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Shadow Puppet Theatre for Halloween
We had a lot of fun putting this Halloween scene together and think it is possibly the first project where we have used all three of our materials, i.e. Lutradur, Evolon and Zeelon. Evolon provided the perfect screen, which we stapled as taut as possible to the sides of a large sturdy box. The clouds of cobwebs around the house and pumpkins were formed by teasing apart the fibres of some Zeelon Light. Everything else was made with Lutradur. Here’s a brief description of each item – Haunted House and Spooky Tree Both made from two layers of Lutradur XL (the […]
Dragonflies by Alison D’Oyley
We were delighted to receive these beautiful images of dragonflies, created by Alison D’Oyley, which are both silkscreen prints, but on different materials. ‘Dragonfly II’ is a silkscreen print on Lutradur with hand stitch, while ‘Dragonfly III’ is a silkscreen print with hand stitch on Zeelon. Lutradur has more ‘open’, random fibres, whereas the Zeelon has a much smoother, uniform appearance. We think its interesting to compare the two, but difficult to decide which we prefer! Artist: Alison D’Oyley holds the copyright for all of her designs.
Printed Images on Lutradur with Lace Overlay by Heather Tilley
These gorgeous pictures were created by Heather Tilley using sheets of lace sewn on to Lutradur and then passed through an ink jet printer. By covering the Lutradur with lace, the images appear ‘softened’ and where Heather has chosen lace containing a shiny thread, the pictures also have an iridescent quality. Heather says – “The images are from drawings and from photographs which I’ve photoshopped etc, and I’ve adjusted them mainly by using smaller sections of the originals.” “I start by cutting a piece of net/lace slightly larger than an A4 piece of Lutradur, to provide a 1cm overlap all the way round and then […]
How to colour Lutradur, Evolon (or Zeelon) using Transfer Paints
You can colour Lutradur, Evolon or Zeelon using transfer paints and a hot iron. Our short video demonstrates how easy it is to create vibrant colours. This method of painting is a great technique for transferring single colours, designs or images from paper on to any of our fabrics. Paint a piece of paper with transfer paint directly from the pot. (Use one colour per sheet, as colours can be blended at the ironing stage). Allow the paint to dry thoroughly and don’t worry if the paper curls, as it will unfurl when ironed. Place the paper, paint […]
‘Bloom’ by Alison D’Oyley
This lovely image of a flower (which looks just like the clematis that rambles over my neighbour’s fence) was sent into us by artist/printmaker Alison D’Oyley. It comprises of hand painted Lutradur, which Alison has stitched on to cotton, which she has also painted by hand. You can see more of Alison’s art by visiting her website www.alisondoyley.co.uk or, if you are in the Norfolk area, why not pop along to see her work at the Local Norfolk Craft Exhibition, Dragonfly Gallery, Watton, which is on until 3rd September 2019. (Please remember to check opening times beforehand). Artist: Alison D’Oyley holds the copyright for all of […]
Lutradur Wall Hanging by Heather Tilley
This is the latest piece of work sent into us by the artist Heather Tilley. We have featured Heather’s work on four previous occasions and each time we feel in awe of her talent! She says “I decided to make a wall-hanging and started thinking about the flowers growing near the wall in my garden. I began by looking for scraps of fabric, such as green cotton or polycotton material, but only found small pieces, so it turned into a patchwork which needed backing.” Heather stitched the component parts on to Lutradur 100 to provide a strong, stable background and used Lutradur 70 to […]
Seahorses by Carolyn Sinclair
We were blown away by these seahorses sent into us by Carolyn Sinclair. The colouring is so true to life! We first met Carolyn several years ago when attending an exhibition and she made an immediate impression. As a recognised teacher of embroidery machines and embroidery software, Carolyn is one of the experts who writes for the Bernina Blog and both Bernina and Janome UK lend her their machines and software. Carolyn has a very contemporary approach to her work and says she loves to push the boundaries and explore new materials. These seahorses were used to demonstrate and […]
Lavender Sachets
If you have any lavender in your garden and would like to retain its lovely summer fragrance, why not make these delightful lavender sachets? We made these little bags using Zeelon Light which, although very delicate in appearance, is really strong. We also liked the fact that Zeelon is semi-transparent, allowing the lavender inside to be seen (as shown on the photograph above). Zeelon is only available in white, yet colours beautifully with transfer paints, which we used to create the ‘dotty’ designs and vivid background colours of violet, scarlet, yellow and lime. Also, due to our simple design […]
Scissor Sleeve
Having seen scissor sleeves for sale in haberdasheries and at craft fairs, we thought we would have a go at making our own using Evolon. This is one of those projects where it is much easier to show photos of how an item was made, rather than try to explain! Using our largest pair of scissors as a guide, we created a template and, after experimenting by making a few adjustments to the angles, we were eventually able to fold the card so that the top edges of both pockets were parallel. When we were happy with our […]
Night Lights by Kate Findlay
Charming night lights created by Kate Findlay This is the first time we have featured any of Kate’s work on our website, but hopefully not the last! Kate is a full-time artist/maker in textiles, who runs workshops and gives talks to textile groups. She produces a wide variety of work, and has previously made a great number of art quilts based on the Large Hadron Collider, but nowadays makes collaged textile pictures using hand dyed fabrics, taking her inspiration from the British countryside. To see the full range of Kate’s fabulous art, why not visit her website www.artsfindlay.co.uk . […]