How It Works
Stretcher bars are a working frame. They hold your canvas taut and square while you stitch — they are not the frame the finished piece hangs in.
How they go together
Each bar has identical finger-jointed ends: two fingers and two channels. Rotate every other bar 90° and the ends interlock, seating fully so the corners sit flush and the top surfaces stay level. Four bars make one frame. No hardware, no tools.
Bars are sold in pairs of the same length, the way wooden bars have always sold. One pair is two bars. A square frame takes two pairs of the same size; a rectangular frame takes one pair of each length.
Choosing your size
Order bars that match your canvas. Measure the canvas and choose the same lengths — there is no need to size down. A square canvas takes two pairs of one length; a rectangular canvas takes one pair of each length.
- An 8" × 8" canvas takes four 8" bars (two pairs).
- An 8" × 10" canvas takes one pair of 8" and one pair of 10".
Kit frames are square, so choose the frame size that matches the canvas you plan to stitch on it — an 8" frame for an 8" × 8" canvas.
Why the sizes match. Your canvas lies flat on top of the assembled frame — it never wraps around the bars. Tacks go through the canvas into the bars to hold it taut, so the outside edge of the bars should line up with the outside edge of your canvas all the way around.
Sizes run 4" to 12" in ½" steps. Need something larger still? Sizes beyond 12" may be possible by special request — get in touch.
Mini or Regular?
- Mini — ½" × ½" (13.25 mm). Light and low-profile. Best for small canvases, ornaments, and travel projects.
- Regular — ¾" × ¾" (19 mm). Stiffer and more substantial. Best for larger canvases and heavier work where you want minimal flex.
Both sizes match the dimensions of standard commercial wooden bars, so they work alongside the bars you already own.
Inside the Personalized Kit
The kit is five complete square frames — 10 pairs, 20 bars total. You choose all five frame sizes independently, anywhere from 4" to 12", and repeats are welcome. A common set is 5", 6", 7", 8", and 9", which covers most projects a stitcher keeps in rotation.
Pick Mini or Regular for the whole kit, then one monogram design, which is applied to every frame in the set. Every bar is also marked with its own size on the face, so finding the pair you want is easy.
A note on larger frames. Frames up to 10" are included in the kit price. Frames above that take considerably longer to print, so they carry a small per-frame surcharge — $3 per frame at 10.5"–11" and $6 per frame at 11.5"–12". Only the oversized frames are charged, and the price updates as you pick your sizes.
Monogram styles
- Classic — three initials with a large center letter.
- Fishtale — a decorative fishtail monogram. Uppercase only.
- Skyline — tall deco letters separated by dots.
- Name — a first name in flowing script.
- Single Initial — one large letter.
- None — plain bars with size markings only.
How to enter three initials: left is your first-name initial, the large center letter is your last-name initial, and right is your middle initial. This is the traditional monogram order — for Anne Blake Wilson, that is A B W with the B large.
Color and material
Bars are printed in durable white PETG. Your monogram is inlaid in the color you choose from our palette of 18 — navy, teal, pine, magenta, silver, black and more. PETG is tougher and more heat-tolerant than the usual craft plastics, so bars stay true through years of handling and travel.
Caring for your bars
Wipe clean with a damp cloth. Avoid leaving them in a hot car or in direct sun for long stretches. They are not dishwasher safe.