Foiling Fabric with Bonding Powder

Transcription

1 Foiling Fabric with Bonding Powder Materials: Fibre in-form Foil Bonding Powder Baking Parchment Greaseproof Paper Stencils Iron Base Fabric For this basic technique I have chosen dark fabrics in cotton velvet and cotton but you can use any colour and type of fabric to suit the project you are working on so long as the fabric can take the heat of the iron set at the wool setting. Bonding Powder

2 Lay your stencil in position on your base fabric and gently shake the Bonding Powder on top. Don t be tempted to put too much powder on, you will just up end with a solid sticky lump! For this sample I have used an animal print stencil from Stewart Gill, a very well used one. If your stencil is a plastic one then you must remove it before melting the Bonding Powder. Gently lift it from the base fabric without disturbing the powder too much. The next photo shows you the Bonding Powder before being melted.

3 Lay your greaseproof paper carefully on top. In place of greaseproof paper I normally use the backing paper from the fusible webbing. Using your iron on the hottest setting that your base fabric will take gently move the iron over the design. You can see through the paper when the powder has actually melted. Leave to cool and then carefully remove the greaseproof/backing paper. Place your Foil on top of the Bonding Powder and make sure the coloured side is facing up towards you. Don t worry if the Foil overlaps as it will not stick to the fabric without the adhesive. Now place the Baking Parchment on top and iron gently over the surface moving the iron slowly. Make sure your iron is set at the wool setting! It is not absolutely necessary to use Baking Parchment over the Foil you can place your iron directly on to it. I always prefer to use it as my workroom flat iron is used for all sorts of projects and the parchment helps protect the surface of my work.

4 Remove the Baking Parchment and after leaving the Foil to cool for a few minutes, gently pull it away. Your Foiled fabric is now ready for further embellishment. You can also use more intricate stencils with the above technique. This photograph shows the powder after it has been sprinkled through the stencil. And this is the finished design

5 Foiling Fabric with an Adhesive There are a variety of different adhesives you can use for bonding Fibre in-form Foil to fabric, PVA, Golden Gel Mediums or Jones Tones Plexiglue. All of which can be used with an iron to heat set the foil or burnished using a finger or spoon. No heat application You can use a stencil through which to apply the glue or brush the glue on to cover the area you wish to foil. The secret to foiling without an iron is to apply the foil to the glue while it is still tacky. Try gently touching the glue and if your finger almost wants to stick then you will know it is ready. Glue applied through a stencil

6 When the glue is tacky place a sheet of Fibre in-form Foil over the top. Make sure the shiny, coloured side is facing up towards you Don t worry if you overlap your design, the foil will not stick to your fabric without an adhesive. Now burnish with your finger or a spoon to transfer the foil onto the adhesive. Gently pull the piece of foil away from the surface and your fabric is now ready for further embellishment. Keep using the piece of foil until there is no colour areas left. I always keep these pieces to use in other projects, you can make good use of them in a piece of work that only needs little slivers of shine to catch the light. Iron on heat application For heat application you need to wait until the adhesive is thoroughly dried, which could be as long as 24 hours depending on the adhesive used. You can use a stencil through which to apply the glue or brush it on to cover the area you wish to foil When the glue is dry place a sheet of Fibre in-form Foil over the top. Make sure the shiny, coloured side is facing up towards you Place a piece of parchment paper over the top of the foil and press firmly with the iron for seconds. Let cool completely and carefully lift off the foil as before.

7 Hints and Tips If using the heat application method, always make sure your iron is set at the wool setting Make sure the Foil is shiny side up before ironing into position Don t let your iron touch the Foil once it has transferred to the fabric it may stick If the Foil hasn t completely covered the design it is sometimes possible to lay a new piece of Foil down and heat only those areas that need extra coverage. Foiled pieces may be washed and dried on a low heat setting but do not iron or the adhesive will melt and the Foil will come off. They are not guaranteed wash fast so always test first before embarking on a large project. Different fabrics i.e. long pile, sheers etc. may react differently always test a small piece first. There are so many possibilities waiting to be explored with this technique so go ahead,experiment and most importantly, have fun! For more techniques using Fibre in-form Foil take a look at the Tutorials page on our website at: All tutorials are available as.pdf files to download free. For any further help or information you can contact us at info@fibreinform.com Thank you for your interest. Fibre in-form 2007 All rights reserved