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	String Art Flower

See the String Chapter for more instructions, hints, tips, and ideas.

The flower in the photo above, took 36 feet of green for the large leaf, 13 feet of green for the small leaf, 6 feet of orange for the small bud at the bottom, 45 feet of red for the flower petals, and 4 feet of yellow for the center of the flower. These measurements contain a little extra so you shouldn't run short.

Hint: Use film canisters to hold the string so it doesn't get tangled. Put one end of the string inside the canister, then put on the lid. Then wind the remainder of the string around the outside of the canister.

1. Cut out the piece of wood, sand the edges smooth.
2. Center the pattern on the wood and put in one nail at the top and one at the bottom of the pattern to hold it in place. Nails should be driven in until 1/4 inch of the nail remains above the wood.
3. Put a nail at every point indicated by the pattern.
4. Remove pattern.
5. Straighten nails with needle nose pliers if necessary.
6. Paint (I prefer white because it makes most colors stand out. Use whatever will look good. Let paint dry thoroughly.)
7. Tie thread on first nail.
8. Follow pattern to complete design using the illustrations below.
9. Tie thread on last nail.
10. Place a small drop of glue on knots to hold them tight. You might want to use a toothpick to apply the glue.
11. Cut off excess thread.
12. Put hanger on the back

Make sure that the string is always kept tight.

Leaf Pattern

Start by tying (use a square knot) the string to one of the nails. Put a drop of glue on the knot, let it dry and trim off excess thread. Next run the thread UNDER the top nail on the right side. The string then is looped OVER the second nail on the left side. Continue until you get to the last nail (bottom right). Tie the string around the last nail with a square knot. Put a drop of glue on the knot, let it dry and trim off excess thread.

By looping the string UNDER the nails on the right and OVER the nails on the left, you keep the string from crossing and the results look neater.

Bud Pattern

Start at A and follow the red pattern until you get down to B. Make sure the string loops around the center column of nails is pushed down toward the wood. This will make it easier when working the other side of the flower bud. Now wrap the string around the B nail and continue with the blue pattern until you get down to C.

Petal Pattern

Start the flower petals like in the illustration for the Leaf Pattern above. When you get to the bottom nail, wrap it around the nail one time and continue with the next petal of the flower. As you work, push the string down on the nail. This will make working the next petal easier by giving you more room to wrap the next layer of string.

Flower Center Started	Flower Center Completed

Do the center of the flower last. Since there are twelve petals, we will talk about the flower center like it is a clock. Start by tying the string to the nail at 6 o'clock. Put a drop of glue on the knot, but DO NOT trim off the excess string. Now follow this pattern:

When you finish it should look like the pattern on the right above. Tie the two ends of the string together.