If you've been on Pinterest for more than a day, then you've probably come across today's trending do-it-yourself project: typographic nail and yarn (or string) art. With so many different fonts, words, and even silhouettes, the possibilities are endless! I was first inspired to try my hand at it when I saw this sign made by the bride and groom of one of my favorite weddings on the lovely blog, Green Wedding Shoes:
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| Photo Courtesy: Green Wedding Shoes |
I loved how bright, colorful, and BIG their sign was! So over a year ago, I went out an bought five spools of yarn to make my own. Well, you know what they say about good intentions... The yarn sat in a box under my bed for the past year. It wasn't until I pulled the box out to find sellable items for a yard sale that I rediscovered the yarn and rekindled my desire to finally finish this project!
I was too eager to start the project to hunt down tutorials, so I decided to wing it. I never know how projects will turn out when I make them up as I go along, but this time around, I was pleased as punch with the final result. If you're a do-it-by-the-books kind of guy or gal, here's a tutorial to break it down for you!
What you'll need:
- A large wooden plank or board (this was actually an old shelf!)
- Yarn (1/3 spool per letter)
- Hammer
- Nails or Wire Brads (for reference, I used 5 boxes of 1 1/4" wire brads at $1.29/box)
- Optional: Printer (you can also hand-design or trace your letters)
Step 1: Make and print out the letters. I made a screen capture of each letter first, then brought each .JPG letter into Microsoft Word to size them. This turned out to be a lot easier than trying to use 900+ sized fonts directly in Microsoft Word. Each letter filled a piece of standard printer paper, and I used a free internet font called Couture (which you can download here).
Step 2: Start nailing! First, I put a nail in the corners and points of the letter. Next, I evenly spaced nails on the border between each corner. I spaced the nails about one inch apart: the length of my thumb-tip to first knuckle. The perfectionist in me was initially compelled to use a ruler, but as you'll see once you start to string, there's absolutely no need for perfect spacing.
Step 3: After nailing the whole letter border, peel off the piece of paper. I was worried that it would leave behind tiny bits of paper, but they were few and far between, as well as easy to pull out.
And last but not least...
Step 4: Tie the end of the yarn to a nail, and get your yarn on! I used a single piece of yarn for each letter, alternating between stringing willy-nilly in the middle of the letter and stringing meticulously around the edges of the letter. Alternating between these two modes gives the letter a three-dimensional quality (see below). When it comes to stringing willy-nilly, there's really no rhyme, nor reason; you just want to be sure that the string density is even throughout the letter, as well as consistent with the other letters.
And voila! The sign took the better part of a Saturday afternoon, but it was well worth the effort. It bears the name of my co-op, a portmanteau of Rand (as we live on Rand St) and Ranch (as we're somewhat an urban ranch). The sign lives on the mantle overlooking the dining room table, and not one guest has dined with us without commenting on it!
Here are some more projects to get your wheels turning:
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bottom left: etsy by betsy | bottom right: butler life
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Th-th-that's all folks! See you next Saturday for more crafty goodness.
