String Art-Part Four- Curves and Wings

After months of work, I have finished my gigantic string art project. 

The last stage of the Hylian Crest design was the wings and triforce.

The triforce is created by making parabola curves using the sides of the triangle. Follow the pattern below for each corner, on each of the three triangles.

For the wings, all you have to do is start at the top inside corner and make rays. Inside corner to top outer corner, down one nail, back to the inside corner. Then to the next outside nail, down one, and back. Just keep following that pattern until you get to the inside bottom of the wings.

The final piece is to finish the curved part of the wings. You can use a similar technique to make any curve or even a full circle. You start the string at one end of the curve, then move to the middle nail, over one, then to the second nail of the curve. It's easier to understand if see it then read it, so here is a diagram of the pattern. Basically, you start at one side of the curve and eventually end back at the center of the curve.

For this design, I actually continued a bit after the center to finish the straight side of the wing shape. If you wanted to make a complete circle you follow the same basic pattern. Pick a point to start, move the nail directly opposite and the continue from there.

So without further ado, here is shot of the full, completed design.

This ended up being a much larger project than I expected. Not in size, obviously because I chose that when I started, but in time and materials. I ended up using twice as many nails as I expected and making runs to the store for more thread, both the blue and gold. All together I used 5 skeins of the blue embroidery floss, between a third to a half spool of the silver, and around two and a half spools of the gold thread.

For the most part, everything went according to plan. I had a few issues with loose nails. I know I mentioned in a previous post that I had a much easier time with some nails than others. I don't know if using a different type of board for the backing would have been easier or if I just need more practice with hammering. When I was working on the wings, a couple of the corner nails came loose and caused me to have to redo that section.

To fix it, I put a small amount of glue on the nail, then hammered them back into place. After the glue dried they seemed much more stable.

For now, it is propped up on a bookshelf in our dining room but the plan has always been to hang it behind the couch in the living room. The question now it, what's the best way to hang it, to ensure it doesn't fall and hit our friends in the head. We are considering simply screwing it straight to the wall. I can't think of any type of hooks that seem strong enough to hold the weight of the board.

String Art- Part Three

The Zelda string art is starting to look awesome. At this point, I have everything done except for the wings. This post will show you how to complete the hilt and blade of the Master Sword. Check out my previous posts for a refresher on the basics and to see how I created the design.

The sword blade is a fairly simple chevron pattern. When I was still in the planning stages I doodled several different designs before deciding on this one. I also sketched it out on the template to double check the pattern before starting.

Start at the top left-hand side of the blade and follow the pattern on the diagram above. 

Left, center, right, down one, center, left, down one, center, right, etc. until you reach the bottom. 

Then just work your way around the outside to create an outline. I only wrapped the thread around about every third nail to anchor it.

The handle of the hilt follows a similar pattern but creating an X instead of a V.

Follow the above pattern to make three X's along the hilt and then create an outline around it as well.

As I mentioned previously, I'm trying to create three levels within the design so I tried to keep the threads towards the center of the nails.

For the blue parts of the design, I used regular cotton DMC embroidery floss, color number 3842. I used approximately 5 skeins. The silver parts are DMC Metallic in silver. Since it comes in a much larger spool I only used a small portion of the whole.

DIY String Art- Part Two- Basics

I finally managed to finish putting in all the nails for my string art so I could get started on the actual string part. I had a lot of trouble with the nails, I'm not experienced enough with this to know if using different nails or a different type of board would have made things easier. I find it more likely that I just need more practice with nails.

Part of what I like about string art is that it makes cool shadows so I wanted to use nails that were long enough to let the string sit above the board. My plan is to place the string for various parts of the design at different heights on the nails so that everything looks like it is layered. I used a longer nail length to accommodate this as well as places where I need to wrap the thread around a single nail multiple times.

These are the nails I used as well as pliers to help hold the nails while you hammer.

As I worked I was constantly re-evaluating the placement and number of nails. I've created a pattern that you can download to re-create my design. The red dots show the placement of the nails. There are a few spots where I made changes as I worked and those are marked in green.

 I will post it A.S.A.P.  but right now I am experiencing technical difficulties with my scanner.

After placing all the nails the next step is to remove the paper pattern. At this point I had a few nails that tried to pull out with the paper, especially in the area where the paper was taped together, so be careful. I was able to re-hammer each one as I went.  Finding the right placement later could be difficult.

The first step is to attach your string to a nail, just wrap it around and tie a knot. You can also add a drop of glue to help seal the knot. Just dab it on the knot and press in the cut end of the thread.

The most basic string art designs are outlines and solid filled patterns.  I'll start with outlining even though I'm not using it until the second stage of my design. All you do is wrap the thread around the nails in the same direction to make a single outline.

