Stretching your own canvas provides flexibility and control of its quality.
Stretching your own canvas onto stretcher bars is done by most professional artists because it offers the most control over the quality of the canvas. Most art stores carry supplies for stretching canvas because they recognize that most prestretched canvas is mass-produced often using poor quality materials. By stretching your own canvas, you can ensure your canvas has a quality that meets your standards. Furthermore, by stretching your own canvas you can save money since stretcher bars and canvas are less expensive when bought separately.
Instructions
1. Assemble the stretcher bars by fitting the wedged corners together. Gently tap the corner with a small rubber mallet until all the corners are flush.
2. Place the right angle against the outside of one stretcher bar with the corner of the stretcher bar against the inside corner of the right angle. Adjust the angle of the stretcher bar if it does not line up perfectly with the right angle by tapping the corners with the rubber mallet.
3. Check all corners using the right angle and adjust accordingly until the assembled stretcher bars are perfectly square.
4. Insert two framing wedges into each inside corner using your fingers to prevent wiggling or deformity while stretching on the canvas.
5. Lay the assembled frame onto a flat surface. Roll out the canvas material over top of the frame and cut it to shape using scissors, leaving roughly 2 1/2 inches of overlap from the outside edge of the frame.
6. Lay the canvas material flat and center the frame on top. Fold the top of the canvas of the top edge of the frame and place a staple in the middle to hold it place using a heavy duty stapler and staple.
7. Turn the frame 180 degrees and grip the bottom of the canvas with a pair of canvas pliers and pull it tightly over the bottom edge of the frame. Place a staple in the middle to hold in place.
8. Turn the frame 90 degrees and stretch the canvas over the left edge of the frame using the canvas pliers until taut. Place a staple in the middle of the left edge of the frame. Turn the frame 180 degrees and repeat.
9. Turn the canvas 90 degrees and stretch the top of the canvas over the top edge of the frame with the canvas pliers as tight as possible without ripping the canvas. Place two staples, 1 inch apart, on either side of the middle staple. Turn the canvas 180 degrees and repeat on the bottom. Repeat this step on the remaining sides with a single staple.
10. Repeat Step 9, placing two staples 1 inch from the previous two staples. Repeat this process until you have placed staples on all corners of the canvas.
11. Flip the canvas with the back side of the frame facing up. Pull the top of the overlapping canvas over the top of the frame using canvas pliers and place a staple in the middle to secure the overlapping canvas to the back side of the frame. Repeat on all sides, starting with the bottom.
12. Fold the overlapping corners and staple each one to the back side corners of the frame, use the canvas pliers to pull the corners as tight as possible.
13. Staple the remaining unstapled overlapping canvas onto the back side, pulling the canvas tight using the canvas pliers to avoid wrinkles.
