Part 1 shows how to choose a frame on the Canvas Picture Frames page. Part 2 shows how to set it up on the frame's own page, using the 20mm Obeche Barefaced frame as the example.
Example canvas: 600 × 500mm, 38mm deep. Recorded 18 October 2026.
Part 1: Choosing a canvas picture frame
How to use the Canvas Picture Frames page to see how the frame holds your canvas, price frames for your canvas size, check how your canvas's depth suits each frame, narrow the list with the filters, and use the links under every frame.
Video: choosing a frame on the Canvas Picture Frames page.
1. How a canvas picture frame works
The drawing at the top of the page, Anatomy of a canvas picture frame , shows how it works. It's a traditional picture frame, supplied empty: no glass, backing board or flexible tabs.
Your stretched canvas fits into the frame from the back .
The front of the frame overlaps the edges of your canvas by about 5mm all round.
Z clips hold the canvas in: one end is pushed into the rebate of the frame and the other is tapped into the stretcher bar.
The anatomy drawing: the frame overlaps the canvas edge by about 5mm, and Z clips hold it in.
2. Enter the exact size of your canvas
Every frame is made to your canvas size. Measure the stretched canvas itself, edge to edge, and enter it exactly.
Leave Units on mm . You can switch to inches or pick a popular size instead.
Type 600 in Canvas width and 500 in Canvas height .
The line under the heading changes to “To fit a 600 × 500mm canvas” , and every price updates. The 20mm natural barefaced frame is £25.76 at this size.
Width and height entered. The summary line and prices update straight away.
3. Use the depth guide
Stretched canvases come in different depths, and each frame has a fixed internal depth : how deep it is inside, behind the front. The depth guide shows how your canvas will sit in each one.
In Depth guide on the left, type your canvas depth: here 38 mm.
Every frame now has a line saying how your canvas will sit in it. The 20mm natural barefaced frame is 16mm deep inside, so it says “Canvas stands approx 22mm out of the back” . Deeper frames say how far inside the back it will sit.
With a depth entered, every frame says how your canvas will sit in it.
Tick Only show frames deep enough for my canvas to hide the frames your canvas would stick out of. At 38mm, the list drops from 111 frame profiles in 307 colours to 5 frame profiles in 11 colours .
Only the frames at least 38mm deep inside are left.
Is this important?
Click Is this important? under the box to see the answer:
“Not really. It is very common for a canvas to extend out of the back of the frame, and whether you want it fully contained inside the frame is a personal choice. Remember, the internal depth of a frame cannot be customised.”
Many canvases stand out of the back of their frame. It's your choice.
In the video we then untick the box to see every frame again. The depth lines stay on each frame. The anatomy drawing at the top of the page stays the same whatever depth you enter. The drawing that redraws for your depth is on each frame's own page (see Part 2, step 3 ).
4. Narrow the list with the filters
Under the depth guide are filters for Colour , Face width (how wide the frame is from the front), Internal depth and Finish . They work together, and the heading shows how many frames are left.
Clicking the Black/Grey colour leaves 56 frame profiles.
Adding a 21 to 30mm face width leaves 15.
Click a filter again to turn it off. Clear filters , at the bottom of the list of filters, turns them all off at once, and clears your canvas depth too.
Two filters on: 15 frame profiles left.
5. View profile, order a sample and compare
Under every frame are three links: Compare , Order sample and View profile .
The three links sit under every frame.
View profile opens a drawing of the frame's cross-section with its measurements. The 20mm natural barefaced frame is 20mm wide and 20mm deep, with a 16mm deep rebate for your canvas.
Order sample adds a short length of the moulding to your basket (£2.16), so you can see the colour and finish first.
Compare : tick it under up to four frames, then click Compare in the bar at the bottom of the screen. The frames are shown side by side, adding Total depth , Material , Finish and number of Colours . Back to all frames returns you to the full list.
View profile.
Order sample.
Three frames ticked to compare.
The comparison view.
6. Open your frame's page
Found the frame you want? Click its picture to open its page. Your size and canvas depth go with you.
Click the frame's picture to open its page.
Ready? Carry on with Part 2 below.
Part 2: Customising your canvas frame
How to use a canvas frame's own page to check your size, preview your artwork, see how your canvas's depth suits the frame in the depth guide and in 3D, look at the corner, profile and frame sizes, check the extras and specification, save or share the design and add it to your basket. The example is the 20mm Obeche Barefaced frame.
Video: customising a canvas picture frame on its own page.
1. Check your canvas size
The size you entered on the Canvas Picture Frames page carries over, so Width and Height already show 600 and 500mm. Check them against your canvas, and type a new size if you need to.
