Stretcher bar

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A stretcher bar is used to construct a wooden stretcher used by artists to mount their canvases.

They are traditionally a wooden framework support^[1] on which an artist fastens a piece of canvas. They are also used for small-scale embroidery to provide steady tension, affixing the edges of the fabric with push-pins or a staple gun before beginning to sew, and then removing it from the stretcher when the work is complete. Stretchers are usually in the shape of a rectangle, although shaped canvases are also possible.