How to Make a Canvas – Building a Stretched Canvas

Purchasing primed stretched canvas saves a lot of hassles, as it enables you to start painting right away. But when you buy an unstretched canvas on a roll you have the most important task by stretching it over stretcher bars to make a canvas. Building a canvas can sometimes be the only way of obtaining stretched canvases to the exact size required. It involves the following steps:

Stretcher Bars

First, you need to get yourself some good quality stretcher bars. Some of the stretcher bars available in the market are of the gallery wrap-style, and range from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches in thickness. They enable the canvas to be wrapped around them in order for the painting to be hung without a frame. Modern stretcher bars have mortise and tenon joints at their ends allowing the constructed canvas frame to be adjustable with the use of tightening wedge keys.

As a cheaper alternative you could make simple stretcher bars from soft-wood timber bought from a hardware store. After cutting the timber to the desired lengths, screw and glue the pieces together to make a canvas frame. Ensuring the frame is at right angles, use sash clamps to hold the stretcher in place whilst the glue sets.

Precise Stapling Required

The next step involves stapling the sides of the canvas to the stretcher bars, leaving 3 to 4 inches of the canvas to overhang past the edges of the bars. A center staple on each of the four sides should help the canvas remain secured to the frame when you begin to stretch it. Pull the canvas around the bars and staple all the corners below the bars. Flatten the sides and pinch any excess canvas. For more a detailed description of stapling a canvas, read the following article on Restretching a Canvas.

Tighten the Canvas if Necessary

You may need to further tighten your new Stretched Canvas; you can spray a small amount of water on the back and iron it. Sprinkling or applying hot water with cloth would also tighten the canvas as the hot water dries up. You may also want to learn How to Tighten a Canvas with tightening keys. Your Stretched Canvas is now ready to be primed, painted on and to be hung.