yet come up with a canvas or frames.

You can draw a picture right on the wall in a modern apartment. However, for the most part, people still post ready-made works:

• picturesque canvases;
• reproductions;
• photos;
• panel from straws;
• floristic paintings;
• panel of shreds;
• artistic embroidery;
• decorative ceramics.

The list is far from complete - in general, a lot can serve as a decoration. Not all paintings and panels need frames. Most often, the question of how to insert a picture into the frame with your own hands is faced by those who want to hang a painting, watercolor or photographs.

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Some simple rules

Regardless of whether you insert the picture yourself or contact the baguette workshop, you must follow the following simple rules:

1. Never wet the canvas before pulling it on a stretcher - from such a strange handling, the canvas is deformed and various other troubles can occur, such as the appearance of a fungus or rot.
2. The canvas threads are parallel to the slats, and not at an angle so that the material does not stretch arbitrarily.
3. Soil on a blank canvas is superimposed when the future picture is already on a stretcher.
4. The picture is inserted into the frame, laying the subframe on a flat horizontal surface - most often on a table or on the floor, depending on size.
5. If the picture is large, a cross made of wooden planks is placed in the center.
6. Pieces of dense fabric can be placed under the cloves so that the threads of the canvas do not stretch or break.

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How to buy a frame?

It is best, of course, to come to a baguette workshop with a picture. The master himself will do everything that is necessary:

• pick up a baguette by thickness;
• find the perfect stretcher;
• choose cloves or ribbons.

But such an opportunity is not always there - you won’t carry a huge canvas with you throughout the wall. Many have to deal with the design of paintings on their own. And it is better to adhere to a certain order:

• Measure the picture - the easiest way to do this is with a centimeter tape or tape measure, but a ruler will do. Remember to record the length and width of the canvas.
• Based on your measurements, select a frame. Better if it contrasts with the main color scheme of the picture.The simpler the frame, the more expressive the picture will look.

Important! If you measure a picture with a tailor's centimeter - apply it on the same side, because in most cases the divisions are made in two different systems of measures.

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Something about sizes

The answer to the question of where it is better to buy a frame - in a baguette workshop or in a specialized store for artists, depends on what format your painting has. Any frame will be made in the workshop, and the standard will be offered in the store:

• 20x25 cm;
• 30x35 cm;
• 40x50 cm;
• 45x60 cm;
• 50x60 cm;
• 60x75 cm;
• 75x100 cm.

The choice is large, but still limited. However, in the best stores you will find sizes that differ from the standards.

Important! As for the fasteners, it is sold in sets - for example, staples in a package of 4 pieces. For a picture of a small or medium format, this is usually enough. Screws are not always installed - most often just the picture is attached without them. But there are screws of several sizes.

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What are the frames?

Before you fix the picture in the frame, you must select the frame itself. Depending on what exactly you are going to hang on the wall, you can choose one of the options:

• classic baguette;
• baguette frame with glass;
• wooden slats;
• metal frame with glass;
• passepartout.

We deal with a suitable option:

• The first option is suitable for paintings painted in oil on canvas.
• For works in the pastel or watercolor, you need glass, that is, a closed metal or wooden frame.
• Photos in a baguette border do not look very good, narrow wooden slats or metal planks are more suitable for them, and it is better if there is glass, as for watercolor. The same option is good for panels of straws and paintings using the technique of floristry. This design not only gives the product a complete look, but also protects from dust, moisture and mechanical stress.

Important! The edging of thin rails will also look good. Sometimes it’s just enough for a mat, especially since this option may look very interesting.

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Classic baguette

Before you insert the canvas into the frame, it is important to determine the size. The frame itself is best ordered in a framing workshop.

The width of the strips depends on the size of the picture - the larger the canvas, the more massive the frame should be. A subframe is used for fastening, which is a structure of wooden battens, on which the canvas is stretched.

This frame does not allow the canvas to deform. It can be fixed in three ways:

• using D-shaped plates;
• using Z-shaped plates;
• using tapes.

D-shaped plates

If the stretcher extends beyond the borders of the baguette, use D-shaped brass plates.

Important! Brass is used, since the plates must be flexible.

Mounting Features:

• In each of them 3 holes are made.
• They are attached to the frame with two screws.
• If there is nothing like this within reach, you can make fasteners from other materials (for example, from tin).

Important! Small nails will work as fasteners in an emergency, but it’s better to buy the necessary parts in the goods store for artists or in a framing workshop.

Z-shaped staples

They apply in the following cases:

• for attaching a stretcher, not protruding from the borders of the baguette, to the frame;
• for connecting double frames.

Important! The size of the brackets is selected based on the difference in height between the elements. Such a bracket is screwed in with screws.

Planks

Thin wooden, cardboard or plastic strips are often inserted into the gaps so that the picture does not dangle:

• The best option is a tree, it provides the most durable fixation.
• But if there is nothing suitable at hand, the strips can be made from large plastic bottles. Moreover, it does not matter if they are equal in length to the gap or not.

Important! The main task of these elements is to prevent the picture from moving, and even short pieces of material can provide this.

