String Art Studio

Single-thread string art pattern generator. Everything runs locally — your image never leaves this device.

1 · Image

Presets set every Prep slider at once (still adjustable):
Crop · rotate · zoom

2 · Prep image

Grayscale (channel mixer)
Background
Wrong subject? Use the ＋ Subject / － Background brushes above the pictures, then it re-runs.
Tone (local contrast & levels)
Detail & edges
Simplify
Importance (where detail matters)
Paint with ★ Importance over eyes, mouth, etc. The generator spends more thread there.

3 · Frame & thread

× (W × H)
Higher = the generator avoids lines that cross white areas (cleaner background, crisper subject). 0 = the 1.0 behaviour.
Load an image to begin.
Brush
Before — original photo in the frame
After prep — what the generator aims for
Simulated string result — squint or step back
No pattern yet.
Printing: choose Letter, scale 100% / Actual size (not “Fit to page”). Measure the 1-inch square before hammering. If Print does nothing, use the Save printable buttons and print that file.
Step list
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How to build it

  1. Prep the photo first: pick a preset (Portrait, Pet, Logo, Landscape, High Detail), check the After prep picture, then Generate. Busy backgrounds and similar-brightness colours are the usual reason a picture comes out muddy — the Background fade and Auto mix fix most of that.
  2. Board: default is an 8×10 rectangle with nails inset 0.5 in, so it fits an 8×10 frame. Use a white or light board for black thread (dark board if you used Invert with white thread).
  3. Template: print the nail template at 100%, check the 1-inch square, tape pages together using the ⊕ alignment crosses if it's tiled, and line it up on the board (dashed board-edge line / center cross).
  4. Nails: drive small nails or brads (≈ ¾–1 in, thin heads) at every dot, all to the same height (leave ~¼–⅜ in standing). Tear the paper away; pencil the bold every-10th numbers onto the board edge.
  5. Numbering: circle — peg 0 is at the top. Square/rectangle — peg 0 is the top-left corner. Numbers always increase clockwise.
  6. Thread: black thread on a white/light board unless inverted. Tie off at the first peg, then follow the list: run the thread straight to the next peg and wrap once around it. Keep tension steady.
  7. Track progress with the printed checklist or Follow-along mode. Tie off at the last peg and dab glue on the knots.