Wondering Wednesday : Once More, With Feeling...

Sadly, the feeling has to be imaginary... I can't offer you a sample piece through the wonders of the internet!  Last week I asked you what this was...

Maggi said it was Evolon, with stitch.  And it is...but she didn't get the colouring method.  So, let me show you what happens when you use the same technique on Lutradur...

Let me give you a clue... to use this technique, you need heat... and not from a conventional iron.  So.... who knows how I did it?

Wondering Wednesday : What IS that?

...well, okay, it's a sample.  But what is it a sample of?  And how was it coloured?  It's not perhaps as obvious as it seems... how do you think it was made?

Wondering Wednesday : Burning Evolon

Can you burn out Evolon the same way that you burn out lutradur?  Err...yes and no.  You can use a heatgun or a soldering iron on Evolon, just as you can on lutradur.  However, because of the nylon content in the Evolon, it will burn more quickly than lutradur, meaning that to get a similar effect, you really need to control the amount of heat you are using very much more than with lutradur.  You do that by varying the distance of the heat gun away from the cloth. 

Gently heating the cloth with a heat gun, varying the position of the heat gun, and its distance from the cloth, you will first see some distortion (a bit like Tyvek, when heated), and then small holes, like this.

 Blast it with a heat gun, however, and you may get a little discolouration, as here, and much bigger holes.

If you look closely at the second photo, you will see that blasting it with a heatgun produces hard, slightly shiny edges.  If this is the look you want, that's how to do it; otherwise, have patience, and keep that heatgun moving!

Wondering Wednesday...What's Going On?

I promised a post a day, and for the last couple of weeks, it has been a post a week.  Mea culpa, I was overtaken by the demon depression, and it makes life difficult, sometimes.  I can't promise that won't happen again...I can only promise to do my best not to miss more posts.

I'd love it if you would ask me some more questions for Wondering Wednesday, or share your work for Photo Friday... email me here.  I'd like to stress that you don't have to be doing extraordinary work to have your work featured here... we all learn from seeing what everyone else does. 

And a final question...I'll be showing my May/June challenge here at the end of the week... did anyone else manage to make anything, or do you not like this feature?

Wondering Wednesday

It's me doing the wondering this week.  I wonder...what would you like to see on this blog?  What would you like to see more of?  Less of?  Different?

Please do leave me a note, and help me to help you!

Wondering Wednesday : Is Lutradur Fusible?

In a word, no...or at least, not by itself.  I use lutradur in combination with fusibles such as Bondaweb to create my own fusible Lutradur, but you can't by it pre-glued (as it were).  The same applies to both Evolon and Zeelon; they cope fine with fusible web, but they don't come in a pre-glued version.   Unlike fusible on silk, though, which tends to look as if it has been glued, unless you're very careful, Lutradur shows no sign of having been glued.  Good news for enthusiastic fusers and applique fiends!

All three layers of the Lutradur brooches, above, were fused together before they were stitched; can you tell?

Wondering Wednesday : Keeping Dye

How long can you keep transfer dyes, once they have been made up into solution?  Well... the answer seems to be, indefinitely.  Providing, that is, that you keep them in a jar, preferably in a cool place.  I have even found that, if you let the dye dry out, you can add more water and redissolve the remains...but I think that's taking economy a little far!!  I keep my dye solutions in coffee jars (we drink rather a lot of coffee around here...).

The image is of a transfer dyed quilt entitled 'It's Coming To Get You!'. 

Wondering Wednesday : Lutradur v Zeelon

...as in, what's the difference between Lutradur and  Zeelon?  Well, they have quite a few things in common.  They are both spun bonded, semi transparent and easy to colour.  They burn nicely, giving super effects. They come in a variety of different weights.  They don't fray.  The difference between them, though, is that Lutradur is made of polyester, while Zeelon is made from nylon. 

So what, I hear you holler?  Well, that's imporant because of the colouring aspect.  Both Lutradur and Zeelon can be coloured using paints of various types.  It's when it comes to dyes that they differ.  Lutradur can only be dyed using transfer (sublimation) dyes, which were specially designed for polyester fibres.  Zeelon can be dyed in that way, also, but, being nylon, it is also possible to use acid dyes on them, making them a little more flexible. 

The only other main difference to my mind is that they are slightly different in terms of their texture; Zeelon is smoother than Lutradur.  Otherwise, they seem to be interchangeable.  Is one 'better' than the other?  Well... it depends on what you want them for.  For me, it comes down to personal preference.  Try them out... see which you prefer. 

Wondering Wednesday : Paints Or Dyes?

I am often asked what is best for colouring lutradur, paints or dyes.  I usually answer that with another question... what are you trying to achieve?  A lot depends on how you are going to use the cloth.  If the transparency of lutradur is the most important thing, then thick paint is not a good idea, as it blocks the little holes that create the transparency.  I recommend transfer dyes or paints when transparency is important, or fluid silk paints (not the thickened variety), remembering to have something underneath the lutradur, as some colour will inevitably leak through those little holes. 

Of course, this isn't a hard and fast rule.  Sometimes you might want to have partial transparency on a particular piece, so paint would be a useful thing to use to block out the background (if you see what I mean).   Combinations of paint and dye are good to experiment with; we might try a project based on that in the weeks to come. 

