by HEIDI WEISS EMMETT Before we dive in here all the fiber jewelry pictures are from my visits to Pinterest. I pin everyday, remember? 15 minutes, THAT’S IT! Never, ever do I consider Pintere…

Sujata Shah shares her "why" with Kim Soper as part of this week's installment of The Creativity Project. 52 interviews, 52 weeks. Don't miss it!

by HEIDI WEISS EMMETT Before we dive in here all the fiber jewelry pictures are from my visits to Pinterest. I pin everyday, remember? 15 minutes, THAT’S IT! Never, ever do I consider Pintere…

Lisa Anderson Shaffer is a textile artist who creates crochet art pieces and also has a line of fiber art jewelry called Zelma Rose.

Confession: I have a real problem throwing away scraps of fabric and trims. I also have an ever growing collection of buttons and bits that have been hanging out just waiting for their moment. So with time on my hands and a mountain of scraps, this textile jewelry was born. My approach in making these pins was very wabi-sabi, finding beauty in imperfection, relishing the raw edges and seeing lovely forms rise from the remnants. I like to think of each one as my small part in keeping stuff out of the landfill. Other stuff to know: • The backside is covered in a scrap to protect the embroidered threads. • This pin is silver metal, 2 1/4" wide. The fabric portion is approximately 1 1/2" W x 3" L. • It comes in a matte black gift box. You can see more of my art at luckylifestudio.com and hullartists.com

This cuff incorporates odds and ends of different yarn, fibers and beads. Liz teaches a freeform approach to looming, showing you how to set up a loom and

The tutorialfor a boho summer fabric twine bracelet.

Huge list of sew and no sew projects for fabric scraps. Make gifts, jewelery or home decor items out of the trimmings, crumbs and other items you would normally toss in the scrap bin.

We’ve made friendship bracelets with cotton thread, merino wool, nylon cording, and cashmere, but never…

I have had lots of wonderful comments on the fiber wrapped cords that I use to make neckpieces. I call them "neckpieces" because they are usually more like a scarf than a necklace. I wanted to share how I make the wrapped cords with you. The inspiration to make these came from the Winter 2010 Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine. "Wrapped, Jeweled and Embellished Creations" is the name of the article by Arline M. Lowenthal. I start with cotton clothes line. I measure the length that I want the piece to be and add about 6 inches to that for the ends. It takes about 3 inches to make each loop on the ends.  I use Scotch tape to keep the ends from fraying. I wrap the end in tape about a quarter of an inch in... Then I cut the end of the tape off to the end of the cord. I then form a loop to the size I want it. The size of the loop depends on the size of the button or bead that you will use to fit through the loop for the clasp. I then mark where the loop will meet the cord with my thumb. This is where I will start wrapping the fiber around the cord. We will wrap going from this point to the short end of the cord to make the loop. Start with a section of fiber about an inch long. It should be facing the short end of the cord. Start wrapping the fiber around the cord over the one inch piece. This will hold the end of the fiber in place. When I get to the tape on the end of the cord I make the loop by putting the end of the cord next to the cord. I then tape the end to the cord. This is an important step because the loop can come apart if you don't... trust me on this one! (As an added note it is best to stitch through the end of the cord and the main cord at this point... sometimes I don't even use the tape as the fibers may slip around it.) It is hard to see the tape because it is clear but the end is taped to the cord to form the loop. I then wrap the fiber around both cord pieces and then keep wrapping down the cord. To change to a different fiber I tie a slip knot around the cord at least two times with the fiber I am using. I then leave an inch of the fiber to wrap under with the next kind of fiber. I start it the same way as the first wrap was started with about an inch wrapped underneath. I ususally tie the end and then tack it with a needle and corresponding color of thread because you can't wrap the last end that you have. I make both ends first and use a simple cotton yarn on the loops. I then add different fibers as I go. To add another cord I lay them next to each other and tape and wrap the two together and continue down the new cord wrapping as I go. I hope you enjoyed my first blog tutorial... but most of all I hope you are inspired to try your hand at wrapping and embellishing! It is nice because you can make a statement piece that is light weight and comfortable to wear. This tutorial is will get you started. The instructions in the magazine are a little different and certainly more involved but with trial and error it all works! Please comment with questions and please share what you create with us on your blog! Yours truly, M

* I love what Arline Fisch does with thin wire. Aren’t her sculptures beautiful? Arline is a jeweler and Professor Emerita of Art at San Diego State University. You can learn more about the a…

Handwoven “friendship” style bracelet. Be your own best friend. Mixed hand dyed fibers, antique metals, 14K GF chain. Tie on. One size

ふんわりと空中をただよう…クモの巣のようにも、クラゲのようにも見えるニットアートを作る、造形作家・谷口聡子さん。繊細さと少しの毒々しさを兼ね合わせた独自の世界観を持つニット作品は、どれもとても幻想的。また、谷口さんが手掛けるアクセサリーブランド「a hINT of」のアクセサリーには、優しい美しさが…。今回は、谷口聡子さんのニットアートの世界をご紹介していきます。

By Karen Michel on Instagram.

