.

This project is a real example of crafty serendipity. I’ve been noodling with this stiffened-fabric idea since June, but with one thing and another and another, haven’t gotten around to posting it.

When I finally went to photograph this tutorial, I realized the season was changing, and I’d need to switch from the summery fabrics I’d been using to something more Fall-appropriate. And that fabric switch totally transformed the project.

Anyway, here’s how it’s done…

To begin, you’ll need a number of things handy:

• A bunch of woven-cotton fabric squares (I’m using 2″ and 1 1/2″ ones here, but – experiment!)


• Some fabric stiffener (I like Stiffy, and there’s also Aleene’s.)


• A work surface (wrap a piece of cardboard tightly with plastic wrap, and tape it to the back.)

Pour some stiffener into a shallow dish. Have some paper towels at the ready – things will get messy!

Saturate a square of fabric in the stiffener, and lightly wipe away the excess. There should be a film of stiffener over the surface, but you should be able to see the pattern through that.

Place the square face down on that plastic-wrapped surface. Gently fold the four corners in to meet at the center, as shown. You’ll have plenty of time to adjust them so the resulting shape is nice and square.

Some fabrics will fray a little during this process, and leave little threads sticking out at the corners, Don’t worry about this right now – we’ll deal with it later.

Stiffer fabrics have a tendency to pop up in the center. If this is happening, just dip your finger in the stiffener and place a dot of it over those four corners, as shown. It’ll vanish when it dries.

I like to let the pieces sit a few minutes, and then gently plump up the squares by pinching them on the sides a bit. I think they’re prettier if they aren’t totally flat.

Make as many pieces as you need, and leave the whole thing to dry completely. This will probably take overnight.

When it’s all dry, you can gently peel the squares off the plastic wrap. Sometimes it helps to slide a thumbnail under the edge to get it started.

…And now, we’ll trim off those bits of frayed thread! Now that the fabric is stiffened, you won’t see any more fraying.

If you find a little ridge of dried stiffener at the edges of your square, just scrape it away with your thumbnail.

So now you have all these design elements to mix and match. You can combine different sizes, fabrics, and configurations to make all kinds of pretty things.

I’m arranging these fabric tiles with the four folded-in corners facing up, by the way.

…And then we’ll add some buttons, which makes things even more interesting.

So, to assemble these tiles into jewelry, we’ll sew them. The stiffened fabric is still stitch-able, but I’d recommend keeping a thimble and a pair of needle-nose pliers handy – they help push and pull your needle if it gets stuck.

First, we’ll sew a button to this tile. Let’s hide the knot in our thread under the button. Just pass the needle down through the center of the tile. These tiles are quite stiff now, but still, handle them carefully. Try not to bend or crush them.

If you wiggle your needle a bit as you press it into the stiff fabric, it’ll go through more easily.

From here, sew on your button as you normally would. Once you’ve made the first set of needle holes, you can keep using them for the rest of the stitches.

(Incidentally, I love using a contrasting thread with the button. I’m working with doubled thread here, but that can be fiddly. Single thread works great, too.)

To finish the thread, pass it under your stitches on the back of the tile, and then knot it.

Here are a couple variations on this idea. When I want to stack up several tiles into one piece as you see here, I’ll follow the same steps to hide the knot under my button, but then I’ll also take a couple stitches through all the tiles. That helps hold them in place while I sew on the button.

And also, I prefer sew-through buttons for this project overall, because they’ll stay flatter against the fabric. However, I found this shank button in my stash – it has a really shallow shank, so it worked well.

I like using simple methods to convert these pieces into jewelry. You can easily sew on a jump ring, as seen here, and then add it to a chain or neckwire.

Or, you can pass a needle through the top edge of back tile, as shown here. This allows you to suspend the piece from waxed thread, narrow ribbon, or (in this case) pearl cotton.

You can totally use these tiles in clusters. In fact, you can make a whole lot of other things besides jewelry! Consider these ideas:

• They’d make a cool garland.


• You could make some interesting holiday ornaments.


• They’d make pretty package toppers or gift tags.


• They’d also be cool card embellishments.


