tif 3 – more scraps – done using spunfab or lutradur

Here is the next batch of scraps. The first two were done like the last, I ironed organza on batiste, but there was a layer of spunfab betwenn the organza and the rest. Spunfab is a product which is similar to bondaweb but has no carrier paper. The surface of these samples is a bit less brittle and it is only broken in those places where heavy cotton threads were trapped under the melted organza. I feel the surface is still not strong enough to be used without some unmelted top layer.

For the next experiment, lightwight lutrador was ironed onto batiste, with a few scraps of organza trapped between the layers. The lutradur melted forming a solid yet flexible surface, this works better than organza. Yes, I know, this one is kind of boring.

Oh my, I’m running out of time again. High time I start combining the scraps into a sampler, no matter how many new Ideas to try out stuff I have.

tif 3 – some more scraps

Hey, happy Easter to those who will celebrate this, and a happy springtime (or fall) to everybody else.

OK, this tif piece will have a lot of parts. But it is about tiny details, after all. Well, here are the next ones.

The first one is brhundy polyester organza ironed onto batiste strewn with sniplets. It looks similar to the green sample made the same way. The surface is similarly brittle, this one will have to go under some other layers either.

The next one is the proof that not all organzas are equal. This was extra sparkly plum organza. Looks like the warp of this was of different material than the weft, so the melting result is stripey. This one is brittle either.

melting organza – more details

So i’ve done a few more mini-samples.

For the first one, I embroidered lazy daisies in cotton floss on kunin felt, then added green polyester organza, adn two more lazy daisies on top to keep the layers together, then I ironed the whole thing.

For the next one, I trapped thread and fabric sniplets between white batiste and green organza as top layer, then ironed. The organza melted and trapped the sniplets all right, but the surface is very brittle. I will have to layer this with chiffon or organza for the finished piece. I still like the effect very much.

For the last, I trapped a piece of jute band between batiste and organza. Same effect as the last, same brittle surface. But it does stick together.

tif 3 – my plans for the rest of the month

Another hard week at work, another work without much creativity. The only thing I really did was play arround a little bit. Did you know that polyester organza melts at the cotton setting of your flat iron? I didn’t. Also I didn’t know that kunin felt can stand such temperatures when ironed through baking paper.

For the first sample I stitched a piece of green organza onto a piece of plum kunin felt with cotton embroidery floss, the ironed. The organza melted completely, stuck to the felt very well and formed a smooth plastic-like surface, and it is still soft. Next, I melted a piece of the same organza onto a piece of cotton embroidery fabric. That didn’t go qoite so well. The organza did stick to the cotton, but it broke at places and the surface became sort of brittle. In both cases, there was no harm done to the cotton components.

Now this is going to be my project for the rest of the months: I will pay more attention to the deatails of my craft/art instead of just playing. I will do little pieces in several techniques that are about melting fabric, in some way, no matter if with the heat gun or the flat iron. Hopefully, I will be fast enough that I have a few to sew onto a background by the end of the month. This will be my “details of using heat with textiles” sampler.

tif 3 – yarn

I’m sorry I didn’t post anything for so long. The last week at work was hell, so I didn’t have time or energy to write anything, or do much needlework. At least I bought the yarn for next week’s tif. I couldn’t print out the colours but I think my match isn’t too bad. I still don’t know if I’m going to do anything with it or just finish old stuff in the spirit of paying attention to details. Sorry to Sharon for nicking the pallette off her blog.

tif 3 – those little details

I know I’m not finished with my february postcards, but one is finished and I like to think that is enough, at least on a technical level.

So this weekend I was playing arround with my acrylic paints to get a grip on the colour scheme. I was looking for 3 or 4 colours (other than the primary ones) that would allow me to mix all these colours, but to no avail. All combinations which I thought might work did not quite. So I got nothing done. I guess sometimes I’m too much into such details.

So here is another detail, the dustbin on one of my unfinished cards. It is done in long and short stitch that ocassionally degenerates into seed stitches to let the ground show through. Of course, it is not finished. Maybe this month should be about finishing such details?