So Much To Make: twine

Friday, October 2, 2015

Yarn Feather Tutorial

I recently saw some gorgeous handmade feathers on Pinterest and decided I HAD to learn how to make them! It was time to change out my 4 Season Wreath, and feathers were my big idea for fall.

I learned from this excellent tutorial at Infarrantly Creative, but also came up with some additional ideas during the creative process that added to the ease of this exciting craft! I am thrilled to share!

Here are the main items you'll need:

Pipe Cleaners (in colors that correspond to your yarn); Mine are 12 inches long.
Glue stick (the kind used in school--not hot glue)
Yarn, embroidery thread, baker's twine, or other thin, flexible string
Liquid Starch (I found mine at my grocery store in the laundry detergent aisle--cost $3-$4)
Good scissors
Craft paint (optional)
Not pictured: Shallow tray for soaking (I used a disposable lasagne pan lid), Cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil/ gallon zipper bags

1. Take a pipe cleaner in a color corresponding to the yarn you are using. Coat one end and a couple inches of it with the glue stick. I used some scrap paper under me to protect my workspace from stickiness.

2. Beginning at the glue end, wrap yarn tightly and closely around the pipe cleaner. When you get past the glued area, add a few more inches of glue, and continue wrapping.

3. Once the pipe cleaner is all wrapped in yarn, cut off the end, and add a dab of glue to hold the tail in place. Set this aside.

4. Cut about 12 feet (needn't measure--basically a LONG piece) of yarn. Fold it in half, then fold the doubled length in half again. Continue folding it in half until the length of the bunch of thread is about 8 inches (give or take an inch).

5. Cut the folded edges off to make several equal-sized pieces of thread.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to get 60-80 pieces of yarn the same length.

7. Now take the covered pipe cleaner and secure the end of it that doesn't have tail (the end you began covering) with something heavy (I used a weight). Beginning at the other end, tie a single knot around the pipe cleaner, placing the knot in the middle of the piece of thread. Repeat this with the rest of the yarn, tying each knot right under the preceding one.

8. I wanted long feathers, so I only left about 3 inches of stem. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly the tying went. Each feather only took about 15 minutes to tie.

Here are my three incomplete feathers for this project. The white one is made with baker's twine. The other two are acrylic yarn.

9. Pour some liquid starch in a flat, shallow container. Set each feather in the liquid one at at time, pressing down to make sure all the yarn is immersed. Remove from liquid and gently squeeze excess (but don't wring out). Once you have soaked each feather, pour leftover starch back into the bottle to save for future use. You can clean up the soaking container in your kitchen sink with warm soapy water.

10. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or heavy, smooth plastic (I used zipper storage bags, but will use aluminum foil next time). Form the feathers into the shapes you desire. Be particular here because once the dry, they can't be re-shaped without re-soaking them.

11. Place the cookie sheet in a warm (170 degree F) oven. Don't go hotter this (you don't want to melt the acrylic thread or plastic bags). I let mine "cook" for 15 minutes at a time, then turned the oven off and left them in the oven with it off. Drying time will vary--yarn takes longer than twine-- but using the oven is MUCH faster than waiting on the feathers to air-dry. The oven method will take 2-4 hrs. Air drying will take 24-48 hrs.

12. Once feathers are dry and stiff, you can trim them to the shape you desire. Use strong, sharp scissors to get through the stiffened yarn. I trimmed the blue and brown feathers, but left the white one as is. I liked the shaggy look of it for my project.

13. Acrylic craft paint can be added to the feathers. I LOVED this part of the process. I have all kinds of projects swimming around in my head to make feathers and paint them now!

Adding a final coat of acrylic sealer is optional, but will improve the longevity of the feathers, especially if you are using them in an outdoor setting.

I added the feathers to my 4-Season Wreath (tutorial found here). I wanted a new look for fall, and I am LOVING it!

Participating in these link-ups.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Fall Table Runner

I tend to lean on the side of contemporary--rather than country--in most of my decor, except when I am decorating for fall. Then, I pull out the burlap, the wood, the leaves, and the twine. I love the cool air and earthy smells of fall. I LOVE the warm colors. And I LOVE this table runner.

It is fun and easy (though not quick--I'm not gonna lie). I had it in my mind as a concept, so I wasn't entirely sure how it would work. It will be considerably faster for someone following my tutorial, than it was for me figuring it out as I went!

This is a highly customize-able craft. Once you see how it is done, you can create your own design and make it fit your aesthetic desires.

You will need:

1 plain burlap table runner. I made mine by hemming the sides of a strip of burlap to fit my table.
1/4 -1/2 yard of burlap in 2-3 complimentary tones (one can match runner)
Tacky Glue
Jute Twine
1/2-1 yard Heat-n-Bond iron-on adhesive or similar product

I stuck with earthen tones for my burlap. I tried Elmer's Glue-All also, but I don't recommend it. It was too runny for the purpose. Tacky Glue is just that--tacky.

This worked well enough, but I wouldn't hesitate to by the not "lite" version since this is burlap. Any bonding that was less-than-secure after ironing this on was taken care of by the gluing step.

1. Find or create some pumpkin and leaf stencils/patterns out of paper. I traced some leaf decorations I already had and free-handed the pumpkins. Many templates are available online.

2. Pin your leaf and pumpkin patterns to some of the coordinating burlap and cut them out. I didn't end up liking the way the maple leaf design looked on my runner, but I plan to use it on a pillow!

3. To make the coordinating parts on the pumpkin: Cut a pumpkin shape out of two different colors of burlap. Here the white burlap is on the bottom, the brown on top. Trace lines as shown to divide the pumpkin into 7 curved strips. Cut the strips out. Repeat this for each pumpkin you are making.

4. Lay out your design. I played around with mine a lot. I originally planned to do this "applique" over the entire runner, but because I have a fairly large center piece I use in the fall, I decided to just put it on each end.

5. Read the directions on the Heat-n-Bond. I will walk you through it as well, but reading it will help. Beginning with the top layer of the applique (here, the pumpkin strips) bond the Heat-n-Bond to the back (paper will still be attached).

**Place a piece of disposable fabric or paper over your ironing board when you are working with the iron-on adhesive. The glue will get on everything below when you turn it over to iron. (I should have shown this so you weren't looking at my old, stained ironing board cover!)

6. Cut out the pieces with the paper backing still on.

7. Remove the paper, leaving the clear bonded film on each piece.

8. Attach the pieces to the pumpkins by ironing in place per the Heat-n-Bond directions.

9. Repeat the process for the leaves and the pumpkins--so each piece is cut out with the film exposed. 10. Place each piece where you want it on the table runner and iron in place.

11. Using the Tacky Glue, attach the jute twine along all the seams of the applique. I added a line of twine up the middle of the leaves to add some dimension.I also made a few curly-cue vines with the twine at the top of the pumpkins.

This glue will take about 6-8 hours to dry clear. I pressed down the twine and re-positioned it a few times as it was drying.