Step-by-Step Canvas Stretching Instructions:

I use a canvas-stretching tool but it is not absolutely necessary. You can pick them up at any art & craft supply store for less than $15.
You will also need a staple gun. Either an electric or manual, it doesn’t matter.

And you will need stretcher bars. You’ll find good prices online and www.dickblick.com is usually hard to beat. For these large canvases it is best to get the heavy-duty bars (1 1/2” thick) and they should have a center brace as well. Pop together the frame, it's pretty self-explanatory but if you have questions you can call Dick Blick, they're very helpful.

If you’re handy with a drill and a mitre saw you can make a very passable stretcher frame with 1 X 1’s from your local lumber company and it’s best to run a brace through the center vertically for support and to keep the long sides from sagging over time. You can use 1 1/2" wood screws to put the frame together. Just make sure it is square and that the screws are flush. If the screws stick out at all they can wear through the canvas in time.

1. On a bed or clean, particle-free floor (spreading a tarp or sheet works well) lay the painting face down.

2. Assemble frame according to manufacturers directions and lay it onto the back side of the canvas with the correct side down (depending on the bars you get, there may be a side that they say to put toward the front).

3. Center the painting and make sure it is straight.

4. Start in the center of one of the long sides, fold the canvas over the bar and put two staples right in the middle.

5. Using the canvas-stretching tool, go to the opposite long side and tighten it as reasonably tight as you can get it. No need to torque it and rip the canvas but get it nice and tight. Put in two staples in the center of this side also. (You’ll see ripples start to form across the canvas when you first start to stretch, they’ll go away as you continue). Be very careful to watch as you go around and make sure it stays straight! This is the most common thing that I find I have to re-stretch for; the painting can easily get askew as you move around the canvas.

6. Repeat this process and put two staples in the center of each of the short ends.

7. Start at any corner and with the tool pull as tight as you can without ripping the canvas and put a staple on each side of the corner. Very close to the edges.

8. Continue around doing this to the other three corners. When you are finished, the canvas should be very tight with no ripples. If there are any ripples, pull out the staples in that area and pull the area tighter until the ripples are gone.

9. Now using the stretching tool: Start at any corner, and pulling tight, add staples all the way around every couple inches until you are completely around the canvas.

10. Tuck and fold the canvas neatly at each corner, put in a couple staples to hold the tucks.

11. Add picture hanging hardware and wire [Remember that the painting weighs more than 10 pounds when buying hooks and wire].

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