How to Stretch a Canvas onto a Frame

Whether you are stretching a blank canvas or a painting that you bought rolled its always good practice to spray the back of the canvas with little water and then carry out the job, this way you ensure the canvas has good tension when it dries.

Step 1

Wooden Stretcher bars

you need to measure up the canvas leaving at least three inches all around to be wrapped around the stretcher bars, once you know the measurements you can now build the frame (stretcher bars) or have it build by a professional.

Lay the canvas out flat on your work desk and center the wooden frame on top of it, making sure that the canvas is lined up straight with the stretcher bars on the frame. If they don't, the bars will twist.

Step 2

Stretch the longest sides of the canvas first begin by placing three staples on the center of the longest edge of your frame beginning in the middle and moving out from there.  On the opposite side pull the canvas tight but not too tight and place three more staples along that edge.  Keep an eye on the entire canvas as you stretch and staple to avoid adding any wrinkles.  If you are stretching to a smaller frame, place your staples closer together.

You always want to secure the canvas from the middle to the corners. Never start inserting staples close to one of the corners, or the canvas will twist slightly on the frame.

Step 3

Repeat on the other two shorter sides.  Continue stapling in this fashion, adding a few staples on the longest sides and then a couple on the two shorter sides. 

Wet the canvas gently, if necessary. If you're trying to stretch an ungessoed canvas, it's common to use a spray bottle to gently dampen the canvas with some water, which will help to tighten the canvas as it dries. After you've fixed the long sides to the canvas, mist the canvas gently to promote shrinkage as you work.

Continue adding a staple rotating the sides of the canvas until you are close to the corners.

Step 4

The corners are where people tend to get a bit muddled but they really are quite simple once you get used to the technique. Pull a piece of loose canvas, stretch it down, and insert a staple. Go slowly, stretching a little bit from the opposite side of the bar at a time. Continue pulling and stapling pieces of the canvas moving around the canvas edges in the same order as before.        

Be sure to pull your canvas very tight when stretching the corners. Be firm and even.

Sometimes, it's helpful to make a little slit along a diagonal in the canvas, to help stretch it tight and make it flush with the sides in the corner of the frame. You want the corners to look as clean as possible, so follow the shape of the canvas and cut it if necessary.

Step 5

Finish stapling the canvas. Go around the canvas and pound all your staples with a hammer to make sure everything is flush with the frame. Add more staples in areas where you see the canvas is still not tight.

Tip: if you find the edges messy after you did your painting and would like to cover it up in a neat way i use hockey tape as shown in the image below it gives it a very nice look and contrast.