Cerulean Shoals - a metal mesh ribbon cuff
I am very very excited about this new piece that I did for the Bead Journal Project this month! I have been looking for other textiles that would give an organic look to my work like pleated shibori silk ribbon does, and I stumbled upon metal mesh ribbon. Not that the two look alike, that's not what I mean. I was looking for that organic quality that the silk has, and the metal mesh ribbon seemed to be a distinct possibility. You can stretch it and bend it, pinch it and fold it, stick stuff inside it, and best of all...you can easily stitch through it. So here is my first attempt, in all it's turquoise-y glory!
There are step-by-step instructions for this piece in Chapter 3 of my e-book Bored By Back Stitch!
January
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March
April
Copyright 2014 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
5 comments:
Cyndi, could you go into more detail about how you used the metal mesh as a beading foundation
Yup! I'm going to be writing up a full tutorial, but for now, what you really need to know is to leave the edges of the mesh free, unlike when you work with shibori silk ribbon. That way you can stretch and pinch it into place after you've stitched :-)
Have you chosen a name yet for this beautiful piece? Perhaps I missed it.
I'm particularly fond of the May cuff.
Oh! Thanks for asking, Eileen! Yes, it has ended up being "Cerulean Shoals", which was a combo of two suggestions :-)
The difference between the ribbon and the mesh is very interesting... I perceive the juxtaposition of ribbon and beads to be a bit farther apart on the hard-soft scale, whereas the mesh is closer to the beads, making the relationship easier to mold. Does that make any sense? Anyway, I love "Cerulean Shoals"... the mesh fits with the theme too!
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