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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Projects five and six: string theory.

Today, two new jewelry ideas. First, let me state for the record: I cannot sew. I cannot knit. I cannot crochet. I don't seem to be able to do anything with thread, yarn or fiber beyond sewing on a button.

So what on earth to do with this ball of yarn-y, string-y, fiber-y stuff??? I don't know if it has a name; it must be some kind of novelty yarn. Anyway, it's pretty, and a little strange. These two projects are also a little strange.

Project Five.

Start with a small piece of paper, about six inches square. You could use parchment or any other paper that takes your fancy. I chose tracing paper because it was in my closet and I liked the semi-transparency of it.


Mix 2 parts white glue to 1 part water, and brush it (or finger paint it!) all over the paper. Messy. I put down waxed paper first.


Start placing the yarn, working kind of gently. Try for swirly patterns. This part is pretty much serendipitous, although I did try to guide the little colored blobbles into empty areas to fill the paper somewhat evenly.


You will get something like:


Let it dry, then cut out 2 of any shape you think would make a nice earring. I used a template so they would match.


Using full-strength glue, dot over the thread parts, avoiding the colored blobbles when possible. Don't worry if glue gets on them, though - it's not too critical.




Once the glue dries completely, add a fishhook earring wire. I used a ribbon-end finding, but you could also just poke a hole in the top of your piece and attach the earwire through that..

Done! Earrings! You can make them any size, but I went with big (okay, gimundo) to sport the maximum amount of colored blobbles.


I tried to give you a photo that shows the translucence. (My husband, who knows how to light stuff, helped me get this shot - I love it!)

Okay! Let us move on to...

Project six.

This has essentially the same starting point, with a different technique to finish. Once you have your glue-dried-string-swirled-paper piece, lay it on a small piece of clear contact paper.


Lay another piece on top, and press hard along the edges to enclose your string art. Cut around the edges, but - this is important! - you need to cut it wide, leaving a rim of clear laminate around your paper shape. You end up with:


A very, very cute ravioli. I turned this particular ravioli into a pendant: punch 2 two holes, string a cord, add a matching bead. Check it out:


I think these two string projects ended up fairly unique...lighthearted...only a little bit weird. Well - the ravioli one, maybe more than a little bit. But they're undeniably fun. Now I wonder what other results you could get, with different types of novelty yarn? I know you all have some. If anyone tries it, I want to see!

1 comment:

  1. This is neat! Very seventies. I wonder what it would look like if you just stiffened the thread with... err... dunno, glue? (like paper lanterns made from paper by glueing it around balloons and then popping the balloon) Anyway, it's ace!

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