September workshop meeting

Some more info about the first meeting in September.
Mel has given a list of items that could be useful for our burning, heating, distorting experimental, fun workshop.
Mel says......

For Saturday September 3^rd we will be concentrating on burning, so the following would be good:  we need table covers and a heat mat if you have one, respirators / Breathing masks (Amazon have whole face ones for £4.50 or half face for £9.50 -don’t ask me why).  Tyvek is good, Angelina fibres, fabrics that melt/burn organzas, kunin felt etc, fabrics that don’t burn or melt to stitch pieces to or to give stability.  I found that sweet wrappers (ie Quality Street) do not melt with a heat gun. Colourful plastic bags, embossing powders/paint (Stewart Gill paints are good) or acrylics, inks, whatever takes your fancy;  puff paint, expanding medium etc.  Heat gun, soldering iron,  glue gun and glue.  In fact all sorts of things that the imagination can think of.  Apparently Lutrador is good, but I have never used it.

I can say that I love Lutrador, it is a wonderful fabric to sew, colour and heat and gives a wonderful texture when heated. It is however quite dangerous for your throat and chest. If you are going to burn Lutrador then please use a mask and work in a well ventilated area. I had a dreadful sore throat after using it once and I learnt my lesson so I would urge you to make sure you use the right safety equipment. Most plastics will give off fumes as will acrylic paints if you add them to your materials first so again, use a mask.

I have set up a pinterest page on heated textiles so if anyone would like to join and add their own pins then let me know and I can send you an invite.
There is a pin on there about a course that uses laminated fabrics for a burning project. You could heat some fabric, stitch them, or add sheer layers to them (not too much) and then try putting them through a laminator. The laminator can then be reheated or embellished with a soldering iron.


Looking forward to having a fun experimental and investigative day in September, start collecting your materials now!


Also don't forget you will need to bring your sewing machine and associated items (extension lead, threads etc) and hand sewing items if you want to join or combine materials or stitch them first to create a resist. This works well with Tyvek.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Summer, we have had a few lovely days. The puppy below is just because I love him! He's so sleepy!