If you want a double outline, turn around at the end and wrap each nail again from the opposite direction.

I started with the shield because I want it to look like it is in the back, so the other colors will be layered on top. To fill in an area all you need to do is wrap the string in a random pattern until you get the desired amount of color. I went for a sort of medium fill level, some might want a more solid color, some might want to let more wood show through.

While you work, be sure to keep the string at a uniform height on the nails so that the string makes a level surface. Since I want to create layers of string I tried to keep this layer toward the bottom of the nails.

I used regular hand embroidery thread for this part of the design. What you see in the picture below is one skeins worth. I have another on hand but will likely need to purchase a third to be able to completely finish this portion of the design.

I will post book reviews in two weeks, hopefully with a few extra to make up for missing last months. Then hopefully I will have the shield and sword finished and ready to share for the next post.

DIY String Art- Part One- Design

String art is really popular right now but searching for ideas can be disappointing. You seem to find two basic types of sites either very generic patterns without a lot of detail(like the left) or more elaborate patterns with links to where you can buy the finished product not make your own. (as on the right) Both are very cool but if, like me, you'd like to know more about creating your own read on.

                                

 I've been working a string art piece to fill a large empty wall in our house  and thought I'd walk you through the entire process. By the end, you should not only be able to recreate my design exactly if you like but also come up with your own awesome creation.

The first step is to choose a design. String art uses the mathematical concept of creating curves with straight lines. (You can read more about it on websites here and here. )The best designs are going to be either entirely geometric or a combo of straight and curved lines. I decided to make a design using the Hylian crest and master sword from the Legend of Zelda. We have a very large empty space above our couch so I decide to use a base that was 4 foot by 4 foot. I'm sure that there's a variety of ways to get your design transferred to your base I'll walk you through my method and all the pros and cons for it.

I first created the design I wanted by layering some elements in Photoshop but I had problems when I tried to increase the size in that program. By the time it was large enough to fill the space I wanted the design had become much too pixelated and blurry to be useful. So I decided to use a projector to trace the design. The first step involved taping sheets of paper together to get a large enough piece for the design. I also ran into issues with this method. If I printed the design larger, it was easier to get it sized correctly and in focus but I could only fit a portion of it under the projector at once. It was very difficult to get the parts to line up by raising and lowering the projector. When I attempted to print it small enough the entire design fit on the projector at one time I could either get it in focus or large sized but not both at once.

I finally managed to get one-half transferred well and then took advantage of the large picture window at my Mom's house to trace the other half.

Once you have your design the next step is to think about the pattern of lines you want to use in order to figure out your nail placement. I did this mostly by doodling parts of the design and later drawing directly on my template to try things out. I'll talk more about the details of my design when I post about the actual order to wrap the string but when you look at the template you will see there are some lines that have no nails at all because they are created by the string between other points.

I tried to use a variety of patterns on the different parts of my design. The pattern you use will determine nail placement. For the shield areas, I am using a random all-over design so the edges have nails about every half-inch. The sword blade has a chevron with half-inch on the outside edge and I think it was one and a half inches down the center. The handle also has nails every half-inch on the outside, less down the center. There actually end up being some closer together just to help define the shape. I am doing a simple outline on the handle so I needed a nail anywhere the handle turned. The triforce has nails every half-inch on each side of every triangle and so on. I will post the template for download so you can see the exact placement but I wanted to give a general idea for those trying to create their own unique spin.

Once you have the template and design all figured out its time to get your base ready. I am using a 47 by 47-inch sheet of pine plywood. I sanded it down a bit and painted it with flat black spray paint.

At this point, I am still working on getting all the nails placed. I have been waylaid by a variety of things such as cleaning up branches that fell during storms. I've also spent this last week fighting an ear infection so I hope that everything in this post makes sense. Feel free to ask questions in the comments if you need clarification, as I get to feeling better I should be able to make more sense.

You simply put a nail at each point marked on the template. They need to be deep enough to hold firmly but not so deep you don't have space to wrap the string around later. Ideally, everything should be in straight even lines and the all the nails at the same height.

I gave up on this because I realized that with the number of nails I needed to hammer in if I worried about perfection I'd never be done. Because of the type of board, I'm using some of the nails have gone in super easily while other require more hammering. At this point, I've used a box and a half of nails, worked for around 3 hours total and have a little more than a quarter of the design hammered in.

Dog Bandana

It has been a great weekend for Gil. I had the day off Friday and we went for a walk at the park with my parents. After his excitement on Wednesday, he was pleased to meet some well-behaved dogs out walking with their own people as well. Made him feel better about life in general, restored his faith in dogmanity or something like that. Then I spent the afternoon making him a bandana.

