Checked Golfer’s Jumper Design

Today, let's celebrate the world of sports with this checked jumper design, inspired by the quirky fabric worn by golfers as they take shots on the driving range.

This design is fairly simple and can be done without the help of any prefabricated pattern. All we need are a few common tools and we can get started!

What you’ll need: liners (pink, hot pink, silver), scissors, striping tape, top coat

Technique: Free Hand Painting

Skill Level: Beginner

So without further ado, let’s get started!

Step 1 – Get out your striping tape and attach one end to a polish bottle (or any other object that you have lying around, really) and pull the tape taught so that you can easily cut your first piece of tape.

Step 2 – Now start creating diagonal lines across the nail surface with the striping tape. Make sure that you apply each stripe at an equal distance from its neighbours so that your diamonds will be of a uniform size. Place the stripes further apart or closer together depending on how large or small you want your diamonds to be.

Step 3 – By applying additional striping tape in the opposite direction, you will create the basis for our diamond pattern, just as you see in the photograph above.

Step 4 – As you are laying down your striping tape, make sure to leave a little slack hanging over the sides of the nail surface just as you see here. This will make it easier to remove the stencil that we've just created once the design is finished.

Step 5 – Using pink liner, paint every other diamond in a chessboard pattern. You will need to use a very thin nail art brush for this step in order to fill in each square completely. Make sure not to miss those corners!

                                             
Step 6 – The finished pattern should look just like what you see here, a perfect chessboard alternation between filled and empty squares.

Step 7 – Use a second colour to fill in the blank squares. In our example, I've used a hot pink colour, but you can use anything that suits your fancy! Make sure to stay within the lines as you do this.

Step 8 – After you have finished step 7, allow the nail to dry for a couple of minutes. Its okay to start on the next nail while you're waiting.

Step 9 – Now, gently remove each piece of striping tape, but not all at once! Trust me, if you try to do this you could wreck your design. Just remove each piece, one by one.

Step 10 – The natural nail surface will now show through where the tape used to be.

Step 11 – Using a silver coloured liner, carefully paint the lines in between the diamonds. For a really startling effect, you can mix your silver liner with glitter as I've done here. Doubtless, this will add an extra sparkle to your design.

Step 12 – Okay, now it's time to seal the deal by placing a layer of top coat over your design for protection. You're done!

True, this design might be a little more time consuming than more automated techniques such as Konad. But, honestly, the end result is worth it.

Your customers will really appreciate the time and effort that you put into this attractive design.

And, if you want to really liven up your customer's day, try adding some Swarovski Rhinestones or ceramic flowers to this design!

Of course, you don't need to restrict yourself to just two colours! You can really spice this design up by mixing together three or more colours in an abstract pattern. You can even vary the pattern between nails.

Well, that's all for now for our nail art tutorial. Until next time!