A sun whose rays are single long threads to nails near the board's edgeFill the disc at random in orange. Each ray is one doubled thread in yellow, long and short by turns.
A lightning bolt outlined in yellow on a board painted blackSeven corner nails and a few between. Go round three times so the line reads from across a room.
MOM in three capitals, each filled in a different pinkOutline each letter in the darkest pink first. Fill the middle O last so it sits on top where letters touch.
A balloon filled in red criss-cross and tethered by one doubled thread to a lone nailFill the oval at random. Run one thread from its knot to a lone nail near the bottom of the board.
A broad arrow with an outlined shaft and a solid thread-filled headGo round the whole arrow twice in black. Then criss-cross inside the head only, in orange.
A crescent moon fanned from the single nail at its lower tipNail both curves. Tie white thread to the bottom tip and run it out to every other nail in turn.
A five-point star outlined twice and filled at random in one bright yellowNail the ten corners and a few between. Go round the outside twice, then criss-cross until it looks solid.
A house with a square door left bare of threadNail the house and the door. Wind red thread only between the two outlines, so the wood shows as the door.
A hub wheel: evenly spaced nails round a circle, each strung to the one straight acrossSpace the nails evenly. Each thread crosses the middle, so a bright hub builds up. One color is enough.
A sailboat whose white sail fans from the masthead nailTie on at the top of the mast and run to each nail along the boom. Fill the hull at random in red.
A watermelon slice: green thread between two rim rows, loose red criss-cross, bare gaps as seedsTwo rows of nails along the curved edge. Green goes between the rows; red fills the rest, loosely.
A white cloud with five loose rain threads falling to a row of nailsFill the cloud at random. Tie each rain thread from a nail under the cloud straight down, in pale blue.
One raindrop strung in three blues, the darkest thread lastA point at the top, a round base. Random fill in pale blue, mid blue, then a few dark strands.
Three mountain peaks in three grays with bare snowcapsNail three overlapping triangles and a zigzag line near each top. Fill below the zigzag only.
Your first initial as a block capital, filled in blue and then again in greenPrint the letter large and nail along its edges. Fill at random in blue, then add a thinner green layer.
Hearts, initials and dates for a gift 12
A birth date nailed in block numerals, each digit strung in its own thread colorPrint the digits large, with dots between. Outline each one twice before you fill it at random.
A door key with a move-in date nailed beneath itOutline the key in gold and leave the hole in its bow empty. Small numerals, outlined only, in white.
A family initial inside a ring: the letter filled, the ring outlined onlyNail a circle and a capital inside it. Fill the letter in navy and go round the ring three times in gold.
A graduation year in block numerals under an outlined capThe cap is a flat diamond with a tassel of loose threads. Fill the numerals in the school's two colors.
A heart fanned from the nail at its bottom point, red fading to pinkTie on at the point and run to every nail of the outline in red. Repeat with pink on every second nail.
A heart left as bare wood while the board round it is filledNail the heart and a square frame. Wind between frame and heart only, in white on a stained board.
A new baby's name in lower-case letters over one small starRound letters need nails close together. Use one soft color for the name and yellow for the star.
A paw print of five thread-filled pads above a pet's name in outline nailsOne large pad and four toes, each filled at random in black or brown. Outline the name only.
MOM in three capitals, each filled in a different pinkOutline each letter in the darkest pink first. Fill the middle O last so it sits on top where letters touch.
Two friends' initials nailed side by side and joined by a plus sign outlined in white threadThree shapes in a row. Fill the letters in two different colors and outline the plus sign only, in white.
The word HOME with a small heart standing in for the OBlock capitals in gray thread, random fill. The heart is red and fanned from its point.
Your home state filled in one thread color, with a bare-nail heart marking your townTrace the outline from a printed map. Fill the state in one color and leave the heart as bare nails.
Straight-line curves 16
A bare ring that appears inside a nail circle when every thread skips ten nailsSpace the nails evenly round the circle. Keep the same step all the way round, in teal. The ring appears by itself.
A billowing sail from one tall mast row and one boom rowJoin the mast top to the nail by the mast on the boom, then work down and outward. White thread, a blue board.
A cardioid: number the nails round a circle and string 1 to 2, 2 to 4, 3 to 6Number evenly spaced nails. String each to the nail with double its number, in red. The curve that forms is a cardioid.
A corner curve: two rows of nails at a right angle, first joined to lastNumber both rows. Join 1 on one row to the last nail on the other, then 2 to the next one in. One color.
A leaf from two corner curves set back to back along a center veinA middle row and a V of two outer rows. String each side toward the vein. Two greens.
A six-petal flower from six spokes, each neighboring pair strung as a curveSix rows of nails from one center. Join spoke to spoke, outer nail to inner. Alternate two colors.
A staircase of five small corner curves climbing the boardNail a zigzag of right angles from bottom left to top right. String each step in a different shade of blue.
A triangle with a curve in each corner and a rounded triangle of bare wood insideNail the three sides evenly. String each corner in turn. One color keeps it calm; three make it loud.
A tunnel of four nested squares, each with corner curves in a different neon threadLargest square first. Each smaller one sits inside the bare diamond left by the one before. Black board.
A wave border along the foot of the board from a zigzag of small anglesString every V as its own little curve, in three blues. The crests seem to roll to the right.
An X of two crossed rows strung into four curved wingsTreat each pair of neighboring arms as a corner curve. Use two colors, opposite wings alike.
Four corner curves in a square frame, leaving a curved-sided diamond of bare board in the middleNail all four sides evenly. String each corner as its own curve, all in white on a dark board.
