String Art: "Give Me a Hug"
Despite being a fan of minimalist styling when it comes to decor, bare walls are a no-no. An eye-catching piece of art on a wall, like a painting or a collage made of pictures or small paintings mixed with other decorative elements, will look amazing and will bring that cosy feeling to your home. Sometimes when you can't find what you are looking for the best way is to make your own piece of art.
The other day, wanting to decorate my white wall with something colourful, I came across string art and immediately decided to make my own design.
String art is also known as pin and thread art, in which you wrap a thread (usually cotton, less frequently wire) around pins or nails in a defined pattern.
The other day, wanting to decorate my white wall with something colourful, I came across string art and immediately decided to make my own design.
String art is also known as pin and thread art, in which you wrap a thread (usually cotton, less frequently wire) around pins or nails in a defined pattern.
To make your own piece of string art you will need:
- A wooden board in an appropriate shape and size to match your design, at least 10 mm thick.
- White acrylic paint and a paint brush.
- 12 mm nails (if using a thicker wooden board the nails can be can be longer).
- A hammer.
- Skeins of embroidery thread in different colors.
- Scissors.
- A template for your design.
- Sticky tape.
- Picture hangers (optional).
Let's begin:
1. Take your wooden board and, if desired, paint it white so that your design stands out even more.
2. Open any text editor and type in your wording. Choose an appropriate font, adjust the size and print out your design. For my design I used the Script MT Bold font.
3. When the paint is dry lay the template on top of the wooden board. Make sure it is centered and positioned the way you like. Secure the template with a small piece of tape on each of the four sides. Now you are ready to hammer in the nails.
4. Hammer the nails along the contour of your design, spacing the nails evenly. Try to hammer each nail in to the same depth, so they are the same height, but be careful not to go too deep as you need the nail to stick out enough to be able to wrap the thread around.
5. Remove the paper template.
6. Start winding the embroidery thread around the nails to fill out the letters. Tie a knot on the very first nail on the bottom left and work through the nails to the right, changing the colours of the threads as desired.
7. If you wish to hang your design, attach picture hangers, and you are done!
Below you can see my string art in full...
- A wooden board in an appropriate shape and size to match your design, at least 10 mm thick.
- White acrylic paint and a paint brush.
- 12 mm nails (if using a thicker wooden board the nails can be can be longer).
- A hammer.
- Skeins of embroidery thread in different colors.
- Scissors.
- A template for your design.
- Sticky tape.
- Picture hangers (optional).
Let's begin:
1. Take your wooden board and, if desired, paint it white so that your design stands out even more.
2. Open any text editor and type in your wording. Choose an appropriate font, adjust the size and print out your design. For my design I used the Script MT Bold font.
3. When the paint is dry lay the template on top of the wooden board. Make sure it is centered and positioned the way you like. Secure the template with a small piece of tape on each of the four sides. Now you are ready to hammer in the nails.
4. Hammer the nails along the contour of your design, spacing the nails evenly. Try to hammer each nail in to the same depth, so they are the same height, but be careful not to go too deep as you need the nail to stick out enough to be able to wrap the thread around.
5. Remove the paper template.
6. Start winding the embroidery thread around the nails to fill out the letters. Tie a knot on the very first nail on the bottom left and work through the nails to the right, changing the colours of the threads as desired.
7. If you wish to hang your design, attach picture hangers, and you are done!
Below you can see my string art in full...
String art: "give me a hug".
...and in a closeup.
String art: "give me a hug", closeup.