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I, ahem, do a gallery wrap on my big canvasses. Let me tell you, plan to spend a day, lots of sweat and more foul lanquage than you are used to using.
I put a large piece of plywood, bigger than the canvas stretchers, on two saw horses. I have adjustable metal ones so I can make it the most comfortable height for me to work easily.
Cut the canvas about 5" wider than the stretchers-this is good for the 1 3/4" depth Twin Brooks stretchers I use. I usually draw a pencil line the size of the stretchers on the back and front of of the linen to use as a reference to keep it straight. I staple the first staple the usual way, in the middle but on the back of the stretcher, followed by a second and third on either side. I then staple the opposite side pulling the canvas away from me using quite a bit of torque on my molydenum pliers. It takes a bit of practice. I cannot pull from the other side because the canvasses I use are generally too large to reach the other side. You can do a standard stretching procedure if your canvas is a reasonable size.
Follow this procedure on the other sides. You will need the three staples, especially on a larger canvas, to allow you to pull the canvas tight enough without them pulling out.
The Ralph Mayer book has a great diagram on making canvas corners. I do not make diagonal folds on the corners, but I bring the canvas to and over the edge on the sides. I fold the top of the canvas edge so the edge is square to the stretcher edge and pull it over the tucked side edges. It is hard to describe but if you fool with it it works great. I do not cut anything and I always have a canvas to show in a pinch. I paint the edges.
I also work from the center to an edge and start again to the adjacent staples and work toward the corner I just finished. I put the bulky part of the edges on the top and the bottom. It can take a lot of restretching, so don't tamp the staples down until you are sure it is perfect.
I hope this helps.
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