How to make string art

Create a thrifty, threaded canvas to display around the house. No sewing required!

Give an old cork memo board some love by turning it into a bright canvas creation.

A white wash of paint will make it as good as new and create a base for your work of art. Weave together colourful string on your polished board to make this lovely heart-shaped pattern. The design process is a bit intricate, so this kids' craft is best suited for slightly older children. Plus, we wouldn't want any young tots pricking their hands on the pins!

The time and patience invested in making these pieces is well worth it - they're great as decorations around the home or handmade gifts for friends and loved ones.

You will need

  • Cork memo board
  • White acrylic paint
  • Paint brush
  • Heart template
  • Scissors
  • Blue tack
  • Map pins
  • Embroidery thread
  • Scissors

Step 1

Paint the surface and frame of the memo board with 2 coats of white acrylic paint and leave to dry.

Step 2

Print the heart template on A4 paper and cut out. Place it in the middle of the painted memo board and hold in place with some tiny blobs of blue tack.

Step 3

Place pins around the edge of the heart, about a finger space apart, making sure you don't pin the actual paper to the board. When you are finished, remove the paper heart.

Step 4

Starting anywhere you like, tie one end of a length of embroidery thread to a pin and pull the other end across, looping it around an opposite pin. Continue zig-zagging across the heart, then tie the end around a pin and trim with scissors.

Step 5

Repeat with other colour threads, building up layers of different colour zig-zag patterns.

Craft: by Suzie Attaway

Jessica Dady
Food Editor

Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 11 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies