String art FAQs: questions and answers about nail and thread art

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There could be loads of questions about a DIY technique.

How do you make it? Which tools do you find best? What are the materials needed? How do I start? Is it hard to master? And other more in-depth ones.

As regarding string art, – that is one of our favourite techniques, as well as the first one we practiced together – people have always been curious about the tool we use to weave the thread. I can’t count how many times I received a comment or a message asking about it! It’s time I’ll write a proper specific post about it (and all the alternatives).

Since this is not the only one we’ve come in contact with, I decided to collect all the most common questions we’ve been asked (mainly on social media). This wants to be a help to anyone who wants to begin with making string art projects or just wants to know more about it.

If you have a question that’s not covered yet here, please feel free to post it in the comments below! I’ll be glad to reply and to add it to the list!

Table of contents

What is string art?

What is string art?

String art (sometimes called “nail and thread art” od “pin and thread art“) is a DIY technique where you hammer a series of nails on a basis to form the outline of a figure, which you then complete weaving thread, wire or string around the nails. This way you can create decorative crafts that could be super easy, but also complex and articulate.

You can form geometric patterns or figurative designs. The figures you trace with fiber around nails could be positive (leaving the board visible around the design) or negative (weaving fiber outside the figure).

Castle string art: beginning the weaving

What are the origins of string art? Brief history

String art, in its geometric form, was born from the “curve stitch” activities invented by Mary Everest Boole at the end of the 19th century as a mathematics teaching aid for children.

Her “curve stitching” is the practice of stitching colored thread through a pattern of holes pricked in cardboard to construct straight-line envelopes. When the holes are connected with thread, their envelope traces a segment of a parabola. In 1909 she published her teaching methods in the book “Philosophy & Fun of Algebra”: the curves she used are now known as the Bèzier curves.

String art then became popular as a decorative craft in the late 1960s with the publishing of kits and books. The American artist John Eichinger specialized in creating geometric designs which he referred to as “string mandalas”.  A popular hobby kit distributor at the time, Open Door Enterprises, first marketed his string art kits in the late 1960s.

String art then gained another burst of popularity in the 2010s: in 2016 Petros Vrellis invented a computational form of string art, bringing computer programming into string art crafts.

Is string art easy?

Is string art easy for beginners?

Beginning with string art is easy indeed. You don’t require any special art skill. The basic technique is super simple and requires a few steps, giving you very satisfying finished projects.

You need a few tools you can find anywhere and they aren’t so expensive (nails, thread, hammer, a wooden board).

Have a quick glimpse of the basic technique in our one-minute video tutorial.

Castle string art: threading the mountains in the background

Is string art quick?

String art is a quick craft for small projects, the slower part being the nail hammering. If an adult hammers down the nails, also kids can find this craft quite satisfying.

As you practice, you’ll find more difficult patterns or techniques to follow, with different materials and complicated designs. But a simple outline can be a rewarding string art to make as a beginner.

How do you make your first string art project?

I talked about how we began string art in a dedicated post. To summarise:

  • Basically, you need a wooden board, nails, hammer, thread
  • Find a design you like, print it the right size and fix it on the board
  • Hammer down your nails along the outline of the design
  • Weave thread around the nails to cover all the space

That’s just the basic principle, for more how-to tips go to the “How to make” section. I suggest you also to the article about our beginning.

Tools and materials

Which string to use for String Art?

What you want to want to look for to choose your perfect yarn is:

  • How easy it is to work with, mainly if you use a tool for weaving like we do.
  • The yarn must be strong enough to resist brushing against the metal of nails.
  • You have to like the appearance on your project, and this depends on what you want to achieve.

Our favourite yarn for string art is bamboo! We found a ball of bamboo at a local store as we were looking for materials for our very first project, and we loved it! It runs smoothly on our hole punch, it doesn’t have lints, it’s soft and durable.

It’s not the only material we used: we also tried acrylic, polyester, wool and cotton.

For small projects, also embroidery floss can work really well and be strong enough: consider the skeins are sometimes small, you might end up with jointed floss. Always check the length of your string: you don’t want to run out in the middle of the project!

