Not many people can afford to buy a stretched canvas that is sold in frames. Fortunately, you can buy them cheaper if they are rolled up and packed. That said, you will need to learn how to stretch canvas for painting, and this needs persistence and concentration to get it right.
In this article, we will go over how to go about stretching canvas unto a frame in a methodical manner.
Prep work for stretching canvas
Pick a clean tabletop or clean surface area to do the stretching work.
Place the canvas painting face down on the table. You can then set the frame on the canvas lining up the bars of the stretcher frame to the edges of the canvas.
To get it ideal check to see whether the same location of canvas edge is seen outside the bar on all four sides. You can likewise pull the canvas edge over the stretcher bar to check the alignment. Learning how to create custom stretched canvas is a skill that every serious artist must learn.
Stretching the canvas
Start from one side of the frame at mid-point. Pull the canvas edge over the frame with a set of pliers and attach it to the frame with staples.
Now pull the canvas again carefully over the frame about 5 centimetres far from the first staple and staple once again. Repeat the very same on the other side of the mid-point. Now you will have stapled the canvas on to stretcher frame at 3 points five centimetres apart on one side.
Repeat the same treatment on the opposite side.
Bear in mind that the canvas is currently stapled down on one side. So this time you have to use the pliers and pull the cloth tight before stapling. This will help you to find out how to extend canvas without folds forming on the canvas.
Finishing your stretched canvas
Once you have two opposite sides stapled in the middle, carry on to doing the same on the staying two sides. So now you will have stapled all four sides at three places in the middle of the sides five centimetres apart.
Proceed from by putting one staple on either side of the mid-point moving from centre to corner and maintaining the five centimetres gap and regularly doing the opposite side after putting the two staples on one side. This is the method to ensure that you stretch the canvas equally on all sides. If unsure, set the frame unto your art painting easel to check that you have lined everything correctly.
Do not ever attempt to finish one side initially. The painting will get stretched crookedly. If the timber of the frame is hard, you might have some trouble stapling. In this case, you can use a hammer to press it down, flush on the frame carefully. Fold the corners of the canvas and staple it down. You might have to staple everything down two or three times depending on the thickness of the fold.
So there you have it — all that you need to know about stretching your canvas. As you may have already realized, it is not as difficult as you might think. Mastering this process can save you much money and get you more mileage out of your art materials.