- 1). Connect your stretcher bars. They are made to fit together snugly, so they may require a light tap with a hammer to join completely. Gently tapping your stretcher against the floor should help the bars to meet as well. Ensure that the stretcher is square, either by using a carpenter's square or by fitting the stretcher inside a door frame.
- 2). Attach the stretcher bars at the corners with your staple gun. Use two staples for each corner.
- 3). Measure the canvas to fit your stretcher---leave at least 3 inches of canvas on each side for attaching to your stretcher. Cotton duck canvas rips in a straight line, so only use your scissors for cutting a small notch in the canvas and rip the rest by hand.
- 4). Fold one edge of the canvas over the stretcher and put one staple into the center of the stretcher bar. The next staple should go in the center of the opposite stretcher bar. Beginning with the second staple, pull the canvas hand-tight: Canvas pliers are only really necessary if you are re-stretching a canvas that has already been painted.
- 5). Once you have one staple in each side of the stretcher, put four additional staples in the longest side (two staples on each side of the center staple). Leave about 3 inches of space between your staples. Put four more staples in the opposite side and then repeat this procedure with the two shorter sides.
- 6). When your staples are only 6 inches from each corner, attach the corners. Attach one side of the canvas all the way to the corner. Fold the remaining canvas in a "hospital corner"---as you would fold sheets when making a bed---so that the canvas makes a flat flap behind the stretcher without creating any bumps in the canvas visible from the front. Staple the flap in place.
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