PHASES OF THE MOON

DIFFICULTY:

When planning a moon project, I knew it couldn’t just be a circle because there would be nothing to point out that it’s meant to be the moon. Having all its phases in this piece really highlights the intended design. The white string on black stain is so striking! Just for the record, the names of the phases shown, from left to right, are waxing crescent, first quarter half, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter half, and waning crescent.

Materials

Pine board: 1"× 8" (2.5cm × 20.5cm), cut to 38" (96.5cm) long and stained (Shown: Minwax Express Color in Onyx)

5⁄8" (1.6cm) silver nails

Size 10 crochet thread in 1 color (Shown: White)

7 photocopies of pattern (page 49)

2 sets of picture-hanging hardware

4 felt furniture pads

Tools: Hammer, needle-nose pliers

Basic supplies: Superglue, scissors, transparent tape, painter’s tape, ruler, thumbtacks, pen

Techniques Used

Preparing a board (page 8)

Applying a nail pattern (page 9)

Stringing basics (pages 10–11)

Finished Size (h × w)

7.5" × 38" (19cm × 96.5cm)

  1. Start by preparing your patterns. You’ll notice that all the moon phases have been incorporated into one pattern. Make several copies of the pattern and shade in a different phase on each pattern; this eliminates any chance of putting nails in the wrong holes. Then, cut out each phase from its pattern. Cutting them out makes it much easier to position them equally spaced.
  2. Measure your board and start with the full moon in the center. On my 38" (96.5cm) board, this put the center of my full moon at 19" (48.5cm). Be sure it’s centered from top to bottom as well and tape down your pattern.
  3. Add the rest of the phases by measuring to each side from the full moon. I spaced my phases 1" (2.5cm) apart. When spacing, I measure from the nail marks on the pattern. This is why cutting the phases out helps, because as the phases get smaller, they take up less space. If we were to evenly space the full pattern, the spacing would get farther apart. Continue working until all the phases have been secured to your board.
  4. Begin nailing! Because I hammer with my right hand and hold the nails with my left, I like to start on the right side of the board, working my way left. This way my left hand is not resting on nails the whole time. Once your phase designs are complete, remove the pattern paper and debris.
  5. Tie on with your white crochet thread, sealing the knot with glue. Fill each phase, trying to keep the density of your strings consistent throughout each. Be sure to seal your knots. Don’t worry, you can always add more string later if one phase seems less dense.
  6. Since this project is so wide, using two sawtooth picture hangers will keep it from going crooked on your wall. To position the hangers on the back side, I like to measure 4" (10cm) in from the edge and 1" (2.5cm) down from the top. Don’t forget to put felt pads on the lower back corners to keep it sitting flush. Sign and date your work. This was a big one!

PHASES OF THE MOON PATTERN

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