Layers
As referenced in the previous lesson, there are many
types and weights of paper that can be used for stitching and essentially it
becomes a matter of personal preference. Once you have taken into
account the necessary stability required for your work, the choice of paper is
up to you. You will be making the decision of whether your finished piece will
be mounted on another substrate and therefore it does not need to be
substantial in and of itself or whether it must stand or be displayed on its
own.
Paper can be layered to provide greater strength and this
layering also provides interesting creative options.
Simple layers
- Some
paper/textile artists use two or more sewn layers of paper (folded and
not) to create amazing geometric works of art
- White
on white layers can be mesmerizing in their simplicity and complexity
Collage
- Different
colours and weights of papers providing background interest to stitch
- Use
of translucent and textured paper
- Prints
from Gelli plates or stencils providing form to be stitched
- Torn
edges to provide texture
Weaving
- Paper
weaving can provide texture and visual interest
- Paper
string as a component of the weaving
- Other
media woven into the paper (more on this in a later lesson)
Ephemera
- Will
be considered as a separate topic
Modifying Paper to Use for Layers
There are a number of methods, or surface treatments,
that can be applied to paper to make it an interesting layer for use in a
project. Let’s look at just a few.
I use diluted acrylic paint as a glaze on tissue paper to
make stained tissue for coloured papers for collage work. I’ll direct you to
great videos for this technique. Just as the video suggests – you do
want to set aside some time and space for making the papers. You are going to
enjoy the process and just like potato chips, you aren’t going to want to stop
after just one.
Tissue Paper Staining, neutrals - YouTube
Shibori Fold and Dye Technique on Rice Paper - YouTube
I’ve included a few videos to give you some different
takes on using acrylic paint to colour tissue paper for use in your
backgrounds for stitching.
How to Use White Tissue to Make Great Collage Paper - YouTube
Making Collage (tissue) Paper with Marie Cummings - YouTube
My Attempts at StainingTissue Rice Paper
The same videos that you saw about Gelli printing on
regular paper in Lesson 2 can be applied to tissue paper to make collage
papers.
You can also use diluted acrylic medium to add fibres
such as string to tissue paper to make a textured paper for your project.
The following video will show you the steps – it’s really quite easy.
How
to MakeTextured Paper - YouTube
MyAttempt at Making Textured Tissue Rice Paper
MakingTextured Look Paper with Copy Paper
my demo
Embossing paper can provide a subtle but effective
texture.
How to Emboss Paper with Awesome Designs - YouTube
If you have card making supplies like embossing folders
or stencils, this video may be of use to you:
How to emboss without a machine - YouTube
Something as simple as crumpling tissue paper, copy
paper, paper that comes as protective packaging in parcels can provide an
interesting texture to paper (momigami) that is then painted and used as a
layer in your project. The paint or ink will be darker in the creases and
provide and interesting effect that could enhance your stitching. We spoke of
this last lesson.
MOMIGAMI!!- Japanese Kneaded Paper - No Oil, No Lotion Method
KonnyakuTreatment - Make Paper Stronger More Like Fabric!
If you want the look of layers without the stiffness of a
regular collage, you could consider making fabric paper or paper fabric.
This is the technique of layering/bonding thin papers on a base of thin fabric
using a liquid medium. Typically, a fine cheesecloth or muslin is used as
the base (though even dryer anti static sheets work) and a wide range of
delicate papers may be used to build up the paper layers. Diluted acrylic
medium or PVA glue is used to bond the layers together. The texture of
the diluted medium should be like milk so that it can easily saturate the
papers and not tear the delicate fibres.
Learn
to Make Paper Cloth! - YouTube
Making
Paper Fabric Two Ways my demo
Handmade paper has a unique texture, particularly if it
is a recycled paper. The thicker quality of the paper and the deckle
edges give a stitched piece a character all its own. Making recycled
paper does not have to be a difficult or expensive undertaking.
Making Your Own Paper
If you want to try some simple recycled papermaking, here
are a couple of videos showing how to do it without investing in much more than
dollar store supplies. You will need a bit of patience to let the paper pieces
soak to soften but it is workable. If you put the paper through a
shredder, it will be smaller and if you soak it longer it will disintegrate
even more. You can use an immersion blender if you don’t have a large one
or even pull it apart by hand if you have the patience. (Make sure to clean the
blender out well when you are finished). When you are squeezing the water out,
you can also run a rolling pin over the tea towel to get some extra water
out. Make sure you protect your surface before you start this project.
How to Make Paper | HomemadePaper (Recycled) - YouTube
Handmade
Paper using dollar tree supplies / without blender tips - YouTube
Acrylic ink or diluted acrylic paint added to the paper
slurry will add colour to the paper but will stain any towels that are used to
dry the pages. (a sponge might be better in this case) The colour will be
lighter when the paper dries.