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Insert the picture into the baguette frame

The procedure for decorating the painting is quite simple, but requires attention. It is important for you not to damage the work, which means that you need to work carefully. You will need:

• staples;
• thin spatula;
• construction stapler.

Operating procedure:

1. Inspect the frame from the back - a loop is usually made there, which should be on the upper bar at the end of the process.
2. If there is no loop, do it.
3. Lay the frame face down.
4. Place the canvas on it.
5. Fix the canvas in the gaps between the frame and the subframe - this is done with a spatula.
6. Check how well the canvas is stretched.
7. If necessary (if the thickness of the canvas is much less than the width of the gap), insert thin wooden or plastic trims.
8. If everything suits you, fix it with brackets using a construction stapler.

Important! The number of fasteners depends entirely on the dimensions of the web and frame. The larger the painting and the heavier and more massive the frame, the more there should be fasteners.

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Fasten the canvas with ribbons

To do this, you will need a dense cotton fabric, as well as some tools:

• ruler;
• pencil;
• sharp scissors;
• furniture stapler.

First you need to mark the fabric.

Important! It is very good if there is a finished cotton tape, but any dense material is quite suitable. How to tailor it - on a fractional or oblique, in this case does not play a role.

Operating procedure:

1. Draw a template - a strip 7 cm long and 3 cm wide.
2. Pattern tapes.
3. Find the grooves - the places where the frame touches the picture.
4. Nail the strips there with a furniture stapler (this is done in the plane of the frame).
5. Put the picture in the frame - the ribbons should be visible between the subframe and the frame itself.
6. Fold the tape.
7. Pull each.
8. Fix it on the subframe in the same way as in the previous case.
9. Trim the excess end of the tape

Important! Four tapes are enough for a small picture.

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Insert the watercolor into the baguette frame

Watercolor is written on paper or cardboard, that is, fix it differently than a painting. For paintings made in this technique, additional fixation is needed. Provide her:

• glass;
• backdrop.

Important! If you ordered a frame in a framing workshop, you should have been given all the necessary components, as well as fasteners - special studs.

Operating procedure:

1. Lay the frame face down.
2. Put the glass on top.
3. Place the picture on the glass.
4. Smooth the sheet and make sure that its edges coincide with the edges of the glass.
5. Cover it all with a cardboard backdrop.
6. Drive the cloves parallel to the edges.

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Simple wooden frame

The easiest and cheapest way to draw a picture. Such frames are available with glass and back, as well as with a subframe, but the first option is more common. You can buy this both in the store of goods for artists, and in some photo stores:

1. Lay the frame with the back side up.
2. Bend the metal plates.
3. Remove the backdrop.
4. Put the picture on the glass with the back side up.
5. Line up.
6. Cover her with a backdrop.
7. Bend the mounting plates.

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If the frame is too big

It also happens that there is no way to choose a frame strictly according to the size of watercolors or pastels. In this case, you will need an additional backdrop. You can make it from cardboard or paper:

1. Circle the existing backdrop on a piece of thick paper.
2. Cut it out.
3. Position the picture and try on the frame - the sides of its hole should coincide with the sides of the picture or, at a minimum, be placed strictly parallel.
4. Fix the picture on an additional backdrop with glue or double-sided tape.
5. Insert the work into the frame.

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Mount Features

If this is the first time you have inserted a painting in a frame, pay attention to a few points:

1. Pay attention to the design of the subframe - its back side has bevels and slightly protruding parts, they are always on the back side, so do not confuse.
2. Regardless of the way in which you fix the picture, it must be carefully smoothed out and also correctly positioned relative to the sides of the frame.

Important! If you started to fasten the canvas with brackets, do not touch the nails, because you need to use only one type of fastener.

Installation procedure for fasteners:

1. To ensure uniform tension on the canvas, it is better to drive the cloves in a certain order.
2. Having placed the picture on a stretcher, drive a few nails in the central part - this is especially true if the picture is large.
3. See how well the canvas is stretched.
4. While pulling the canvas slightly, drive a few more nails on one and the other side from the center, placing them symmetrically.
5. Drive in all the nails gradually, remembering to follow the tension.
6. If at the end of the process the picture is stretched evenly, there are no waves or wrinkles along the edges - you did everything right.
7. If the folds are formed, alas, everything will have to be redone.

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Two words about photos

Usually they are hung in metal frames. Their design is the same as that of wooden frames with glass, so that the work is inserted in the same way:

1. We put the frame glass down.
2. We bend staples.
3. Remove the backdrop.
4. Insert the photo (without confusing the bottom and top).
5. Cover with a backdrop.
6. We bend brackets.

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Paintings on the wall

Insert work into the frame - that's not all. We must nicely place it on the wall. And here are a few rules:

1. The plot should not be aggressive or cruel.
2. The viewer should pay attention to the picture, and not to the frame.
3. If you want to shade some corner on the wall, put one picture there.
4. You can make a composition, and there are quite a few options: small works of the same size can be hung in rows, if there is a large one, it can be in the center or side, and next to it are small.
5. The picture must be well fixed on the wall, it is best to do this with one or two dowels.

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Stock footage

In this article, we examined many options and ideas on how to design and fix a picture in a frame. Choose the most suitable for your creative ideas, and let comfort and beauty always reign in your house!