• They’d be an interesting dimensional embellishment on a curtain


• Ditto for a lampshade.

What other ideas do you come up with?

Have you ever wished for a more attractive way to mount a stone in a pendant than the old-fashioned use of "claws"? Mavis Llewellyn used wire wrapping in the project presented here, for that very reason. Mavis' pendant was the project of the month in a recent issue of Wired. Here are Mavis' step-by-step instructions for this lovely pendant project, to introduce you to one of the things wire wrapping can do.

Be aware, however, that wire wrapping is very versatile, as art forms go, and can be used not only in lapidary, but in combination with beading and even by itself, to create designs to be displayed or worn that are made of nothing but cleverly wrapped wire.

A jig of some sort is often used to aid the wire wrapper (whether beading is involved or not), such as the Wigjig described in "The Wonders of Wire" in the April 1996 issue of Jewelry Crafts.

Note from Mavis: I developed the design presented in this article about 10 years ago. I just wasn't happy with the typical faceted stone design with claws, as I found that the stones could come out of the settings too easily. This design is my way of getting around those claws. You will find also that the stone in this design is very secure. I have had many people asking me to teach or publish it over the years, along with my faceted ring stone designs (they will be featured in forthcoming issues of Wired). So here it is folks, hope you enjoy it!

Materials Needed for This Project:

4 feet of 20-gauge square soft wire 1 foot of 22-gauge half-round hard wire 4 1/2 inches of 22-gauge square hard wire A faceted stone

1: Cut six pieces of 20-gauge square soft wire each 8 inches long. The depth of the stone coincides with the wire when they are lined up so the stone doesn't fall onto one side when it is finished. Cut two pieces of tape and secure each end of your wires. Find the middle and mark with a fine felt-tip pen. Line the stone up with the center. Now you need to determine how many binding wires are going to be used for the middle section (approx. 1/4 inch for the 12-carat size used in these illustrations). Cut a 5-inch piece of 22-gauge half-round hard wire. (No need to file the ends as the edge will be against the stone.)

2: Using flat-nose pliers, fold over about 1/16 inch of the 22-gauge half-round wire to prepare to bind the six pieces of 20 square soft together. Take this hook and move it out of parallel slightly (with your flat-nose pliers), so that it is on a gentle slant, and where you've marked the center, start your binding. Again, depending on the size of the stone, approximately six turns. Finish off the binding and fold over with flat-nose pliers.

3: Make sure you have finished off on the same side as you started. Now turn your work over, and from the binding, measure and mark 1/4 inch and then measure and mark another 1/4 inch from this mark. Do the same thing on the other side.

4: Remove the tapes, and with a penknife, slide the blade up between the first and second wires and pull the first wire out at a slight angle. Do the same on the other side. Where you put the first 1/4-inch mark, bend the wire down slightly and, where it is marked on the second 1/4 inch, bend it up so that the wire now runs parallel to the other wires. Do the same on the other side. Retape ends.

5: You might need to do minor adjustments at the markings to make sure everything lines up okay. Apply binding, starting at the outer mark, and work outward for four turns. Do the same on the other side.

6: As in Step 5, measure and compare spaces between center binding and outer binding. If not the same, adjust the outer binding with your flat-nose pliers. Now form the wires around the mandrel at the center binding, making sure the binding ends are on the inside.

7: Periodically, take the wires and place the stone in the curve, making sure it's a good fit with the bindings sitting just under the edge of the stone. Prepare triangular points for holding the stone.

Some Helpful Hints: Your stone should be sitting on the top wire. For the two triangular points to hold your stone securely in place, you will need to carefully guide these just over the top of your stone by working the tip of the point outward. Then slant it in toward the stone. By removing and then replacing your stone while you work, you can determine the degree of the slant. Both points will need slight adjustments until you've achieved the correct degree of slant over the edge of the gemstone. (The reason for working the tip of the points outward first is to make the base of the triangle--as indicated by the two white arrows--the seating for the stone.) Pull the points inward to secure the stone. When using oval stones, mark the center by using a thin piece of masking tape.