We never made a project with them, but we saw jute or hemp used in several string arts: if you like the look, both could be a durable yarn to choose. Among my least favourite, wool and acrylic: mainly because of lints. For a couple of projects we chose acrylic despite the lints because they gave the piece the right appearance for that specific case. We never used wool, instead, for fear it was too delicate.

You can also use sewing thread for string art, but only if you want a very delicate looking outcome, since the thread is really thin.It’s the preferred option in the computational string art invented by Petros Vrellis.

Which wood to choose as a basis for String Art?

What you want to look for, while choosing your support, is:

  • The most important thing is choosing a basis that is thick enough to hold the nails securely without having them come through the back of the panel. Always check thickness before beginning!
  • It’s important to ensure that the nails do not become loose and fall out, the material must be able to support them without splitting.
  • The nails chipping and lifting the wood could ruin the whole project: if possible, make small hammering tests before beginning the real string art.

My husband has a special care in choosing our boards for string art. You could choose different materials as your support, even a wall, but we love working with wood. Our main choice is solid wood, mainly unfinished. If you choose a soft kind of wood, it will be easier to hammer down the nails. Also, too hard wood could bend your nails, mainly if they are thin.

Your wood doesn’t need to be brand new. It can also be used and battered (even though it must be strong!), repurposed, giving your piece a vintage look.

You can choose between boards, canvases or wood slabs with or without their bark: this is up to you and it depends on the final result you want to achieve. Its the same when considering the shape and size: this impacts the planning of your project.

Both solid or plywood are all good options to use for string art, as they offer a hard surface that secures the nails in place. We never choose particleboard, instead, mainly for the final appearance on the project.

Can I use non-wood materials as a support for string arts?

Yes, you could also use supports other than wood to make a string art project. An original project could be done on the wall directly, without other supports.

If you want to use a material other than wood, you want to check a few things:

  • Choose a durable, hard material.
  • Choose a support that doesn’t crack while hammering nails, where nails can’t slip off easily or bend during weaving.
  • Make a small test on a scrap of material to see if the string art stays in place.
  • Be careful with materials that have a coating, as it could easily crack!

For example, avoid panels with a melamine coating! This type of finish cracks very easily when a nail is hammered in and leaves gagged edges around the hole. If you want the surface to be in a specific color, it’s better painting your board.

Pay attention to the material of your support: cracks could ruin your project.

We use black nails with smaller head when we want the thread or other items to stand out.

Our favorite nails for string art: silver, shiny, smooth shank, flat wide head that reflects the light

What are the best nails for string art?

Short answer: it depends.

Long answer. Well, it depends, but here’s more details.

Since there’s a whole world of nails around, you have to choose the best ones for your project considering a few things:

  • Consider the size. Smaller projects require smaller nails and thinner floss. More intricate designs that require weaving the thread around the nail multiple times require longer nails with bigger heads to hold the thread in place. Also the size of the head depends on how you want the nail to stand out in your project.
  • Choose sturdy hardware or crafting nails: you don’t want them to bend while hammering, or worse break. Stainless steel is usually the best choise to hammer into hard materials.
  • Choose nails with a wide head, to prevent the yarn from slipping out. A flat head is usually comfortable if you aim to hammer several nails in a row.
  • Color and head shape or size depend on the final look you want for your project. You could also decide to give your nail heads a colored coating, after hammering.
  • Select nails with a smooth shank because that will allow the thread to be wrapped and adjusted more easily while you work.
  • Ease of work: the bigger your nails, the more space you should allow between them.
  • Prevent rust: choose steel over iron. If your board is made of hard wood, choose stainless steel nails, to avoid corrosion or breaking.
Example of a string art pattern, with nail positions and string path
Pattern by Regina Ribeiro
Castle string art: all the nails in place

A pattern derived from a photo. Notice that a few architectural items have unnatural spaces: that’s to outline them better.

Where can I find string art patterns?

