This Genius Trick To Hang Frames Perfectly Needs Just A Piece Of String

If you are tired of bumping and scraping your walls while fumbling around trying to line up the tiny loop on the back of a frame with the minuscule nail you just put in the wall, then it is time to try out a DIY hack that will make your life far easier. With just a piece of string, you can avoid the strife of blindly trying to make the nail and loop line up. For this hack, the only thing you'll need is a length of string, a nail in the wall, and wall art with hanging hardware. The string should not break when gently pulled, but it does not need to be particularly durable. It does, however, need to have a diameter small enough for both ends of the piece of string to fit through the frame's hanging hardware.

To prepare for this hack, start by cutting a length of string that is about one or two feet long. The best length will depend on the size of your art and the strength of your string. Longer strings are better for large frames, especially if the hanging hardware is not very close to the edge of the frame. If you do have a large piece, you may want to know the rule of thumb for hanging extra-large artwork. A long enough string could also mean that you do not need to hold the canvas up throughout the process, which is beneficial if it is heavy. 

To begin, wrap the string around the nail so that the string makes one full loop around the head of the nail and has roughly equal tails on either end. Push the ends through the hanging hardware. If this is difficult due to frayed ends, you can wrap a bit of tape on the ends to make them easier to slide through the frame's loop. Then, slide the frame up the length of the string until it hangs itself on the nail. Once it feels stable on the nail, drop one end of the string and slowly pull the other so that the string unwraps itself from the nail and comes out from behind the frame. Although it takes some extra time to prepare, the process should be far less frustrating than the usual method of waving the frame around in front of the nail. With this system, you should be able to create the perfect gallery wall of your dreams without all of the difficulty.

While other hanging hacks, such as using a fork to line up a frame's wire with a nail, are also effective, this string hack works well for frames with smaller hardware pieces for hanging. It can also work with Command hooks if you need, although you may have trouble keeping the string wrapped around a hook that tapers near the end. If you do use this hack on an adhesive hook, check out the tape hack that will save your walls from damage when using Command hooks. Overall, because this string trick requires only a simple piece of string, it is well worth a try the next time you need to hang a frame on the wall.