What we know as Romanian Point Lace (aka Macramé Crochet, Braidwork, etc.) is usually categorized as a form of “Tape Lace”. A few months ago I came across this book, The Technique of Ta…

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Braidwork and Tape Lace Crochet This is a form of tape lace is known by many names including Macramé Crochet Lace, Romanian Point Lace, Braidwork, Tape Lace, etc., . It uses crocheted cords, tapes…

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Have you ever heard about a fiber called "angelina"? I hadn't until I got this little bag to try out. It's a very cool material that melts into a fabric-like surface when you iron it. Here is a description of the material: "The properties of these fibres result in an ability to provide luminescent-iridescent highlights,

How to stitch the back of a Sami Reindeer Leather Bracelet. This article is a continuation from How to Make a Sami Reindeer Leather Bracelet Step 1 - How to Wea

Hello, my sweet sunbeam! This week, I have a special […]

Threadpainting, Embroidery fibre artist Monika Kinner, Canada. Prairie textile landscapes. Award winning, Internationally commissioned art. Pastel

Allyson Rousseau is a self taught weaver who shares her unique techniques and style in classes and a new book.

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Hello all - Jenny here. Wanted to take a sec and introduce Cooky Schock. She is a fibers/mixed media artist from San Diego. Former owner o...

This portable pod is designed to provide a peaceful end and gives people the choice of how, when, and where they would like to pass on.

Reading Susan's post earlier this week about her technique for finishing kumihimo ends gave me a push to try something I've had on my 'to do' list for ages. Kumihimo with wire. I visited the Stitch & Hobbycraft fair in Manchester about 15 years ago and was lucky enough to meet Jacqui Carey who was demonstrating the art of Japanese braiding. I was instantly mesmerised. She explained the origins of the art before going on to demonstrate on a beautiful wooden marudai with wooden bobbins and miles of gorgeous hand dyed silks. Image from Samurai! Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection Kumihimo braids were originally used by Samurai soldiers. They were used to connect the various pieces of armour. Being made from silk, they were strong, light and allowed the soldiers to move freely. With the abolition of the Samurai class, the focus then shifted to fashion. The braids were used to make obi-jime, the ties used around the fabric sash of a kimino. Image from http://en.japantravel.com/photos/bewitched-by-awara-geisha And more recently, the marudai has been adopted by jewellery makers for making cords in their designs. Sue's beautiful necklace - http://www.suebeads.blogspot.co.uk/ One of my own kumihimo creations with beads. After the demonstration, we were given the opportunity to have a go of the Marudai and purchase our own. My budget at the time wouldn't stretch to the traditional wooden design (it was gorgeous, but a fortune!), but I absolutely had to have one, so I got an acrylic version with plastic weights. It's really difficult to take a picture of with it being see through, but hopefully you can make it out. It did have a pretty satin bag for adding stones to weight down the cord from the centre, but that has been misplaced, so I've repurposed and old knitting machine weight that has the same effect. I've used 0.4mm copper wire and wrapped it around the spools, these are connected in the centre and the weight added to draw the finished cord through the centre hole of the marudai. To start, I tried with a simple weave, square braid. It's not quite as easy with wire and I found that to get a neat finish, you had to be careful to keep an eye on the centre of the cord as it makes up. The process of weaving is to place your bobbins in pairs at North, South, East, and West. They are then moved into different positions across each other to create the cord. Here you can see it appearing below the Kagami (mirror) of the marudai. As the weight touches the bottom, the cord can be wrapped up to keep the tension. After trying a simple weave, I got a bit braver and decided to try a more complicated flat weave. You don't need to set up the marudai again with the wire, just start in the new pattern and then snip the sections off when you're finished. I really like how the flat weave turned out, it's not the neatest, but reminds me of Celtic knots. I think a thicker wire could make a better finish. I need to order more wire and experiment! The top weave here is the square braid. If you look closely, you can see on the left hand side where I changed the weight. The heavier the weight, the more it will draw the wire through and the longer the stitches in the weave, a lighter weight will make them closer together. The final square braid ended up around 2mm thick. I snipped the ends and pulled it through a drawplate to pull in any loops that were a bit wider than they should have been. I raided my stash for anything with a hole large enough to fit over the braid and found some ceramic beads I've been hoarding from Lesley Watt. They were perfect. A Bit of liver of Sulpur to darken the copper and a bit of a polish and here's the (nearly) finished design. I was hoping to use Sue's technique for finishing the ends, but the weave was tighter than if it had been done in thread, so unfortunately the wire wouldn't push through. To hold the ends, I've just wrapped them with more wire for now. If you'd like to find out a bit more about using a marudai, I can recommend Jacqui's book, Beginner's Guide to Braiding. Her UK shop with marudai's, supplies and more books can be found here http://careycompany.com/ Thanks for reading! Caroline http://www.bluberribeads.co.uk

Posted via email from Sam Husseini