When I have an idea in mind and I look for the perfect image to start with, I search for:

  • Outlines or easy monochromatic drawings. Do you remember the clip arts that used to be common in text editors back in the ’90s? They are the easiest to adapt: most of the time, you just have to print them and pin to your board!
  • Photos or drawings where contour lines are clearly visible. I usually print them and retrace the outline on blank paper.

My favourite resource for string art (and crafts in general) is Pinterest. Its the best home page to find inspiration then browse to more in-depth posts about the craft you are looking for. You can find photos or images to adapt or even patterns specifically designed for string art, with nail positions and thread path, for the most intricate or geometric and complex ones.

I prefer designing my own patterns or adapting photos, but plenty of kits are available, complete with the materials needed. Perfect to start without worrying about supplies or running out of thread!

When retracing a pattern, I always have in mind the final size of my project and how far apart my nails should be: you don’t want a pattern you can’t recreate because the outlines are too close and you aren’t able to weave your thread. Adapting the spacing between your photos features is usually the hardest part.

Discover our free designs

We collected some of the patterns we used for our projects: you can download and use them for free to make your own. Whenever the pattern is our own original design or a free template from the web, you’ll find proper credit to the author.

How to adapt a design to a string art pattern?

You need to have in mind what you want to achieve. Will your project be a negative or positive string art? Do you want a particular part or feature of your board to stand out? Will it be small or big?

Choose a photo that has clearly visible outlines or boudaries. Retrace those boundaries (on paper or digitally, as you wish), checking that you have enough space between the lines: nails should never touch and you need room enough to weave around each of them.

Keep it as simple as possible: if it’s too intricate, string art isn’t maybe the best technique to choose from.

A string art pattern from the photo of a castle

How to make

How do you prepare your board for string art?

That’s the part my husband likes most!

The first thing to do, if you work with solid wood, is sanding. A smooth surface is good to prevent splinters from breaking your yarn while weaving! My husband, also, likes surfaces that you can touch and find a 3D feeling. To obtain this, he uses a metal wire brush on his drill to work all the board: this is great to make the natural veins of the wood stand out.

You can stain the wood board in any colour you wish. Just make sure to leave enough time for the board to dry before you begin your string art project!

You can also cover your support with different materials. We especially love multimaterial string arts! In the 1970’s most string art projects you could see in the US were on a background of black velveteen felt. You could also find that burlap muslin is common. You could add a special touch with glow-in-the-dark paint or retro decoupage.

When to add a hanging kit?

If you want to hang your project to the wall, you need a hanging kit.

I saw other string artists adding it at the end of the project, when all the hammering and weaving are done. They say this way your board stands flat on the table, mainly during hammering.

Well, we prefer to add the hanging kit after our wooden board is ready, just before hammering: we don’t usually find it annoying to have the kit already on the back while hammering or weaving. We usually choose thin kits, or mill a small hollow to have the kit stand deep into the wooden board.

In both case, while hammering you could use a soft blanket or folded towel to cover the table: it has the advantage of reducing the sound of the hammer on nails, it protects the hanging kit from bending, keeps your board from sliding under you and protects the table from the wood scratching it.

How to string art: hammer with a towel under the project

If you choose to add the hanging kit at the beginning or at the end of your project, a folded towel under the board is useful while hammering or weaving.

Is there a technique for hammering nails on a string art project?

It’s important to keep your nails vertical: if they are inclined, the pull strength of the string could tear them out of the wooden board.

We use an awl to mark the place where each single nail will go. Even a hollow trace is really helpful! It speeds up the hammering and helps the nails stay straight. The hammering of nails is for sure the longest part of a string art project!

I suggest you to use pliers or also tweezers to hold the nail while hammering. Start by gently tapping the nail into the wood, so you have more control on its vertical position, and once it’s standing still into the board, hammer with more force to embed it.

The use of pliers could be useful also to embed nails at the same height. You can also think about glueing a height indicator onto your pliers, even a tiny cardboard could make the difference. Be careful not to hammer too deep, leave enough room on the shank for the thread. If your nails are too high, you can hammer more at the end, when everyone is in place, even though I don’t recommend it: you risk to hammer too much and achieve uneven heights.

