How to make my own streched canvas for painting?

Answer 1

Materials Needed to Stretch Canvas
1.Good raw painter's canvas
2.Stretcher bars assembled into a frame to stretch the canvas over
3. Heavy duty stapler
4. Box of staples
5. Hammer


1. Cut your piece of canvas at least 6-8 inches wider than the dimensions of the stretcher bars (taking into account the frame's depth). You'll need this extra canvas to have something to get a grip on to be able to pull and stretch it.
2. Lay your frame centered on top of the canvas you've cut.
Make sure that the grain of the canvas is lined up straight with the stretcher bars.
3. Start with the longest side of the canvas. Fold it over, and plop down three staples with your heavy duty stapler near the center of that stretcher bar.
4. Rotate the canvas. Or go to the opposite side and pull rather tight, fold the canvas over the frame, and put down three more staples near the center of that stretcher bar(exactly like the first side).
5. Go to one of the unstapled sides and give the canvas a good solid pull, fold it over, and put in two staples.
6. Go to the opposite and last unstapled side and pull the canvas very tight, fold it over the frame, and give it a few staples there as well.
7. Go back to the first side and working from the centers to the corners, pull a piece of the loose canvas over the stretcher bar (generally standing/kneeling from the opposite side) putting in two staples or so for each section (depending on the size of the frame).
8. Go to the opposite side of the canvas and repeat the previous step.
9. Continue pulling and stapling pieces of the canvas moving around the canvas edges in the same order as above. Continue until you have about four inches of unstapled space from the corners. Then you'll have to fold the corners however suits you best and staple them down. This also requires a REALLY SOLID PULLING as this is the final tightening you give the canvas and the most important.
10. Once you're finished, flip the whole canvas over and tap it with your finger. It should sound like a drum. It should be very, very taut. If there is any creasing or strange pulling, you'll be able to see it from here. If you mis-stapled or don't have the canvas particularly taut, pull the staples and fix it. The canvas will sag far worse once it is painted.
11. Pound in each staple with a hammer until it is flush with the wood.

Tips:
Having a second person help you will give a tighter pull, and that is ultimately what you want.
TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT. Pull hard. If your canvas tears, your canvas is too cheap to begin with.
Note: regular desk staplers are not heavy duty enough to hold the canvas. You need a heavy duty staple gun.
There are special pliers (with a wider surface to avoid pulling holes in the canvas) made for stretching canvas. They are available at art supply stores.
After canvas is stretched, put shims/wood wedges into corner to further stretch canvas.
Using an ordinary spray bottle filled with plain water, dampen the back of the stretched canvas. As it dries, it will shrink and thus tighten the canvas even more.
Use gloves, as this can be rough on the hands and may cause blisters

Answer 2

Its hard to explain in yahoo answers...
go to www.artsparx.com enter in search canvas stretching...it's the best site for learning...
You'll need duck canvas
primed or unprimed..
if unprimed you need to buy a container of gesso
canvas plyers
a staple gun
small hammer. rubber
cross bars
scissors
this website and practice will make you a pro...
also a small water bottle that sprays a fine mist....
after i stretch my canvas I spray a fine mist of water on the back of the canvas...after it dries it makes the canvas very tight..like a drum.
hope this website helps...
If you give up there are local framing shop and galleries that stretch special sizes not available pre made

Answer 3

Don't. It is very difficult and is not worth the pain. You can buy any canvasses (linen or cotton) of all sizes for a cheaper price that it would cost you if you did it yourself.