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 at your studio to your own specifications. For more information about working with unprimed canvas refer to The Complete Book of Floorcloths.

You may create a hem using many different methods. The following directions are condensed from Painting Floorcloths:20 Canvas Rugs to Stamp, Stencil, Sponge and Spatter in a Weekend.

Basic tools for creating the hem are a good yardstick or straight edge, a right angle, a pencil, art gum eraser, scissors and commercial grade double stick carpet tape. Carpet tape is available at your local home improvement store and is used to lay carpet. It is quite strong.

The hem allowance in the following directions is 2" for each side. This will match the 2" wide self-sticking carpet tape used to secure the hem.

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, remeasure, 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 carpet tape along the inside (the unprimed side) of one of the long hem lines. Trim any excess tape off the end. 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.

Once your floorcloth has been hemmed you may choose a design and proceed with painting. Fredrix® Floorcloth projects offer several design choices. For more ideas refer to The Complete Book of Floorcloths or Painting Floorcloths: 20 Canvas Rugs to Stamp, Stencil, Sponge or Spatter in a Weekend.