Nautical String Art

String Art is a beautiful way to make wall art with as much or as little details as you desire.

In my recent travels, I saw some nautical string art that I thought had a great look. I decided to take a picture of it and then see if I could recreate it at home. Because I cannot help myself.

I love creating string art because you can get an interesting amount of details from just weaving the string. Not only the colors add details but the way the string is weaved can help bring the art together. The string can create long lines, a basket weave type design, or a chaotic mess with no rhyme or reason. I often find myself using that last design.

Check out the Craft section of MCG for more fun patterns in strings and things or more unlimited ideas. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think and how the pattern works for you!

Supplies

For the nautical string art, I used the following:

• 1 Hammer
• 1 Pencil and Eraser

• 1 Wood Slab
• 1 Pack Nails
• 3 Skeins White Embroidery Thread
• 3 Skeins Brown Embroidery Thread

I listed 3 skeins of each color because I did not measure how many exact skeins that I used. The amount of embroidery threads used change even when replicating a project too. How you wind the threads can change the amount that is being used.

Process

Creating an Outline

The first step of the project is creating an outline on the wood slab. I started by drawing the image that I want on top of the wood. This helps get the proportions of the image on the canvas just right. Since I was going nautical, I drew the board on the wood slab. I actively decided not to stain the wood because I really felt that the raw wood looks more nautical.

Once the outline is drawn, it’s time to hammer some nails into the wood. I try to place the nails about a half an inch apart from each other. This process does depend on the image. For the nautical boat, I actually placed the nails a little closer to each other for the hull of the boat because I wanted to have more points to create more coverage.

Winding Embroidery Thread (White)

I started with the white embroidery thread because I wanted the sails to be behind the mast and the hull. If I did the brown embroidery thread first, the edges of the image wouldn’t be as crisp or have such strong lines at the end.

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I wanted to create long lines to emulate the sails. To do this, I started at one point on the mast, went to one point at the top of the hull, back to the mast, then to the next point on the hull, and so on. After I covered a decent amount of area, I moved one point down the mast and repeated the process on that point.

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I continued in the like just moving slowly down the mast until all of the mast points were covered. I kind of just went with a feel and watched how it looked when I matched the mast to the hull.

Winding Embroidery Thread (Brown)

When it came to winding the hull, I did not use as much as precision or method. I just wanted to cover the whole area to create the proper image. This is where my chaotic mess design came in. I did start with the mast, trying to create a full line before moving down to the hull.

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The other thing I did was cover the inside of the hull before creating a final outline along the edge of the hull. I felt like this created the cleaner images that I wanted for the nautical string art. Doing the outline last will help make those sharp edges and help solidify the image. Doing it the other way makes the chaos a little more noticeable.

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Reflections

I love string art. It feels like such a simple project, but it can create an amazing image. I will say this project is probably a little more difficult that I give it credit for because wrapping the thread around the nails can be more delicate work. Especially because you do not want to split the embroidery thread over the nails. But it is a project I do enjoy.

Lessons

Hiding the Ends

The embroidery thread was tied to a nail at the start and end of each skein. Instead of cutting the loose end, I tried to weave them into the project. This helps keep the knot taught and prevents any unraveling.

Quick Recipe