Basic Measuring for Picture Framing
 The best picture framers are those who can use both sides of their brain. Picture framing requires something of the artist, something of the technician. Yet for obvious reasons, it often attracts those who are more comfortable with a palette than with a tape measure. For them the measuring required by picture framing can seem daunting. But it needn’t be. A little planning and forethought can make it easy. Here’s how to start.
Think of the frame size as the sum of the equation you will be constructing. Unless you want to do algebra, you do not want to start with the sum and work backwards to discover the missing parts of the equation. This means you prefer not to have the frame ahead of time. Instead, leave the whole question of the frame open. Start with the artwork and work outward to discover the frame size.  Using the artwork, we can determine the size of the mat’s window. The rule of thumb for traditional matting is to have the edges of the mat’s window overlap the edges of the image block by a quarter of an inch. In other words, the window of the mat is smaller than the image by a quarter of an inch along each edge.
Recognize, however, that a mat is a two dimensional object. It is measured by height and a width. On the width dimension there are two borders, one on either side of the window. Each of these borders overlaps the image by a quarter of an inch, meaning that across the entire width of the mat the window is smaller than the image by two-quarters of an inch. Another way of saying this is that mat’s window is smaller than the image by half an inch. So one simple way of determining the mat’s window size is to subtract a half inch from the height and width of the artwork and that’s the window size!
 Of course things will be different if you choose not to overlap the edges of the image. That may be the case when you have a blank area of paper surrounding the image. If you want to show some of this blank area, simply use a tape measure to measure the area that consists of the image block and the portion of the blank area you want to show, and write the measurement down. This is your window size.
Be careful with fractions. If you find fractions like 3/16” daunting, choose not to work with them. Strive to work with full inches or fractions no more demanding than quarters of an inch, even if it means overlapping more or less of the image or showing more of less of the surrounding blank area. Remember that subtracting a half inch from the height and width of the image to arrive at the window size is just a rule of thumb. If doing so results in a window size comprised of fussy fractional measurements like 8-15/16”, skip it. Realize that 8-15/16” is a mere 1/16” from 9”. Call it 9” and be done with it.
Once you’ve determined your mat’s window size, use the Border Finder to find appropriate starting borders for the window size. The Border Finder is a table that uses the concept of united inches. The united inches of any two dimensional space is the sum of its two dimensions. So, if your mat’s window is 8”x10”, that’s 18 united inches. If your mat’s window is 11”x14”, that’s 25 united inches. In the first column find the range into which the united inches of your mat’s window falls. Read into the adjacent column to discover appropriate starting borders for that window. Each of the mat’s four borders should be this width to start with.  From an aesthetic point of view, the mat’s borders cannot be narrower than this. Borders narrower than this will seem awkward. However, the borders can be wider. Contemporary matting often uses very wide borders and it can be asserted plausibly that the wider the border the more contemporary the look. Therefore, if you want a more contemporary look, dramatically widen the borders provided by the Border Finder. If you prefer a more traditional look, use the starting borders or widen them only fractionally.
Again, if you’re intimated by measuring, steer clear of fractions. If the Border Finder is telling you that borders of 1¾” are appropriate, widen them to 2” so you don’t have to grapple with the fractions.
If you’ve taken liberties with the window size and border widths, you could end up with a formula for determining the frame size that’s as simple as this.
Window Size 9” x 17½”
Borders 2” 2”
2” 2”
To determine the frame size all you have to do now is add up the two columns of numbers.
Window Size 9” x 17½”
Borders 2” 2”
2” 2”
Frame Size 13” x 21½”
Easy, right? But wait, you might argue, the sum of this equation is not the frame size but the mat size. Haven’t we been adding the mat’s window and its four borders? How can that be the frame size?
It’s the frame size because the size of the frame is not the frame measured from edge to edge as you look at the front of the frame. Turn the frame over and look at the back. There you will find a recess (called the rabbet) into which you will load the mat, glass and backing. It’s this rabbet that’s considered to be the frame size. Consequently, the mat conforms in size to the frame. The overall mat size and the frame size are the same thing. Once you arrive at the mat size, you’ve arrived at the frame size.
Now all you have to do is purchase a frame in that size. When it arrives, you will cut the mat to the same size and cut a window in it with the borders you’ve determined. You’re done.
Measuring can be more challenging if you are trying to fit an existing frame. What’s more, measuring to determine the how long a stick of moulding is necessary to make a given frame is another matter altogether. But if you’ve been put off by basic measuring for picture framing, this approach should make things a lot easier.
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