FOLLOW YOUR ARROW

DIFFICULTY:

Here’s a fun, simple shape that looks fantastic in string: the humble arrow. The project variations you could do with this pattern are endless; I’m choosing to do a stack of five. What’s fun about this project is that all the arrows appear the same at first glance, but upon closer inspection you can spot the differences in the arrow heads and tails.

Materials

Pine board: 1" × 12" (2.5cm × 30.5cm), cut to 16" (40.5cm) long and painted with white acrylic craft paint (see step 1)

5⁄8" (1.6cm) silver nails

Embroidery floss in 5 colors (Shown: DMC 924/Very Dark Gray Green, 415/Pearl Gray, 729/Medium Old Gold, 891/Dark Carnation, 3787/Dark Brown Gray)

5 photocopies of pattern (page 52)

Picture-hanging hardware

2 felt furniture pads

Tools: Hammer, needle-nose pliers

Basic supplies: Superglue, scissors, transparent tape, ruler, pencil

Techniques Used

Preparing a board (page 8)

Applying a nail pattern (page 9)

Stringing basics (pages 10–11)

Double-wrap technique (page 13)

Finished Size (h × w)

11.25" × 16" (28.5cm × 40.5cm)

  1. I wanted a whitewashed look for my board for this project, so I watered down white paint. I applied about three layers, making sure to wipe off any drips on the sides.
  2. Cut out your arrows so they are easier to work with. Place the center arrow first. Measure your board from top to bottom and find the middle—for me this was just above 5.5" (14cm). This is where the center line of your middle arrow will go. To be sure it’s straight, make sure to measure from the edge of your board to the center line of your arrow in two different spots. The farther apart, the better. Be sure the arrow is centered from the sides as well. Tape the middle arrow to the board.
  3. Working from the center arrow, measure equally outward to add the rest. Choose your spacing distance and be sure to measure again from two places on the arrow to the next arrow, to keep them parallel. I chose a spacing distance of about 13⁄4" (4.5cm) and to alternate the direction each arrow pointed. Tape down the arrows.
  4. Once your arrows are attached and look good from a distance, hammer nails through the pattern. This is when you can customize the heads and tails. Draw your ideas in pencil on the pattern, connecting the dots and circling which nail marks you’ll need to hit. Once you’ve finished adding the nails, remove the paper and debris.
  5. Add the string, remembering to seal your knots. These arrows won’t take much string at all, and they are definitely a candidate for the double-wrap technique (I may have even done a triple-wrap at times). I recommend tying onto a nail in the center, as the head and tail of each arrow end up with a lot of layers. I chose to only do outlines on this project, though you could easily fill the arrow head and tail with zigzagging string if you like.
  6. Attach picture-hanging hardware and felt pads and sign and date your work.

FOLLOW YOUR ARROW PATTERN

Enlarge at 200%.