Creating Structure with Wire
In this
lesson we are going to look at ways of creating structure in your design using
wire. Sometimes the substance you are
wrapping may have wire already embedded in it.
Some craft wires -- jute or hemp cords that are available for floral
design have wire in them. This makes it easy to bend them in whatever shape you
want. When you have a cord that does not
contain wire, however, you have to add your own.
The wire
does not have to be anything fancy. Its
strength or gauge will depend upon the size of the rope you are using. The bigger the rope the stronger the wire you
will need to keep the shape so the smaller the gauge number will be.
If you are
using clothesline rope to practice, you can use floral wire that is readily
available in most craft and dollar stores.
(18 - 22 gauge wire)
If you are
using thicker macrame cord, you will need thicker wire to keep the shape so the
gauge number will decrease. (16-12
gauge) The magazine article pages that
Jess gave us at the beginning of our Class describe Mandi Smethells using a 1”
rope and 12 gauge wire and using masking tape every 6 inches or so to secure
the wire before she began wrapping her work.
Wire
cutters or shears will be needed to cut the wire to the appropriate size for
your rope. If you plan to have tassels, you will need to cut the wire only as
long as the area you plan to wrap.
The wire is attached to the back of the cord by wrapping
plain masking tape around the rope and wire and reasonable intervals. This will all be covered when wrapped by the
decorative fibers. The tape should be wrapped tightly around the wire and rope
to keep the wire in place.
In the small pieces that I have done so far, I have not
needed to have a committed structure that the wrapped and stitched curve of the
rope itself would not support. If I
planned to make something that would hand and needed to rely on itself for its
shape, I would add wire for structural support.
Video – Creating Structure Using Wire
Stitching
Pieces Together
Once you have made your shape, whether with wire or not, you
need to secure your pieces together. One
way of making them secure is to stitch the wrapped pieces together where they
touch. This is done from the reverse
side with a curved needle. The stitching doesn’t really show but if you are
worried you can try to coordinate your thread colours. Use a strong thread,
like a button or upholstery thread.
When you begin you will start with several straight stitches
to secure your knot going back and forth between your starting point that the
first rope you are connecting. Once you
are certain your thread is secure, you will angle your curved needle about ¾”
on the diagonal in the direction in which you want to stitch to come up in the
second rope. You will reinsert your needle very close to this same spot (either
just in front or just behind) so that you don’t leave a visible stitch but
angle it in a diagonal in the direction you want to continue to stitch. Again, the distance will be about ¾”. Keep repeating this procedure, zig zagging
across the two ropes until you reach the end of your design.
Video – FE Sewing a Piece Together
Gluing
Pieces Together
An alternative to stitching or a technique that can be used
in addition to stitching, is glueing.
Hot glue is often used by South American and Mexican artisans when
making headpieces or other art pieces involving fiber emballage. Frequently
jewelry pieces are made using some type of gluing method as documented in the
videos by Esprial & Cor.
(229)Técnica Espiral - YouTube
I haven’t at this point in time, used glue as a method of
joining pieces together, though I have used it as a way of ending my threads on
practice pieces. My next thread,
however, has started over the top of the previously glued end to reinforce it
and make sure that it won’t come undone. (I guess I don’t trust glue alone if
there is going to be wear and tear)
No comments:
Post a Comment