Creating Fibre Skin Layers
Paper is made out of plant fibres – cotton, cellulose,
mulberry and many different kinds of barks and plants. It is a matter of
breaking down the plant fibres so that they can be beaten and pulped and
recombined into sheets of paper. We are going to take a look as something
slightly different and the term used is skins. This comes from the fact
that acrylics, when left to dry, will form a pliable skin on a non-porous
surface that can be carefully removed in one piece. We are going to use
that property to make a sisal fibre skin that can be used to add texture and
dimension to your work. It is easy to stitch through and easy to
manipulate.
To begin you will need a non-porous surface to work
on. I used freezer paper, and cling wrap but a Teflon sheet or plastic
sheet would work. You will need watered down acrylic medium (consistency of
milk), a brush that you use with acrylic medium, and a piece of sisal rope.
You need to separate the strands of sisal rope and keep
separating them until all you have are fibres. My rope consisted of three
large strands which broke down into smaller strands, which then broke down into
fibres. Start with a piece that is 4’ to 5’ in length. It is easier to unravel
smaller pieces than larger ones. You can always cut more.
Brush a layer of the diluted medium on the freezer paper
and begin laying down the fibres (though the fibres are so thin, it also works
with just a layer of medium on the top of the fibres - that is necessary if you
are using cling film because the medium just beads up on the film). When the
fibres are in place, put more medium on top of the fibres to hold them in
place. Let everything dry and then peel the sisal off the backing.
In the video below, you’ll see that I used cling film for
this try.
Making a Sisal
Skin my demo
Making aCheesecloth Skin with Text my
demo (interesting idea by Margarita Korioth on Quilting TV)
Weaving Paper
Weaving paper strips can add a lot of texture to your
piece. In fact, you can create an entirely new piece of paper from scrap
strips of paper that will provide an interesting background for your work. We
all have offcuts of paper from trimming things down to size. If you’re
like me, it’s hard to throw beautiful and even not so beautiful paper away
because you never know when that piece may be just the one you need.
Well, now the time has come.
If you don’t have a pile of scraps, you can take old book
pages, old maps, artwork you are unhappy with, pieces of wrapping paper,
newspaper, or even paper you paint especially for this purpose and cut up just
for weaving.
Here is a video that shows a very simple way to
do a basic under over weave that let’s you secure as you go and doesn’t have
you working with too many strips at once. Those weavers among you, please
feel free to disregard this method.
Weaving Paper Scraps Part 1- Weaving and Stitching - YouTube
The following is a link to some free paper weaving
patterns:
Paper
Weaving Patterns | Kids Paper Crafts | Origami Resource
Center(origami-resource-center.com)
I will be sending you Paper Weaving
Templates – my license allows for personal use by my
class only (not to be distributed or shared to others) Paper Weaving
Paper weaving to aspire to: (I can only dream – but
her work is so beautiful, that I had to share the video)
Jessica Pribula, Paper Weaving - YouTube
Paper String
In addition to paper weaving, paper string can be added
to your piece or even used as a component in the weaving. It can be purchased
inexpensively from $ stores and craft stores and even made from newspaper or
other delicate papers.
What follows is more of a background or FYI for those of
you who have an interest in spinning and weaving. Japanese papers can also be turned into
threads and spun as well. Most of my experience with paper string comes from
the commercially made version and a brief attempt at making some from tissue
for the purpose of paper vessel making.
Paper thread or yarn is made by cutting continuous strips
of thin paper from a large sheet. These are then rolled until they form one
long thread. The Japanese use this thread to make a traditional woven cloth
called Shifu.
The following is a video demonstrating the process of
rolling the strips:
Rolling Paper Strips into a Thread - YouTube
This video shows the process of cutting the paper into
strips and shows an abbreviated rolling procedure to give an overview of the
entire process.
Paper Thread making for Shifu- YouTube
When you work with newspaper or tissue paper or any other
delicate paper, you cut the paper into thin strips 1cm to 1” and roll in
between your fingers to get the twist. When you get close the end of one
strip (about an inch from the end) overlap the beginning of the next strip of
paper and continue twisting. There will be a slight thickening of the
paper thread but that is to be expected. Sometimes it helps
to slightly dampen the paper before you begin to work on it. Remember
that western papers are delicate because the fibres are short.
You can also twist the paper using a drop spindle.
You would join the paper strips in much the same way as working by hand.
Here is a video by Noreen Crone-Findlay to explain:
How to Spin Brown Paper Yarn by Noreen Crone-Findlay - YouTube
Artist Links
Wendy Watson at Late Start Studio
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