Yarn Art Wall Piece

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• 18"x 30" primed canvas
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Painter's tape
• String
• Push pin
• 4 colors yarn, 1 skein of each
• Yes! Paste All Purpose Stick Flat Glue
• Paint brush for glue
• X-Acto® knife
• Cutting mat
• Scissors
• Acrylic paint, 2 neutral colors
• White acrylic paint
• 12" canvas stretcher bars, 2
• 24" canvas stretcher bars, 2
• Mallet
• Staple gun
• Staples
• Artist's tape
• D-rings, 2
• Screws, 2
• Screwdriver

DIRECTIONS:

1. Measure out a 12"x 24" rectangle, centered, on the primed canvas. This will leave 3" borders on all sides of the rectangle.
2. With the canvas in a horizontal orientation, mark 12" at the top and bottom of the rectangle and draw a line to connect the marks and create your center line. To draw the circles, mark the center of each of the two newly formed 12"x 12" squares. Then, mark the center of all four sides of each square. These will mark the points where the circle arcs meet the rectangular perimeter.
3. Tie the piece of string around the point of the push pin, and push it through the center of one of the squares (have a thick piece of cardboard or a similar material underneath the canvas to protect the work surface.)
4. Take your pencil and stand it straight up at one of the center perimeter points, then tie your string around the pencil and secure the string with tape.
5. Draw the circle as you would with a compass, keeping the pencil upright and string taut as you draw an arc connecting all four perimeter points.
6. Repeat for the second circle.
7. Draw a vertical line through the center of each of the two circles.
8. Create the two large painted sections by first taping off the perimeter of the right section, painting two coats and allowing to dry, then taping off the perimeter of the left section, painting two coats and allowing to dry.
9. Mark the lines that will form the pattern for the yarn stripes. Beginning at the center of the left circle, mark 1" (1/2" above the center mark and 1/2" below the center mark), and continue to mark at 1" all the rest of the way up and down. Make the same marks starting from the center of the right circle. Then connect the marks from the center of the right circle all the way to the left side (skipping the painted areas.) These are your horizontal lines.
10. Draw your vertical lines by marking 1" intervals in two rows beginning at the center of the right circle, and connecting the marks to make vertical lines that run from top to bottom.
11. Turn all lines into 1/8" bands by drawing a line 1/16" above and below each line.
12. Place canvas on cutting mat and begin to cut slits between the bands, beginning with the left circle. Cut slits between the bands along the left curve of the circle and between the bands at the center line. Next, cut slits between the bands along the right curve of the circle and between the bands through the vertical line between the two circles.
13. Move on to the right circle. Cut slits between the bands along the left curve of the circle and between the bands at the center line. Then, cut slits between the bands along the right curve of the circle (these will be vertical lines.)
14. Erase all pencil marks, and paint at least one coat of white paint over the whole yarn-stripe area so that the finished bands of white visible between the yarn will be clean and crisp. Allow to dry.
15. Starting in any section you like, brush Yes! paste onto a stripe of canvas between two slits and lay down 10 pieces of yarn as straight as possible with generously long loose ends on either side (these will be tucked into the slits once the glue is dry. You will not want to make these too short because the yarn ends will unravel. Tucking a long, loose end through the canvas slit will give the geometric forms their sharp lines.) Repeat for an entire color section. When the glue is dry, tuck the yarn ends into the canvas slits.
16. Repeat across the entire piece. When the yarn stripes come to an end of the image, leave the long yarn ends loose on top of the canvas. These will be wrapped around the edges and secured on the underside of the canvas once the canvas has been attached to the canvas stretcher.
17. When the entire piece has been completed, turn to the reverse side of the canvas and begin to straighten the ends, tape down with artist's tape, and trim excess yarn with scissors. Repeat across the entire reverse side.
18. Assemble canvas stretchers by connecting ends and using the mallet to secure in place.
19. Center the canvas onto the stretchers, pull the canvas around the stretchers, and staple into place with the staple gun, beginning at the center of each side. Form excess corner canvas into a triangle and tuck around the corners at the topside and underside of the canvas; staple into place.
20. Straighten out the yarn ends left at the canvas's perimeter and tape to the underside of the canvas with artist's tape; trim the excess yarn.
21. With the piece turned so that the underside of the canvas is facing up, mark 4" down from the top of the piece and 1" in from the side. Place D-ring so hole is centered on the mark, then screw into the canvas stretcher.
22. Scan the front of the piece for any areas of yard or canvas that might have moved askew or is gaping in any way, straighten and glue down.