We all know that a line segment, or a line, is straight, right? What if somebody told you that you could make curves entirely out of straight lines? With line design (also known as "string art" and "curve stitching") you can arrange a series of straight lines in a systematic way so that they create the appearance of a smooth curve, forming what is called an "envelope" in mathematics. These curves are based on mathematical formulas and can result in many complex and intriguing curves. Don't worry, though, it's much easier than it looks...
1Make an angle. It can be any angle you want, but to follow along with this example, use a 30 to 150 degree angle.Ad
2Divide one side of the angle into equal parts. Mark each division so you can tell where they are.
3Repeat on the other side. The segments should be evenly spaced, but the spacing doesn't have to be the same as on the other side of the angle. For example, one line could have the segments separated at 1cm intervals, while the other side has the same number of segments but separated at 2cm intervals. Here they are shown at equal spacing, but experimenting with the spacing can create different curves.
4On one side of the marked angle, starting from the vertex, or corner, number each division. In this case, we are counting from 1 through 10.
5Starting at the other side, from the vertex/corner, mark the segments 10 through 1.
6With a ruler, connect the number ones together (the one at the top of the line to the one near the corner).
7Repeat for all of the numbers (2 to 2, 3 to 3, 4 to 4, and so on).
8Make additional angles next to each other to make complex shapes.
- Try different angles for different looks.
- Try different colors.
- Try using string.
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- Line design can be observed in nature, especially in spider webs. The strands are pulled straight but woven together in such a way that they approximate a curve to the human eye.
- If you would like to arrange the angles in circle, this is a way to make sure the angles are all the same.
- Find out how many angles you would like to use. We will use 5 angles.
- Since a circle has 360 degrees in it, we will use it as the dividend and 5 as the divisor.
- Divide 360 by 5.
- Your quotient is how many degrees each angle should be. The quotient of this situation is 72. Each angle should be 72 degrees to form a circle.
- When you are experienced, you will not need numbers anymore.
- The more even the divisions, the more centered and crisp the line design will be. If you have trouble with consistency, make the curves on graph paper.
- Use a straight edge or else it will look sloppy.
- If you mess up, start all over, because if you don't, one line will be out of proportion.
Recent edits by: Jeff, Nicholas, Steve
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