8: Continue bending the wires until you reach the top of the stone. The wires should cross over at the center of the stone. Where the wires cross, bend one side straight up, using flat-nose pliers. Then do the same with the other side. Align them and tape them as shown.

9: Cut a piece of 22-gauge square hard wire and bend it into a U shape, leaving 3/4 of an inch at one end. Place it on the wires and hold it in place with the pliers. Bind four times, moving toward the oval, as shown.

10: Again, check that your stone is sitting correctly in the curve of the wires, with the bindings just under the edge of the stone.

11: Now remove the tape and, with your penknife, spread open the wires. Then separate and bring the top two wires forward, over the front of the piece, and tape them together.

12: Cut a piece of 22-gauge half-round hard wire and bind these two wires, starting as close as possible to the top, about five turns in all. Remove the tape and spread the wires out. Curve the binding forward with your pliers. Start binding here.

13: Put the stone in place by tucking it under the tips of the points first, then bring your two bound wires forward, giving them a slight curve just over the top of the stone, as shown.

14: Where the two wires are spread at the top of the mounting, bring them down on each side, across the mounting, toward the back. Make a curve in the first wire and thread it through so that it comes out just below the base of the triangle, through the V shape.

15: Now bring the wire all the way through and lay it flat against the mount. Cut off, leaving enough wire to tuck in. Repeat these steps for the second wire.

16: Bring down the rest of the wires, one at a time, leaving two for the eye loop. Cut off and curve in toward the top of the stone, forming what will look like a crown.

17: At this stage, go back to the two points and adjust them so they are holding the stone securely. Cut the last two wires, at the top of the pendant, about 1/2-inch long. Spread them slightly and make the loops so that they overlap.

18: To prepare an eye, cut a 1 3/4-inch piece of 22-gauge square hard wire. Put a loop in one end and center it. Now put a loop at the other end, facing the opposite way, and center it too.

19: To form the eye, bring the two loops together so that they overlap. The loops should be sitting side by side so you can open and close them like the two ends of a jump ring. Feed the eye through the loop on the top of your pendant, and you're all done!

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BEADED FLOWER





Sculpt this flower from beads & wire. Once made the uses are endless!
For wearable art you can create a brooch, a centerpiece for a necklace or
on a barrette. For the home, a napkin ring, a candle or a curtain. Let
your imagination go!







Materials:

- Four yds 28g craft
wire, cut in 1 yd pieces

- Assorted seed
beads (11/0, delicas, 3-cut, hex or charlottes)

Choose colors that blend well in a variety of finishes to give texture
to the flower.

- Twelve 4mm round
or firepolish
beads

- One 6mm
bead

Step 1 - Slide 3 seed beads onto a piece of 1 yd wire. Thread end of wire
back through 2 of the beads, pulling both ends to create a small loop of
beads in the center of the wire.







Step 2 – Add 3 more seed beads on one end of the wire and thread the
other end of wire through the seed beads in the opposite direction. Pull
gently being careful to work out any kinks in the wire as you see them
developing.





Step 3 –
Continue this process to build the petal. The pattern we used is 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2. You can develop your own pattern through
experimenting with different combinations.









Step 4 – Add
one bead to each of the wires, then start building the next petal, using
the pattern in the reverse order. Try using a different color or type of
bead for each petal to add interest and texture to the flower.









Step 5 – To
end the petal, thread wire back through a few of the beads, twist around
once or twice and snip the ends.











Step 6 – Repeat Steps 1 through 5 to create 2 more sets of petals. You
will need three set to complete 1 flower.



Step 7 – Cut the last piece of wire into 4 equal pieces (approx. 9"
ea).





Step 8 –Thread one of the 4mm beads onto the wire and twist the wire to
anchor the bead in the center.





Step 9 – Separate the wires, add a bead to one wire and twist several
times. Continue until you have 4 beads on each wire. Repeat until you have
3 pieces finished.





Step 10 – With the one remaining wire slide the 6mm bead onto the wire
and fold in half and twist. Take all the wires and thread through the
center of the petals. Twist or braid and coil all the wires to anchor.