If you’re not familiar with nail hammering, I suggest you to make a small test before making the real project, just to test the strenght you need to use. When you have a practiced technique, the nailing process will be easier and quicker.

How to start weaving a string art project?

Fix the thread to the first nail (the choice of the starting point depends on the design and weaving technique) with a knot. I suggest you add PVA glue to reinforce the stability of your knot. When it’s dry, cut the excess of thread.

I suggest you to tie the knot on the internal side of the project, so the weaving will hide it under the thread.

How do you weave thread around nails?

You can be very methodical and weave the thread in a precise geometric pattern, or you can weave around the nails randomly. Both techniques are highly effective: the choice depends on the final look you want to obtain.

On the random string art projects, the shapes are filled in with string to create a contrast between fiber, board and nails. The goal is to weave your thread around nails crossing the lines several times, until you have filled all the space and can’t see the board anymore.

Following a geometric pattern, your weaving connects two points with a straight line, grouping and overlapping multiple lines in a precise order. This technique is also known as symmography. It has a mathematical base in the Bézier curves.

Also, you can choose between positive or negative (reverse) string art: with the first, you weave your thread inside the outline of the pattern; with the second, you weave outsite the pattern outline, leaving a blank space in place of the design.

How to end a string art project?

You may want to change color, or you run out of thread, or you reached the end of the project. Whether you chose to do your outline at the beginning or at the end of the weaving process, at some point you need to secure the thread to finish your work.

You need to keep the tension of your thread to avoid your weaving slipping off. If you can, ask someone to help, it’s better to do it with another person, mainly if you don’t have enough practice.

Tying a knot could be hard. Choose as your finishing nail an external one, otherwise it could be too hard to reach with your fingers.If possible, though, choose a spot that would not be the most visible part of your project, just in case.

Cut a sufficient lenght of thread to work with ease. Thread a needle with the final part of your string (choose in advance the right sized eye to accommodate your string easily, and if you need it find a needle threader to help). Use the needle to guide your thread under the weaving around a nail. This could be tricky! Fix the thread with PVA glue, but avoid touching the weaving if you can. After tying a knot, cut the thread and use the needle to push the tail end under your weaving, to hide it behind the project.

Tips and tricks

What's the tool you use for weaving?

That’s the question we’ve been asked the most! To weave the thread around nails, we use a leather working tool that belonged to my husband’s grandfather, a hole punch. The thread slides inside the hole punch and you can use it almost like a pen, passing around each nail easily.

One little tip: when hammering down your nails, check with your hole punch if the tool can easily pass through the space between nails. The weaving will be a lot easier!

What can I use for weaving if I don't have a hole punch?

A trick if you don’t have a hole punch or aren’t able to find one? Use an empty BIC ballpoint pen: not as efficient, but nonetheless useful.

Since our hole punch came from the family, we don’t have a specific brand to suggest, but if you search for “hole punch leather tool” on Amazon you’ll find instruments very similar to the one we use. And they are not expensive!

Castle string art: all the nails in place

What's the right spacing between nails?

The right spacing depends on the size and complexity of your project. The main thing to consider is the ease of work: if you are not comfortable while working, you might not be able to complete your project.

If you use a tool like our hollow punch, be sure the tool can pass easily around each nail. If not, check with a small test project that you can weave easily with your hands.

A general rule: the bigger your nails (mainly considering the head diameters), the more space you should allow between them.

Tips to follow the chosen pattern

Fix your pattern onto your prepared board and have a copy at hand: having a guide will make the weaving easier, since you have to remove the pattern from the board before weaving.

To fix the pattern on the board, tape it with masking tape then hammer a few nails around the edges, at least one for each corner. You can also remove the tape now, or not use it at all if you feel confident enough. When you finish hammering, remove the paper from the board.

The main advice here is: plan in advance. When you have your pattern ready, think about the colors to use where, the technique you’ll choose to weave each section. I find a great help in coloring the pattern I use as a guide with the same thread colors I’ll use.

Outline: before or after?

As usual, id depends on your design and what you want to achieve.

We usually prefer weaving then doing a final outline after, right before fixing the thread: it helps the design stand out from the board.

Also, it underlines each design feature.

