How to do Gravestone Rubbings

1. Make sure the stone
   is clean and completely dry.  Tape will not adhere 
   to a wet stone, and the dampness will make the paper
   fragile and liable to tear.  Besides ruining any
   chance of a rubbing, this may cause you to
   accidentally damage the stone with your rubbing
   material. 
2. Cut a piece of your
   paper or other rubbing material to a size slightly
   larger than the stone. If possible, write any
   information on or about the stone, inscription,
   date, location, etc. on the back of the paper before
   doing the rubbing so you don’t smear your rubbing.
   Or, carry a small notebook, write the information on
   a page, tear out and roll up with your rubbing.
3. Tape the paper to
   the stone.  Make sure that it is secure so that it
   won’t slide as you are rubbing and cause a blurred
   image, and that it covers the face of the stone
   completely, so that you won’t get marks on it.
    
4. If only doing
   lunettes, please be sure that a large enough area is
   covered to protect the stone.
5. With your fingers,
   press the paper lightly against the stone.  This
   will cause the paper to indent into the carvings,
   resulting in a clearer image, with less rubbing
   medium accidentally transferring into "blank" areas.
6. Using rubbing wax, a
   large crayon, charcoal, or chalk, gently start to
   rub along the outside edges – creating a "frame" for
   your rubbing.  Using  long, even strokes following
   the same direction, fill in the "frame".
7. Rub lightly to start
   with, and then apply more pressure to darken in the
   design if it suits you. Be very careful and gentle.
8. If you used chalk
   for your rubbing, then carefully spray the paper
   with a chalk spray such as Krylon.  Be very careful
   not to get any on the tombstone. It is
   best to remove the paper from the stone and lay it
   flat on the ground in an area away from any stones
   before spraying.
9. When the rubbing is
   done, carefully remove it from the tombstone and
   trim the edges to suit your liking. Remove the tape
   from the paper, being careful not to tear the edges
   of the paper.

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Image: waynesville K12