Okay, so I decided to give this hammer and nail drawing thing a shot the other day. Saw some cool stuff online, looked kinda relaxing, you know? Something hands-on.
Getting Started
First thing, I needed some stuff. Dug around in the garage and found a decent piece of scrap wood. Nothing fancy, just a flat plank. Then I grabbed my small hammer – the light one, easier to control – and a box of small nails. Panel pins, I think they’re called. Thin ones. And of course, string. Had some leftover colored yarn from some other project, thought that would work.
I wasn’t feeling too ambitious for a first go. Decided on a simple heart shape. Just sketched it out lightly on the wood with a pencil. Looked okay, good enough to follow.
The Hammering Part
Alright, then came the hammering. This needed a bit of concentration. I started tapping the nails in along the pencil line. Trying to keep them straight up and spaced out kinda evenly. It’s harder than it looks to get them all the same height too. Let’s just say the hammer and my thumb had a brief, unfriendly meeting at one point. Ouch. But you push through, right?
Took a while, going around the whole heart. Tap, tap, tap. Made sure they were deep enough to be sturdy but still had enough sticking out to wrap the string around. Stood back and looked – yeah, looked like a heart made of nails.
Weaving the String
Now for the fun part, the string. I picked a bright red yarn. Tied the end onto one of the nails at the bottom point of the heart. A good double knot. Then I just started weaving. First, I ran the string all around the outside edge, nail to nail, just to define the shape clearly.
After outlining it, I began crisscrossing inside. From one nail, across the heart to another nail, then maybe to one nearby, then across again. No real plan here, just going by feel. Pulling the string taut, but not super tight. Watched the pattern fill in. It was actually pretty cool seeing it take shape. Kept it simple, all red this time.
- Tied the starting knot securely.
- Wrapped the outline first.
- Filled the inside by crisscrossing between nails.
- Kept the string tension fairly even.
The Finished Piece
Kept wrapping until I felt it looked full enough. Didn’t want it too dense, just enough to see the shape clearly filled with the red string. Found a nail near where I started, looped the string around a couple of times, tied another tight knot, and snipped off the extra yarn. And that was it! My first hammer and nail drawing.
Honestly, it turned out better than I expected. Kinda rustic looking. It’s hanging up on the workshop wall now. Definitely a satisfying little project. Took some patience, especially the hammering part, but watching the string build up the picture was neat. Might try a more complex design next time. Yeah, I think I’ll do that.