DIY Dog Bandana

Materials:

1/2 yard cotton fabric
Matching thread
Paper for template

Step One: Make a template

I actually used a template that I found on this blog. The instructions said to enlarge it 200% but when I did it looked much too big, so I made another at 150%. All you need to do is make a triangle as long as you want the bandana from top to point plus a few inches on top to make a pocket. The length needs to be big enough to fit around your dog's neck.

The red line shows the pattern I made at 200% the blue 150%

Step Two: Cut fabric

I actually made my bandana slightly different than the previous tutorial suggested. The template is made to be placed on a fold, both along the side and one top so that it makes it's own lining. I cut it with a fold only on the side.

Step Three: Sew Edges

Fold each edge over a quarter inch and iron, then fold over again. Stitch all the way around the edges.

Step Four: Fold Over and Sew Pocket

Fold the top section in down and sew it in place.

Even with the template being made smaller it still turned out a little big on Gil. I'm not sure what happened. I think maybe it got enlarged some already when I first printed it. But since I didn't have it made for Easter this year and Gil is still growing, I didn't want it to look to small and silly next year.

I really think this fabric is cute. The dog in bunny ears is my favorite and I like the fact that you can find the dog that stepped in the dye and made all the footprints.

I also worked a daytime shift on Saturday (usually I work the evening/closing shift) so Gil didn't have to be kenneled while my husband went to his game night. We had a very nice evening hanging out in the backyard, enjoying the nice weather.

Then yesterday, we grilled for the first time since we adopted Gil. He had a lot of fun hanging out with us both outside and smelling meat. We didn't share this time because we were having steaks but maybe next time. He did get to have a special treat of Dogsters ice-cream. He LOVED it!

We also had some nice clouds to enjoy while we cooked.

Child Shirt to Dog Shirt

This weekend we had another dog play date, taking Gil to my brother-in-laws to meet their German Shepard, Toph. She's not used to having other dogs in the house and is quite a bit bigger than Gil but everything went pretty well. They shared toys and treats so that was good. Gil also seems to be getting better with car rides because he didn't whine at all this trip.

We learned that he really likes frisbees and would rather fetch that than a tennis ball. I'm also excited because he's finally learning how to tell us he needs to go outside. We got a bell for our front door and he seems to be doing well ring that. Since he has a short coat and doesn't seem to like being out when it's chilly we decided to make him a shirt even though he will grow out of it soon so that we can start getting him used to it. At the same time, we didn't want to spend a lot of money so we used a child's t-shirt, Star Wars so that he looks super cool when riding around in the Imperial Truck.

Materials:

1 Kids T-Shirt (I used a size 2X)
Paper for pattern
Velcro
Thread to match shirt color

Step One: Measure your dog. 

You will need to know how long they are along the back, how big around the tummy, and around the neck. I had to get help to hold Gil still long enough to measure and even then he made it difficult by squirming around. Hopefully, as he gets older and better trained that sort of thing will become easier. His measurements were 13 on the back, 18 around his belly, and 10 around the neck.

Step Two: Make a pattern and test the size.

I used this tutorial from Sew Doggy Style to make my pattern. Again, I needed help to try it on because Gil didn't want to sit still.

Step Three: Align pattern with the shirt and cut out.

Measure the design on the shirt to find the center and fold the shirt in half. Try to line everything up so that the curve on the pattern matches up with the collar on the shirt.

Depending on the size you may need to make a few adjustments, I needed to add a bit onto the shoulders to make that pattern fit. You should be able to cut both the front and back at the same time. Be sure to add a little bit for the seam allowance.

Step Four: Cut and Sew Belly Straps

Use the extra fabric from the shirt to cut the straps. Sew the straps and turn them right side out. Iron flat.

Step Five: Sew Shirt

Place the right sides together and pin the straps in place. The straps will be inside. Sew most of the way around then turn everything right side out.

 I actually forgot to pin the straps in at this point and had to sew them on later. I figure since he will outgrow this shirt soon the seams showing isn't a big deal, plus he's always moving so no one is likely to notice. Iron everything flat and sew the opening closed. I decided to put the opening at the neck because it seemed like he'd be less likely to chew at the seam there but I'm not sure how much difference it really makes.

This shows where the straps should have been sewn on.

This is the front view of where I sewed them on after. You don't really even see it because the strap ends up under his belly.

Step Six: Add Velcro Closures

Sew velcro along either side of the neck opening and on either belly strap, making sure they overlap correctly.

Belly Straps

Neck Closure

Finished Shirt

After trying it on Gil it looks like I needed to overlap the straps more to make it really fit correctly but he still looked adorable. It just means he can still grow into the shirt a bit. We only left it on long enough to get a few pictures because he's never worn anything besides his collar. We can work up to longer times gradually to help him get used to wearing things.

You can really see how it's slipping down around his shoulders in the bottom pictures.