-
FLOORCLOTH PREPARATION
To
make any
floorcloth you
will need to
purchase enough
canvas for the
desired size
plus an
appropriate
surplus for
hemming. The
directions
supplied here
use the
Fredrix®
Dixie 123 canvas.
The Dixie 123 is
a very heavy
cotton duck
(refers to the
close weave
construction)
with substantial
texture. It has
been double
primed on one
side. The Dixie
123 comes in
widths up to
144" making it
an excellent
choice for
floorcloths. It
is easy to hem
and ready to
paint on. (The
backside may be
left untreated).
Fredrix® Floorcloth Canvas is readily available in widths up to 70" wide and requires no hem to make a floorcloth. It has been double acrylic primed on one side and single primed on the reverse side for extra body.
Fredrix® Unprimed Cotton Roll Canvas is available in a heavy 10 or 12 ounce duck (refers to the close weave construction) in widths up to 144" and can be primed with Fredrix® Acrylic Gesso (available at LakeArts) at your studio to your own specifications.
Basic tools for creating the hem are a good yardstick or straight edge, a right angle, a pencil, art gum eraser, scissors, a burnishing tool to create a crisp folded edge and HemSet double stick Tape, #90055 available at LakeArts.
The hem allowance in the following directions is 2" for each side. However, we recommend using 1" tape which prevents further chance of your floorcloth puckering when applying the tape. Your hem can still be 2" using the 1" tape.
| HEMMING YOUR FLOORCLOTH |
Your preprimed canvas should be the size of your desired finished floorcloth, plus a 2-inch (5 cm) hem on all four sides. (This accounts for the extra 4 inches (10 cm) on the length and width of the canvas you purchased.
| 1. To create a 2" wide hem, lay the preprimed canvas, painted side up, on a smooth, clean surface. Measure 2 inches (5 cm) in from the edge and lay a straightedge along these marks. Pencil a line along the side of the straight edge, letting your line extend into the hem allowance. |
 |
| 2. On each end of this line, measure 2 inches (2 cm) in from the outside edge and make a mark. Take the right angle and set it on the mark with a 2-inch (5 cm) hem allowance along the outside edge. Lay the straightedge over the right angle to create a perpendicular line. Pencil this line along the side of the straightedge, letting your line extend into the hem allowance to the top. Turn your canvas and mark a 2" hem on the last side using the right angle to square the corners. |
 |
| 3. Your canvas should now have a penciled shape that is either square or rectangular, with a 2-inch (5 cm) border showing all the way around. On each corner you should have two lines that intersect each other. If any of your corners do not appear square, or if your measurements do not match, now is the time to adjust them. Simply pick the straightest side, re-measure, and recheck the corners to make sure they are at right angles. | |
| 4. After you've checked your measurements, go back to each corner with a right angle and pencil. Lay the right angle across each intersection and mark a line, only on the short hem. When trimmed, this will create something like an envelope flap on the short ends. |
 |
| 5. Trim along the line of the flap and along the corner. Your hem should have two long sides with a straight 2-inch (5 cm) border that ends flush on the corner. There should be two shorter sides (if it's a rectangle shape) that have an angled 2-inch (5 cm) hem that looks like a wide envelope flap. |
 |
| 6. Lay the straightedge on the canvas along the pencil line that creates the hem. Fold the canvas over the straightedge to crease the hem. When you have done this on all four sides, flip the canvas to the underside, primed side down, and pre-crease it in the opposite direction, again using the straightedge. You should have a folded edge along your pencil line that makes the hem easy to see. |
 |
| 7. Lay a strip of HemSet tape along the inside (the unprimed side) of one of the long hem lines. Trim any excess tape off the end. Be careful not to pull or stretch the tape when applying Peel back the protective coating on the tape. |
 |
| 8. Fold the long hem to the underside of the canvas. Use your hand or the roll of tape to rub up and down along the hem to remove any air bubbles. Voila! You now have a hem! Repeat this process on the other long hem. |
 |
| 9. Run the tape along one of the angled ends. Trim the excess tape off the angled end. Fold this hem the way you did in steps 1 and 2; let the hem overlap the two long sides on each corner. You should have nice crisp corners. Repeat this process on the other angled end. |
 |