Portrait Classics: 9 printable string art patterns

Nine string art portraits of classic paintings and historic photographs. Print the template, tape it to a board, nail through the dots, and follow the numbered winding order with one black thread.

Digital download · $5

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Buy the pack · $5

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Get the free Mona Lisa pattern to try one first.

String art preview of Girl with a Pearl Earring — Girl with a Pearl Earring

String art preview of Mona Lisa — Mona Lisa

String art preview of Van Gogh, Self-Portrait (1887) — Van Gogh, Self-Portrait (1887)

String art preview of Abraham Lincoln (1863) — Abraham Lincoln (1863)

String art preview of Mark Twain (1907) — Mark Twain (1907)

String art preview of Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1659) — Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1659)

String art preview of Lady with an Ermine — Lady with an Ermine

String art preview of Frederick Douglass (c. 1879) — Frederick Douglass (c. 1879)

String art preview of Nikola Tesla (c. 1890) — Nikola Tesla (c. 1890)

The images are computer renderings of the finished patterns, not photos of built pieces.

What's in each pattern

A full-size nail template for a 50 cm (19.7 in) circle with 390 nails, tiled across 9 US Letter or A4 sheets, with row and column labels and a 100 mm scale bar to check the print size.
The complete winding sequence: 1,695 to 3,811 lines, depending on the portrait.
The thread color (DMC 310 Black) and length: 746 to 1,538 m per piece.
The nail order as a plain text file, and a preview of the finished piece.

Each guide comes as a US Letter PDF and an A4 PDF, 14 to 18 pages each. The pack also has a start-here PDF with the materials list and step-by-step build instructions.

First page of a guide: frame, nails, lines, thread and a preview — Guide page 1

A template sheet with numbered nail dots and a 100 mm scale bar — Template sheet

A winding sequence page listing step numbers and nail numbers — Winding sequence

How much thread?

Portrait	Lines	Thread
Girl with a Pearl Earring	2,947	1,116 m	1,220 yd
Mona Lisa	2,173	973 m	1,064 yd
Van Gogh, Self-Portrait (1887)	2,266	895 m	979 yd
Abraham Lincoln (1863)	1,695	763 m	834 yd
Mark Twain (1907)	3,454	1,228 m	1,343 yd
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1659)	3,811	1,538 m	1,682 yd
Lady with an Ermine	3,529	1,362 m	1,489 yd
Frederick Douglass (c. 1879)	2,081	836 m	914 yd
Nikola Tesla (c. 1890)	1,766	746 m	816 yd

Lengths include 10% for knots and winding. An 8 m skein of floss won't go far, so buy thread on a cone or large spool.

You'll need

A 50 cm (20 in) round board at least 12 mm thick: plywood, MDF or cork.
390 small nails, about 1.2 × 16 mm, and a small hammer.
Black thread: DMC 310 six-strand floss or a strong black polyester or cotton thread.
A printer, scissors and tape.

The file

One ZIP file (20.6 MB) with a folder per portrait, the start-here PDF, a README and the license.

License

You get a personal, non-exclusive license to use the files in your own projects. You may not resell or redistribute the files. See our terms and refund policy.

Image credits

All source images are in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.

Girl with a Pearl Earring: Johannes Vermeer. Public domain. Source
Mona Lisa: Leonardo da Vinci. Public domain. Source
Van Gogh, Self-Portrait (1887): Vincent van Gogh. Public domain. Source
Abraham Lincoln (1863): Alexander Gardner. Public domain. Source
Mark Twain (1907): A.F. Bradley, New York. Public domain. Source
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1659): Rembrandt. Public domain. Source
Lady with an Ermine: Leonardo da Vinci. Public domain. Source
Frederick Douglass (c. 1879): George Kendall Warren. Public domain. Source
Nikola Tesla (c. 1890): Napoleon Sarony. Public domain. Source