Just below is the frame's internal depth: “Internal depth: 16mm (5/8"). This is fixed for this frame and cannot be customised. A canvas deeper than this will stick out from the back of the frame.”
The size carried over from the list, and the frame's internal depth.
2. Preview your artwork (optional)
Under the preview, click Upload your artwork to preview it , or drag a file onto it. JPG, PNG or PDF files are accepted.
A message explains it's a preview only: “WE DO NOT PRINT THE IMAGE.” Click I understand – upload image .
Your picture now shows in the frame. Use Change image or Remove image under it if you need to.
Confirm the preview-only message.
The artwork shows in the frame.
This demo used a sample landscape graphic.
3. Try different depths in the depth guide
Click Depth guide (marked optional ) to open it. Your 38mm depth has come across from the list. A drawing shows a cross-section of your canvas in this frame, and the message under Canvas depth says how it will sit. Change the depth and both update:
38mm : “Your canvas will stand approx 22mm out of the back of this frame.”
15mm : “Your canvas will sit approx 1mm inside the back of this frame.”
60mm : “Your canvas will stand approx 44mm out of the back of this frame.”
This is a guide only: entering a depth doesn't change the frame.
38mm: the canvas stands about 22mm out of the back.
15mm: about 1mm inside the back.
60mm: about 44mm out of the back.
4. See it in 3D
Above the preview, click 3D and AR . The model is made with your canvas depth, so you can see exactly how it fits. Drag it round to look at the side.
At 60mm , the white edge of the canvas runs well behind this 16mm frame.
Change the depth to 15mm , then click Front and 3D and AR again: now the canvas sits inside the frame.
On a phone or tablet, the same button lets you see the frame on your own wall in AR.
60mm canvas: it stands well out of the back.
15mm canvas: it sits inside the frame.
5. Corner, profile and frame sizes
Corner : a close-up of the moulding, so you can see its colour and grain.
Profile : the cross-section: 20mm wide, 20mm deep and 16mm deep inside.
Frame sizes : the approximate sizes from the front of the frame. The blue measurements, 590 × 490mm , are the area of your canvas you'll see. Because the frame overlaps the edges of your canvas by about 5mm on each side, that's 10mm less than your 600 × 500mm canvas each way. The outside of the frame is about 630 × 530mm.
Corner.
Profile.
Frame sizes: 590 × 490mm of the canvas shows, inside a frame about 630 × 530mm.
6. Extras and the full specification
Scroll down to Useful extras for canvas frames : spare Z clips, hangers, tapes, foam and backing boards and more, each added with one click.
Useful extras, each with its own Add button.
Below them, check What's included and the Specification before you order. Z clips and hanging fixtures come with the frame, with a how-to video showing how to fit your canvas. In this example the specification read:
Frame style 114400000 · 20mm Obeche Barefaced
Frame size 600 × 500mm
Included Canvas Z clips and hanging fixtures
Face width 20mm
Internal depth 16mm
Total depth 20mm
Material / finish Ayous wood, natural barefaced
Glazing and backing None
What's included and the specification.
7. Save design or email design
Under the price are two links for keeping or sharing your design.
Save design adds it to your Design Gallery (“This design has been added to your Gallery” ). You can type a title and click Update Title , open the gallery, or click Continue to carry on.
Email design opens a form. Enter the recipient's email address, edit the personal message, type the verification word, then click Submit . It's useful for checking with someone before you order.
The email form was opened in this demo but nothing was sent.
The two links sit under the price and dispatch date.
Save design.
Email design.
8. Add to basket
Happy with everything? Click Add to basket . The confirmation repeats the key details: “Your £25.76 Custom Canvas Picture Frame has been added to your basket. Frame to fit stretched canvas size: 600 X 500mm.” From there, choose Continue , Basket or Checkout .
Added to basket, with the canvas size confirmed. (The basket also holds the moulding sample from Part 1.)
Screenshots taken on 18 October 2026. The orange outlines and labels were added for this guide and aren't part of the site. The demo stopped at the basket, and no order or email was sent. Prices may change.
To order a canvas picture frame or a canvas floater frame , you need accurate measurements of your stretched canvas: its width, its height and its depth. This short guide shows how to take them.
You'll need a metal tape measure, and a pen and paper.
How to measure a stretched canvas
Video: how to measure a stretched canvas, step by step.
Prefer our earlier video? Watch “How To Measure A Stretched Canvas” on YouTube.
Step by step
1. Lay the canvas flat
Put the canvas face up on a clean, hard, level surface, such as a table or worktop, and make sure there's nothing on it that could scratch the front. Not a bed, sofa or carpet: a soft surface lets the canvas and the tape sag. Use a metal tape measure : fabric and plastic tapes stretch, and can be several millimetres out. Work in millimetres .
A firm, flat surface.
2. Check it's square
Measure both diagonals, from the top left corner to the bottom right, and from the top right to the bottom left. If they're within a few millimetres of each other, the canvas is square. A bigger difference means it's out of square: measure it carefully at every point in the next steps, and use the largest sizes.
650mm and 649mm: square.
3. Measure the width
Hook the end of the tape over the left edge, including the folded side of the canvas, run it straight across, and read where the right edge falls. Measure across the top , the middle and the bottom , and use the largest .
Reading the tape at the right edge.
Top, middle and bottom: use the largest.
4. Measure the height
Do the same from top to bottom, at the left , the middle and the right , and use the largest.
Left, middle and right: use the largest.
5. Measure the depth
Measure the depth of the canvas at its side, from the front of the canvas to the back of the wooden stretcher bars.
Canvas floater frames : the depth matters most here. Choose a frame with an internal depth close to the depth of your canvas; the floater frames page can show you the frames that suit it.
Canvas picture frames : a canvas deeper than the frame's internal depth sticks out at the back.
A 38mm deep canvas.
Never go by the packaging. The sizes printed on labels are often approximate, or rounded from inches. The canvas in the video is sold as 20 × 16 inches (508 × 406mm) but measures 507 × 405mm. Always measure the canvas itself.
The label, and the canvas's real size.
6. Write it down, check it, then order
Write the sizes down clearly: width, height and depth . On the frame's page, enter the exact sizes you measured , and don't add anything for the fit:
for a canvas floater frame , the shadow gap round the canvas is added for you;
for a canvas picture frame , the size you enter is the largest canvas that will fit.
Then check everything again, or ask someone else to check it. Frames are made to your measurements, so they can't be refunded or exchanged.
Width, height and depth.
Enter the sizes as measured.
Still not sure? Send us a photo of your canvas with the tape measure across it, by email to sales@easyframe.co.uk , or call 01234 856501, and we'll be happy to advise.
Z-clips hold a stretched canvas in a canvas picture frame , even when the canvas is deeper than the frame's rebate. This guide shows how to fit them safely.
Key point: it's normal for the stretcher bars to be deeper than the frame's rebate. Z-clips are made to bridge that gap and hold the canvas in place.
How to fit a canvas into a picture frame
Video: fitting a stretched canvas into a picture frame with Z-clips.
Prefer our earlier video? Watch “How To Fit Your Canvas Into A Canvas Frame” on YouTube.
Before you start
You'll need a small hammer , a flat-head screwdriver the same width as a Z-clip, and pliers . The Z-clips come with the frame. Work on a blanket or soft cloth, to protect the edges of the frame.
The frame face down, ready to fit.
Check the fit
Lay the frame face down and drop the canvas into the back of it. It should go in with a little movement. If the fit is too tight, the canvas can go baggy over time as the wood expands and contracts.
The canvas in the frame, with a little movement.
How a Z-clip holds the canvas, seen from the side.
Step by step
1. Position the Z-clips
Lift the canvas out again. Allow about one Z-clip every 30cm (12 inches) round the frame, and make a small starter hole with the screwdriver at each position, taking care not to damage the inner lip of the frame.
A starter hole about every 30cm.
2. Tap in the Z-clips
Stand the frame upright , with the side you're working on resting on the table, so its rebate wall faces up. Stand the clip's prong in the starter hole, with its leg bent outwards over the back of the frame, and tap it straight down with the hammer until it's fully seated. The table takes the force, so the frame can't crack. Ask someone to hold the frame steady while you tap.
The frame stood upright: the clip tapped down into the rebate.
Turn the frame to do each side in turn, then lay it face down again, with all the clips bent outwards.
Clips in, bent outwards.
3. Fit the canvas
Lower the canvas gently into the frame. Then bend each clip over onto the stretcher bar, and tap it gently into the wood to hold the canvas.
The canvas in.
Clips bent over onto the bars.
Important: when you tap the clips, support the lip of the frame (just below the stretcher bar) with your hand, a cushion or a block of wood. This stops the frame cracking under the impact.
Final checks
Check that every Z-clip is properly seated.
Leave a little movement, so the wood can expand and contract.
For very large canvases, use extra Z-clips.
Fitted.
Questions? Our team is always happy to help: email sales@easyframe.co.uk , or call 01234 856501.