“Should I stretch canvas, when I’ve readymade stretched canvas available in art stores?”
Did this question come to your mind when you read the headline of this article? We know most of you are thinking if it’s worth the effort since stretching a canvas is a tough and time-consuming procedure.
Yes, we agree there is some extra effort; but there are a lot of perks too.
The major one amongst those is that you can meet your exact specifications: the dimensions, the shape, the type of canvas, the quality of wood, and so on. You can also save a lot of money, as a pre-stretched canvas is quite expensive. And what’s more, it helps you start painting with utmost mental satisfaction, being in mind that you’ve already conquered the canvas on some level!
Now, do you wish to go ahead with stretching a canvas? Here’s your guide…
- Be Ready With All The Materials
Make sure that you have all the following tools right beside you:
- Canvas roll
- Wooden stretcher bars (buy them either from any arts and crafts store, or make it by yourself)
- Heavy-duty staple gun
- Staple lifter
- Stretching pliers
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
Now the materials are ready, let’s start.
- Build The Frame
Creating a from the pre-cut slats that you can slip together (available in almframe ost all art supply shops), is the easiest way for this.
You can also make it from home by cutting and joining wooden slats if you wish.
- Preparing Canvas Sheet
Keep your canvas roll on a flat, clean, dust-free workspace – may be on a table or the floor.
If the canvas is a primed one, make sure the primed side is kept facing downwards (NB: primed canvas is preferred).
After that, place the frame above. Mark the measurements for cutting; while doing this, ensure you don’t mark the exact size of the frame as we’ll have to fold the canvas over the edge of the stretchers and staple it on the back.
All set?
Then, cut carefully through the marked lines.
- Stretching The Canvas
Keep the frame on the center of the canvas sheet with equal spaces on four sides. Fold one side of the canvas over the frame, and put your first staple in the center. Subsequently, take the canvas pliers, stretch the canvas on the opposite side and again a staple in the center.
Please don’t use too much force at this point as two sides of your canvas are still not attached to the stretcher-bar.
Repeat the procedures for the other two sides. Remember to stretch it well before stapling.
- Add The Perfect Tension
Now, we have a rough stretch of canvas in front of us. Our next task is to add more tension to it.
Start it from the corners, tightening and stapling as you go. After stapling four corners, check and ensure the canvas is plain without any folds and wrinkles.
If there are any folds, remove the staple using a stapler lifter and adjust it to make it perfect; if everything is fine, staple, along straight lines on all sides.
- Neaten The Finish
The next procedure is to check for extra sheets in the four corners. Fold them neatly and staple. Cut out any unwanted length of sheets, and do a simple cleaning if any dust is there.
Now Take The Brush!
Congrats! You’ve stretched your canvas and successfully framed it!
Now, it’s time to transform your artistic calibers into this well-stretched canvas.
Need any art supplies for that? Visit GlowArt – the best online art shop in Australia, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Perth.