The same corner curve strung three times in three colors, each layer shifted one nailWind the darkest first. Shift the start by one nail for each new color so the layers fan apart.
Squares inside a square, each turned a little, so the corners seem to twistWind each square as an outline only, in white. The straight sides line up into four spiral arms.
Three nail circles strung hub-style in three thread colors, overlapped so the hubs interlockString each circle to its opposite nails. Wind the back circle first and the front one last.
Two step patterns on one circle of nails, in two contrasting colorsWind the long step first in orange. Go round again with a short step in turquoise on top.
Nature and animals 12
A bee with a yellow body, black bands and outlined wingsFill the oval in yellow first. Wind black straight across between facing nails for the bands. Wings in white.
A butterfly strung in orange and yellow, each wing a thread fan from a nail on the bodyRun each wing's thread from a body nail to the nails of its outline. Top wings orange, lower wings yellow.
A cactus in a pot: green random fill above, a pot that is outline onlyTwo arms and a trunk make the cactus. Wind the pot three times round in terracotta and leave it empty.
A dandelion clock: seeds fanned from one center nail, a few drifting awayA stalk of green, a fan of white to a circle of nails, and three tiny fans set apart as flying seeds.
A feather with thread zigzagging from a center spine to both edgesNail the spine and the outline. Go spine, edge, spine, edge, changing from teal to purple halfway up.
A fox face with an orange fill, white cheeks and two black nail-head eyesNail the face and two cheek shapes. Fill the cheeks first in white, then the rest. Paint two nail heads black.
A maple leaf that shades from red at the stem to yellow at the tipsFill at random in red near the stem, orange across the middle and yellow last, overlapping each band.
A pine tree fanned from the top nail down to a row along its baseOne nail at the tip, a row at the bottom, a short trunk. Dark green first, then a few lighter strands.
A snail whose shell is a spiral row of nails with thread laid round and round itFollow the spiral from the center out and back in a second color. The body is a simple outline.
A sunflower with a brown criss-cross center and outlined petalsNail a circle and a ring of petal tips. Loop yellow thread out to each tip and back. Fill the center last.
A whale filled in deep-blue thread, its spout three white strands to an arc of nailsFill the body at random in deep blue. The spout threads run from one nail to three nails set in an arc.
An owl on a nailed branch, each eye a small yellow thread wheelEach eye is a small circle strung nail to opposite nail in yellow. Fill the body at random in brown.
Symbols and signs 12
A compass rose with four long points and four short ones fanned from the centerRun thread from the center nail to the nails of each point. Long points in red, short ones in gray.
A figure-eight ribbon strung in one unbroken thread, never tied off in the middleNail both edges of the ribbon shape. Zigzag between them all the way round in one unbroken gold thread.
A four-leaf clover built from four small hearts that meet at their pointsFan each leaf from the center nail in green. Add a curved stalk as a single doubled thread.
A lightning bolt outlined in yellow on a board painted blackSeven corner nails and a few between. Go round three times so the line reads from across a room.
A peace sign: the ring outlined, the three bars filledNail an inner and an outer circle for the ring. Wind between them, then fill the bars in the same color.
A plain cross outlined in white and filled at random in one quiet colorTwelve corner nails and a few between. Go round the outside twice, then criss-cross the inside.
A rainbow of five arcs, each zigzagged in thread between two curved rows of nailsSix curved rows make five bands. Zigzag each band in its own color and leave the ends open.
A silver-thread snowflake: six arms, each a fan from the center nail to a V of threeEach arm ends in a small V of three nails. Run silver thread from the center to all three, arm by arm.
A sun whose rays are single long threads to nails near the board's edgeFill the disc at random in orange. Each ray is one doubled thread in yellow, long and short by turns.
A treble clef in black thread on pale wood, outline onlyTrace a printed clef and set the nails close on the tight curls. Follow the line once; no fill at all.
An ampersand filled in copper threadThe crossing strokes need two rows of nails each. Fill at random and outline last to sharpen the edge.
An anchor in navy with a twisted rope of two threads looped round itOutline the anchor twice. Twist white and tan thread together and drape it from the ring to one fluke.
How it works
String art is colored thread strung between nails in a board. Each of these 64 string art ideas gives the outline to nail, the thread colors and the winding. The hammering is an adult's job.
Read the full guide
String art ideas for beginners
Most Beginner designs are built from three windings. Outline only: the thread goes round the outside nails. Random fill: it criss-crosses inside until little wood shows. Fan: every thread leaves from one nail.
Trippy string art ideas
Some in Straight-line curves are layered in several colors: three interlocked circles, a tunnel of nested squares in neon thread on a black board.
Hammering nails is an adult's job. A child can do the winding once the nails are in.
Questions and answers
What are easy string art ideas to start with?
A five-point star, a house with a bare door and a crescent moon fanned from one nail are three of the 27 under Beginner. The star is outlined and filled at random, the house is filled round its door, and the moon is one fan.
Are there cross string art ideas for beginners?
Yes, one. Symbols and signs has a plain cross: twelve corner nails and a few between, the outside gone round twice in white, then a random fill in one quiet color. It carries the Beginner mark.
Why do straight strings look curved?
Every thread is straight, but neighboring threads cross at slightly different angles, and the crossings read as a curve. The corner curve in Straight-line curves shows it with two rows of nails at a right angle.
Where did string art come from?
It has its origins in curve stitch activities invented in the late 19th century so that children could grasp mathematical ideas more easily. Kits and books made it a craft for decoration in the late 1960s.