The use of any tool, like our hollow punch, could stress your thread: choose high quality materials if you want your project to last.

Take your time to work with epoxy, follow the instructions carefully, choose the right materials for the container and do what you can to avoid any leaks!

How long does a string art project last? Can I improve its durability?

In years, not a single thread of our projects has come loose, nor a single nail has come off.

Durability depends on the chosen materials, though. Go for high quality thread, since the passing around the nails or into any weaving tool you use (see above for the use of a hollow punch) could stress the floss and break it, during the making or after the piece is completed. Choose strong and quality nails, to avoid rusting or breaking under the thread tension. Check the section about tools and materials for more info.

One idea for improving the durability of your project could be epoxy resin.

Be careful if you never worked with epoxy before and follow the instructions on the bottle!

Place your project in a container the size and shape of the board, pay attention to avoid any leaks, and pour epoxy to cover all the board, nails and thread. Choose the container material carefully, so to be able to remove it when the resin is cured without any damage to the project. If in doubt, try pouring on a small sample. If you’re not sure yet, cover all the container with tape: it can help removing the cured epoxy.

It’s not cheap, depending on the size of your string art, and so on the epoxy quantity needed. It also makes the project heavy, so think about it beforehand if you have to hang it to the wall.

Just in case, try a little sample first. Pour epoxy on a little piece of board with a few nails and thread vowen around them, to see the final outcome and reaction of the materials to epoxy. A sample is always worth it: maybe you don’t like the final look, or the thread colors could change when wet with epoxy.

I hope you found what you looked for!

Otherwise, feel free to ask your question in the comments below: I’ll be glad to answer and add other helpful tips to this list!

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10 Comments. Leave new

  • Can I use these designs and then sell my finished product?

    Reply
    • No problem! We indicated when the patterns have other authors, so be sure to use our #LRCrafts patterns. I would be glad to get a link to this blog somewhere if you don’t mind, but our own designs are free to use 🙂

      Reply
  • Very interesting read. First timer to string just playing around with some simple patterns and loving the feeling of being relaxed. I have one concern how do I knot the beginning and ends without it being noticed?

    Reply
    • Thannks a million! To knot at the beginning in an unnoticeable way, you could just choose a central nail, so that would be later covered with the weaving. For the end, it’s more tricky. We usually choose an external nail, make a knot at the base of the nail, move the tail under the weaving and add superglue. Depending on how you’ll hang your project, you could choose a nail that is way up so you don’t see it when the project is on the wall. Or if you decide to put the string art on a shelf, you could choose a bottom nail.

      Reply
  • Wooow! You have an amazing and instructive page😍. We have recently uploaded an app to generate string art portraits not only in circle shape but also any geometric shapes. The app is free and supports Android and iOS. Maybe you’d like to check that out? https://myzigzagart.com/
    If you may also check our channel on YouTube(MyZigzagArt),you’ll find a video showing how to use it.

    Reply
  • Hi 😊 thanks for the tutorial! Have you ever experimented with hair spray or something like a spray varnish after finishing to help with sealing the design and durability? I’ve just finished a few for a friend’s birthday, but she’s moving soon and I’m worried about the nails bending or coming out. I’ve never used resin before and gone for a very rustic style using log slices and brass nails so don’t really want to do anything to change the aesthetic too much.
    Thank you for any advice you may be able to give!

    Reply
    • Hi and thank you for your appreciation! Never tried hair spray or similar. At the moment, none of my projects has broken, and they all have passed through at least one house move. If you just handle your string art with care like any fragile object, it’ll just be fine. When I store the Christmas themed one each year, I wrap them in bubble wrap for extra safety. My main concern would not be about the nails, if you choose a good sturdy base. Check that your thread has the right tension between the nails, so it doesn’t come off because too loose. I hope this can help you, for any other questions I am here!

      Reply
  • It was quite useful….. throw more light on dealing with words and letter designs..and also a video of hiding the loose ends will be much appreciated

    Reply
    • Thank you so much! Your suggestions are highly appreciated! I’ll come back with more content on that matter as soon as I can. Thank you again!

      Reply

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