Angora rabbits are known for their wool. They're also raised for meat and companionship. Learn how to care for these fabulous fiber rabbits.
In my journey to learn more about the history of quilting and fiber arts, I have discovered some incredible makers, artists, thinkers and leaders. A couple weeks ago we talked about one of our founding Quilt Mothers, Nancy Crow, Marti Michell, Rachel Clark and Judith Scott. Today, I bring you someone who is not justContinue Reading...
Judith Scott was a fiber artist who overcame immense obstacles throughout her life, only to be made stronger and more creatively-driven by them.
A Textile Designers guide to the art of Fabric Manipulation to use in simple craft projects
In my journey to learn more about the history of quilting and fiber arts, I have discovered some incredible makers, artists, thinkers and leaders. A couple weeks ago we talked about one of our founding Quilt Mothers, Nancy Crow, Marti Michell, Rachel Clark and Judith Scott. Today, I bring you someone who is not justContinue Reading...
Explore a comprehensive list of plants that yield vibrant natural dyes, from avocado pits to turmeric. Perfect for natural dyers seeking to experiment with colors from the garden, kitchen, and beyond.
How to make fabric paint: In this tutorial we make our own brilliant diy fabric paint from acrylic paint simply by adding a couple of household ingredients.
The Coastal Discovery Museum will present “Fabulous Fiber” with the Art Quilters of the Low Country from Sept. 13 through Oct. 29 at the museum.
After two weeks of work experience Tara and I had amongst other things dyed 2 kilos of merino, handpainted 1 kilo and 20 silk caps. New Solar pots are: Madder and Logwood, and Mullein with a copper mordant -made using copper piping and acetic acid. It is this which is dyeing the fibres turquoise at the moment!
A reference guide on how to sew with knit fabrics. Tips for sewing with knits, along with resources and books about knit fabrics.
Last Saturday I opened all the dye bundles I did earlier and I got some surprising results to share with you. Some Instagram friends keep asking me if I would share a dyeing tutorial on my blog. I told them, I don't really write tutorials because I'm too busy working in my day job. I dye for myself because I love it, but I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about plants, method etc. So leave me a comment and I will be happy to answer you. The first two bundles I did over a week ago. I had some eucalyptus leaves leftover from before Christmas. I didn't want to waste any of them knowing that they would give me 100% result! Lately I don't just use one kind of leaves. I like mixing several dye materials in the same bundle. The trouble is, sometimes I forget what I put in the bundles! I also get carried away with the dyeing and don't stop to photograph what I do. I wrapped up two bundles using eucalyptus leaves for the main dye source. I sprinkled grated purple carrot in one bundle. The second bundle I used walnut leaves, round eucalyptus leaves and the rest of grated purple carrot. I steamed the bundles for one hour and left them to cool overnight. The next day I dropped both bundles in a walnut bath that I boiled in a copper pot. I left the bundles soaking for 1 week. The top bundle contains walnut leaves, grated purple carrot and round eucalyptus leaves. The second bundle has only grated purple carrot and iron bark eucalyptus leaves. The results are in the third photo. I called the pair Liberty and William Morris. The next bundle I dyed using the Christmas bouquet including poinsettia, kangaroo paw and other leaves. I steamed it for two hours and left this bundle in an oak bath for two weeks. The poinsettia leaves left very good leaf imprints, but the red flowers only left purple and blue marks. I quite like the combinations of the imprints on this piece. More pieces from the bundles including a silk scarf and a plain piece from the walnut bath. In one of the bundle I dyed a cotton tank-dress. It's fun to dye something wearable sometimes. I wore it to work on Monday and got lot of compliments from my colleagues. I did some hand quilting on this little quilt. I started just before Christmas, but couldn't get it finished. I hanged it in our en-suite. The quilt sits perfectly well on the red wall. Does anyone have a favourite corner or shelf that you place anything you can't find spot for. My spot is on this hutch in the dinning room. The Japanese vintage blue and white plate is the new addition to the spot. I picked it up at our local op-shop last weekend. Every now and again I pick up something interesting at op-shops. New Year has got off to a good start. We have planned our holidays for later in the year. Work is getting busier with the new semester starting soon. There is a nice routine about going at work which I'm very happy about. Having a day job is a blessing. I love going to work and spend a different life enjoying my workplace. Hope you are all enjoying whatever you are doing, and keep well. Until next time Nat
Where my art and fiber come together.
A couple of weeks ago, I taught a workshop in Brisbane with the ATASDA group, compiling beautiful sample scraps of fabric into book formats...
Nancy Crow is an Ohio-based modern quilt pioneer, teacher, and author who has inspired generations of artists with her creativity.
This tutorial on how to make walnut dye will lead you through the process of extracting natural dye from walnut husks to obtain various shades of brown and make interesting patterns for your wool yarn.
A TECHNIQUE DRIVEN Blog dedicated to mastery of surface design techniques. First we dye, overdye, paint, stitch, resist, tie, fold, silk screen, stamp, thermofax, batik, bejewel, stretch, shrink, sprinkle, Smooch, fuse, slice, dice, AND then we set it on fire using a variety of heat tools.
Bundle dyeing with natural materials is a wonderful way to get started with natural dyeing. It is also a great possibility to reuse dyestuff
Well it's the end of a busy week! I don't know about you, but I'm pooped! But I'm pleased to say we've had some gorgeous, sunny days here in N.I. this week, and there's a lovely Autumn feel to the air! As always, the things I've been working on this week I can't show you yet (soon I promise!), so I'm going to give you a wee tute on how to use up every last wee bit of fabric shavings, you know those bits that end up all over your cutting mat after trimming blocks and hsts? We'll here's a cool way to turn them into a new type of fabric. As far as I know this product doesn't have an official name - I learnt it at college and it wasn't called anything then, but if you know the official name of this craft, please let me know. 1. Save up your fabric shavings & wee bits of offcuts that are too small to be useful (you can also cut up wee bits of fluffy wool, ribbon, sparkly threads etc.). Bigger pieces will need to be snipped down smaller. 2. Take a piece of plain sheeting/calico and lay a load of shavings on top. You can colour code your savings as I have done here, or have a multi-coloured mess! Make sure it's thick enough to cover the backing fabric, but not too thick to sew over. 3. Lay a piece of water soluble fabric over the top and pin/sew round the edges. This stuff is really cool - you can get different brands in a craft shop or online. I've used Avalon Water Soluble Embroidery Fabric by Madeira. 4. Now sew, sew, sew over the top of the w.s.fabric, either by free motion quilting or straight & wavy lines all over. Try not to leave any big gaps where the shavings can later escape from. 5. When you have stitched this to within an inch of its life, take the pins out and under a luke warm tap or in a sink/basin, allow the w.s.fabric to melt away (it goes a bit slimy as it melts off so rinse it well). 6. Give your new piece of fabric a good squeeze to get the water out and then allow it to dry on the radiator. 7. When dry, draw your desired shapes on the back and cut out. If you want to, sew more stitching on top to highlight details, for example veins in leaves, or sew on beads, sequins etc. 8. You can now use your fabric shapes to embellish/decorate cards, cushions, make letters or Christmas decorations etc. etc. The possibilities are endless! Another way to use this wonderful water soluble fabric is to roughly sketch a shape on to it & then put it into an embroidery hoop. Repeated sewing and shading with thread will close all the gaps, so that when you take the fabric off the hoop and dissolve the w.s.fabric you are left with a completely embroidered shape. Have fun & let your imagination run wild!
Learning how to ecoprint on silk brings together the therapeutic energies of plants, their healing virtues, their fragrance, and their memory of place.
I have finally given the weaver's knot a try. A weaver's knot joins two threads together in a knot that will secure your threads and allow you to continue weaving. Since I've only just started using this technique, I'm not really sure if I'll like this more or less then my previous process of starting
for more freeform knit and crochet fibreart please visit my website at www.knotjustknitting.com
Measurements can vary by country, in this article I'll be referring to US terms. The size refers to how many yards of the fiber it takes to make 1 pound of yarn. This is called the yarn count. For cotton, silk, and rayon: Size 1 means there are 840 yards of the yarn in 1 pound.
Creating Stylish Conductive Fabric*: Conductive fabric is a fabulous product for eTextile design, but it is not always aesthetically pleasing. This is a method of creating your own conductive fabric from fusible fibers that will compliment your design project. I was sent some thread s…
Did you know that you can use dried hibiscus leaves to dye fabric? Learn how with our DIY Natural Dye Dish Towels tutorial.
Hello again everyone. I want to start this week off by saying a big thank you to all those who voted for me last week!! Because of you I wa...
September 1946.
Ta Da! A finish for Friday! I cut 5″ x 10″ rectangles from leftover Kona solids for a 38″ square quilt.I quilted it, by machine, at one inch intervals treating each cube as an in…
Joanne Strauch has been working on a fabulous rug in locker hooking, using carded fleece instead of yarn or fabric. It's been so much fun watching the rugs progress that I wanted to share just a few photos here. This is her color study/sample for the rug, which is really a work of art in its own right. (Click on it for a full-sized image.) One of the real joys of starting with fleece, as I'm sure you spinners and felters know, is having so much control over your end product. As you can see, Joanne's been playing with lots...
You know how it’s always about the details. When sewing with knits, the details really matter. Learn about those details and why they they make a difference.
Learn a new technique while stitching your scraps with this scrap feather tutorial. The applique design can be used to create so many different projects.
The Maypole design is the fastest baby quilt pattern you can make! It's beginner friendly and made using large strips of fabric.
Scrapbusting: How to make Fabric Twine
This post is written by one of my fabulous 7 Steps to Style members Bernadette Lis who has lots of experience dying her clothes. ALL warm ladies should k
After stumbling into a passion for painted cheesecloth for use in her art quilts, Julie Booth became hooked in just making the colorful stuff.
