Why string art is the grandmother of prick and stitch card making

Way back in the swinging 1960s I was given a string art kit for Christmas. The kit had silver string, black felt for the background, a backing board and lots of nails. The picture was a sailing boat. I had great fun making the picture and it hung proudly in the hall for many years.

The string art picture usually starts with the design printed on paper. This is placed on a backing board and small nails hammered in the positions marked. The paper is removed and coloured strings are wound around the nails to form the pattern.

String art picture making is believed to have been the inspiration for prick and stitch card making. The main connection being the way the picture is formed by long threads that go backwards across the picture. Pricked holes take the place of the nails with the thread going in and out of holes rather than around the nails.

I guess that it was nostalgia that led me to start the String Art Fun web site. When it came to designing string art patterns I found my experience with prick and stitch card patterns came in handy.

If you fancy trying your hand at string art there are several free patterns on the String Art Fun web site.

A boat from the String Art web site.
A boat from the String Art web site.

Do you remember any string art patterns from years ago? If so let me know by adding a comment to this post.

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