I picked up the project again a couple of days ago and this is what I have come up with. I only have to stiffen it, but I thought I would photograph it first to show a before and after.
I
have used a thick shiny thread, that was not easy to work with, but looks really sparkly (the photo does not really pick the sheen up) and 6mm and 3mm sunrise pearl beads.I will post again when I have stiffened and shaped it.
7 comments:
wow...very pretty...
Your tatting is so precise and delicate.
Wow, that's is shiny. I bet it's going to look wonderful when you get it shaped. What a lucky daughter-in-law to be!
It looks pretty amazing so far!
What are you going to use to stiffen the headpiece? A friend of my had a Tiara made a few years ago. It was stiffened at the time. It has now lost the stiffening and she asked me what to use to stiffen it again. I have no clue what to tell her. Any help would be great. Thanks.
Marie, a lot of tatters say to use boracic crystals, but I have been unable to buy any locally in the UK, therefore I am falling back on my tried and tested sugar syrup.
I have used this method for many years and get very good results. I use half a cup of sugar to quarter cup of water. Bring gently to the boil making sure that all the granules have dissolved and then boil rapidly for about 2 minutes. You want a medium syrup that isn't too thick or too thin. Firstly, soak the tatting in water and blot up any excess water with a towel, (this allows the tatting to absorb the syrup better). Let the syrup cool slightly and then soak the tatting in it. Again, blot the tatting with a damp cloth to remove the excess. If your tatting is already shaped (like a tiara) maintain it's shape as best you can, while it dries in a warm place.
Many tatters do not like to use syrup, especially in hot countries, because of insects, but here in the cold UK we do not have that problem.
Another method is to use watered down PVA glue. I find this difficult to get the right consistancy and doesn't seem to get as really stiff is the syrup. At least with the syrup it can be washed out and done again and again.
Good luck!
The tiara is lovely. The bride will look radiant wearing this, lucky her. You always come up with pretty ideas.
Thanks, Linda for the info on stiffening. I certainly will pass it on to my friend and let her decide which method she wants to use.
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