We’re very lucky to live in a time where finding and sharing information is only the press of a button away. As artists, or simply just as people with a creative streak who want to try something new, there is an abundance of patterns available online for pyrographers.
The aim of this article is to provide you with all the information you need about finding and using patterns – the entire process beginning with the spark of an idea, and ending with a freshly burned work of art.
Free Woodburning Patterns
However, for newer wood burners or for someone looking for an easy project, you can get patterns specifically for pyrography. These patterns come with tips specifically for when you’re burning the picture onto the wood, like what tips best suit the lines you’re doing.
The range of free patterns is endless, in both books and online. You can trace them onto graphite paper using a pencil, and then transfer the tracing onto your wood so you have the outline ready for you to burn over if you aren’t confident doing pyrography freehand.
Woodburning Patterns For Beginners
As mentioned above, for beginners it’s best to stick with something simple – make sure your pattern doesn’t have too many complicated lines or details. Stick to smaller projects as a beginner, since you’ll progress a lot and sometimes people find that by the end of a large project their lines have become steadier and look a bit different than they did at the start.
Another thing to keep an eye out for as a beginner is that your pattern will work easily on the type of wood you’re using to burn on. The grain on wood can make burning smooth lines tricky, so make sure that the pattern you’re using has lines that don’t go against the grain too much, or that your wood doesn’t have a very prominent grain.
Woodburning Patterns Download
The great thing about pyrography designs is that they’re adaptable, so you can trace one out and change it to fit whatever you want.
Patterns can be downloaded from all sorts of places across the web. Often you’ll find that there are images right off Google you can use for your work – just print it, and use graphite paper to transfer the design to your wood.
Since Google Images has a filter, you can set the search to find you only images that will work well for tracing – “line drawing” underneath “type” in the search tools is often a good one to use when looking.
Woodburning Ideas
Anything made of a material suitable for pyrography can be decorated and personalized for yourself or for a gift. You could try adding some patterns to a set of wooden spoons or work a beautiful piece of art on the back of a chair. For more ideas on what materials you can use as your “canvas”, here’s a brief overview from one of our other posts:
Pyrography for Beginners
This craft has many different names associated with it. It is not limited to wood burning either, with some people creating magnificent works of art on a range of different materials including and not limited to:
- Wood
- Gourds
- Leather
- Paper / Card
There are some amazing pieces of art burnt into a range of different items including:
- Guitars
- Coasters
- Coffee Tables
- Piano’s
The options we have to create breathtaking works of art are truly amazing. You are only limited by your imagination, and it is our goal, to help you unlock your potential.
The number of things available to you that are great for decorating with pyrography is enormous – anything made of wood around your home. You can use pyrography to up-cycle old tables, picture frames, drawers, boxes and more.
Simple Woodburning Designs
You can either find images yourself to use and trace them onto graphite paper to transfer, or you can get yourself a designs book specifically for woodburning. One of these great books is Pyrography Designs by Norma Gregory, containing a wide range of designs for you to trace and use.
Plus, with 4.5 stars, you can be sure you’re getting a book worth having to expand your collection of designs.
Woodburning Stencils
Stencils are somewhat similar to patterns. They’re made of a flexible plastic or a similar material and have gaps that you can either draw through to put the design on your wood. For a recommendation on some good lettering stencils, here’s a part of one of our other posts:
The Best Pyrography Kit | A Wood Burners Guide
The Walnut Hollow Hotstamps Uppercase Alphabet Branding and Personalization Set for Wood and other Surfaces, is a great option when looking for stencils. Stencils are great for lettering. A good option for those wooden children’s building blocks!
This product has some great feedback and reviews from other users so if you need a stencil, this is the kit for you.
Because they are made of a sturdy enough material, you can guarantee that if you’re producing a lot of one design, or if you’re using a stencil for your signature, your work will look the same each time.
They’re great for those who don’t feel confident freehand sketching or tracing with graphite paper, and they’re also perfect for kids.
Woodburning Books
Some pyrography books can be bought on their own or in kits. One highly-acclaimed book is Pyrography Workbook: A Complete Guide to the Art of Woodburning by Sue Walters. It’s available for purchase in a kit too, as we detail here:
The Best Pyrography Tools | A Woodburners Guide
This fantastic kit is great for new comers. It has everything you need to get started all in one package. The Basic Woodburning Kit includes:
- Colwood Detailer Burner (made by Wall Lenk)
- 3 replaceable burning tips
- Pyrography Workbook
The book covers everything from beginner techniques right through to advanced. Filled with illustrations this is a fantastic bonus.
There is also a Colwood Super Pro II Woodburning Kit has everything the Basic kit has but includes an upgraded machine that has switch system that allows the user to flick between two tips.
With 61 verified reviews for the Basic and a 4.6 star rating this kit is well worth the price.
Some books are better suited to beginners, some to more advanced wood burners, and some are great for any skill level. Most books will specify if they’re best suited to a certain level.
Books are a fantastic place to get ideas, tips, and patterns for woodburning. With so many quality books available to you, you’re bound to find ones that fit exactly what you want.