Frequently asked questions

String art (also called nail art) is an art form in which a continuous thread is wound around nails arranged in a regular pattern on a wooden board. Viewed from a distance, varying thread density forms a recognizable image. Originally a teaching technique for mathematics, today a popular hobby and wall art form.

You upload a photo (JPG, PNG or WebP), choose a shape (round, square or rectangular), the size in centimeters, the number of nails and yarn color(s). Our algorithm computes the exact order of thread jumps between nails so the brightness distribution matches your image as closely as possible. The result is a PDF with a step-by-step nail sequence.

No. If you can hold a hammer and bring patience for several evenings, that's enough. The manual is structured so each step is individually understandable. Uploading and configuring is intentionally kept simple.

Yes, completely. The Basic guide costs €0.00. You don't need a credit card and aren't signing up for a subscription. You only register so we can deliver the PDFs to you.

Basic (€0) is the black-and-white basic guide up to 200 nails as a pure step list. Standard (€3.99) adds a 1:1 print template you can stick onto the wooden board plus a shopping list with Amazon links to materials, and up to 300 nails. Premium (€6.99) additionally enables multi-color mode with up to 5 yarn colors and up to 500 nails.

No. Each purchase is one-time and applies to exactly one image. You can start any number of new projects and for each one decide whether you want Basic free or a paid plan.

Stripe (credit card). For the free Basic guide no payment service is called.

A wooden board (plywood or MDF, at least 12 mm thick) in the chosen size, wire nails (typically 20 mm length, 1.4 mm head diameter), a hammer, and embroidery thread or winding wire. For a Basic image 80–150 meters of thread is usually enough. The Standard and Premium plans include a shopping list with concrete Amazon links.

It depends on your configuration: Basic up to 200 nails, Standard up to 300, Premium up to 500. More nails mean finer detail but also more build time. For a portrait we recommend at least 250 nails, for simple logos 150 is enough.

With 200 nails and about 1500 lines: 6–10 hours, spread over several evenings. With 300 nails plan 15–20 hours, with 500 nails 20–30 hours. Generating the preview and PDFs in our app takes seconds to at most a minute.

For a first project we recommend 40 × 40 cm (round) – large enough to keep details visible but still manageable when building. For detailed portraits go for 50 × 50 cm. You choose the size in the configurator and the PDF is scaled accordingly.

High-contrast subjects with clear light/dark areas: well-lit portraits, silhouettes, logos, animals against a neutral background. Difficult: very fine details (small text), images too bright or too dark without midtones, and very busy backgrounds. You always see a preview before paying.

Yes, in the Premium plan. You choose up to 5 yarn colors (e.g. black, red, yellow, blue) and the algorithm computes a separate thread sequence per color. When building you wind the colors in order – the result is a layered color image.

The algorithm is a so-called greedy line search: for the current thread position it checks every possible target nail and how much a line drawn there brings the current brightness pattern closer to the target image. The best option is chosen, the image updated, then the next step. This is typically repeated 1500–5000 times.

So we can deliver the generated PDFs by email and you can find your project later. We don't send newsletters and don't share your address. Registration is free and takes under 30 seconds.

Yes, anytime under "My account → Delete account". Your personal data is anonymized, unpurchased projects are removed entirely. Paid orders must be kept for tax reasons (§147 AO) for 10 years, but are no longer linked to your account.

Yes, automatically by email together with the PDFs. The invoice contains the address you provided at ordering and is fully tax-compliant.

Immediate. After payment (or directly upon clicking with Basic) we generate the PDFs within seconds and send them to your email address. You can also find them anytime under "My Projects" for re-download.