The quilt above, 'Forgotten Flights' is a good example of a combination of paint and transfer dyes.  The overall colour was created by layer upon layer of transfer dyes.  I then stitched into the base, emphasising some of the 'flying' shapes I could see.  Stitch on its own, however, wasn't strong enough a contrast to make those flying elements stand out, so I added blue acrylic paint to them.  That made a powerful statement.  Try it yourself, next time you need to add emphasis to a piece.

Wondering Wednesday : It's Up To You...

I was wondering... what would you like to use your Lutradur for?  I'm designing next week's project for us to try out in the next few weeks...but I'd love you to tell me what you think.  If you think lutradur would be great for... bag making...or box making... or journal covers... or anything, really... and would like me to design a project for us to do, please leave a suggestion in the comments box.  IWe will tackle every suggestion made, whether or not I think it's possible!  So... please let me know what you want to try.  This is your blog, as much as it is mine... and I can't make this a place for learning, if I don't know what you're interested in. 

Wondering Wednesday : Keeping Evolon's Texture

Felicity Griffin Clark asked how she could keep Evolon's texture while using a digital ground.  She said that she had tried an untreated piece, and a treated piece.  ' the digital grounded piece has lovely glowing colours but is quite stiff and rough and the ungrounded piece is lovely and soft - and dull'.

To be honest, I hadn't come across that problem before, so I started asking questions... which digital ground are you using... how are you applying it... how much of it are you using... are you following the instructions...  It turned out that she was using Golden's digital ground, and, following the instructions, had added two coats, at angles to each other, using a large pastry brush.  That made me wonder if perhaps she was simply using too much medium; it is important to use two coats as Golden describes because if you don't, there is a tendency to miss bits out (guess how I know...), making the final print strongly coloured in some areas and less so in others.

The purpose of the medium is to keep the ink sitting on the surface of the cloth, so that it doesn't sink into the fibres, thus diluting the intensity of the final print.  The cloth needs to be covered adequately, as I said above, but not soaked.  So, I suggested to Felicity that she dilute the medium slightly, 80% medium to 20% water, and apply it with a foam brush (thus avoiding brush marks).  Success!  Good print and no problem with the hand. 

Wondering Wednesday : Sources

Gill asked if I had a favourite source for Brusho.  As it happens, I do; I go straight to the people who make it, Colourcraft Ltd.  For people in  Norfolk, I stock a little for sale in The Little Green Shed (I also have transfer and other dyes).

But there's a bigger question... where do you GET this stuff?  I wondered if it would be a good idea to have a supplier list on a page on this blog, so that people can share information about suppliers?  I know, for instance, it is very difficult to get Zeelon in the US... so lets see if we can establish who is stocking what, where... leave a comment here, and I'll set up a page.  If there's anyone who would like to volunteer to keep it updated, I'd be very grateful for the help?

And in that vein...I'm working on some kits using spun bonded fabrics.  The idea is to provide everything you need to experiment with a particular technique, such as bead making, in a single bag, with full instructions, which you can either follow or ignore <g>.  Do you think this is a good idea?  Would you buy such a thing?  Email me for more information, or if you have a suggestion for the kind of kit you would like to see.  Or just pop a comment on here. 

The image, incidentally, is powdered Brusho on paper.  It's lovely stuff!

Wondering Wednesday : Ageing Spunbonded Fabrics

Sandy Snowden, a new reader here (welcome, Sandy, and everyone else who has joined us in the last week or so...), has asked a question about colouring spunbonds; she says;

"what is the best way to get an aged/tea dyed tint to the spunbonded fabrics. Not really into the garish transfer dyed colours. I tried something last year which didn’t work, and eventually soaked it in STRONG coffee. That did knock the brilliant white out a bit, but you couldn’t even say it was ecru."

First of all, though transfer dyes are strong when mixed at full strength, you should experiment with the proportions of water to dye powder to produce more gentle colours.  And remember that you can iron the dye out of the paper at least three times; I have got marks out of transfer dyed paper after five ironings.  As you iron the paper repeatedly, the colour becomes more and more faded, until it appears pastel in nature.  So if you use the early prints for something else, the later prints will give you the faded look you are seeking.

There is, in fact, a different technique in Lovely Lutradur for giving lutradur an aged appearance, so I won't repeat it here. Lastly, consider rust dyeing.  The image above is of Lutradur 30 which has been rust dyed.  Using Ferrous Sulphate to rust dye the lutradur would probably be the better bet to give an overall colour.  There are instructions for that technique in 'Exquisite Evolon' which would also work for the spunbonded fabrics. 

Hope that helps.  If anyone else has suggestions, please feel free to add them in the comments section!

Remember, you can always ask a question for Wondering Wednesday; send it to me here

Wondering Wednesday... Whatever Happened...

to Monday's post, I hear you ask.  Well, it's here.  Apparently, my knack for scheduling (or lack of it) means that it shows up in February... in other words, before I started the blog.  Huh? 

I'd like to thank the seven people who have given me feedback on the blog.  I hope many more of you will follow suit.  I genuinely want this blog to be helpful... if you don't tell me how I'm doing, I can't improve.  You can always email me with questions for Wondering Wednesday here.  Similarly, if you have images you would like to see featured on Photo Friday, send them to that address.  You don't have to be a well known quilter, or a teacher, or a writer to do this... just let us see the stuff you've made with these amazing fabrics. 

This is beginning to sound like a begging letter.... and for that, I'm sorry.  But it's hard to give the customers what they need, if they won't talk to you... so how about it?