Polymer buttons

Here's a picture of the polymer clay buttons I recently made. I tried using a product designed to make molds, but it didn't work out very well, so then I just made the molds out of polymer clay. I pushed a button or other shape into the clay and baked it. Then I pushed clay into the baked mold and pulled it out. I trimmed around the shaped object until I got it the way I wanted it, then painted it with mica powders. I got my mica powders at this site because you can get a teaspoon for a $1 and you really need very little of them. http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=35 Some kind person on a scrapbooking blog gave me the tip. You should wear a mask when using mica powders because some are metals and you really don't want to get this stuff in your lungs. One of them came with warnings to use gloves and a mask with the term "cyanide" in the name! It just seemed like it wasn't worth the risk so I didn't use that one! I then baked them for 10 minutes at 275 degrees and painted a varnish called varathane (the water-based kind) on them. I haven't tested them out to see how resilient they are after you sew them on, but I did drop some on the floor and they stood up to that test! Also, they are very light weight and so shouldn't drag your work down.

Half Square Triangle Formula

One question that seems to constantly come up with quilters is how do I know what size square of fabric to start with to end with a certain size square when I sew the triangles back together. Basically they want to take a beginning square - divide it in half diagonally - then sew it back together to come up with another sewn square, smaller in size than the beginning square. The problem comes in when you want to end with a certain size sewn square, let's say 2.5 inches (unfinished and so including a 1/4" allowance for a 2" finished square). How do you figure out how large the first square of fabric should be?

I presented my husband with this problem and being the persistent person he is, he came up with this approximation of the formula:

The formula to approximate the half square triangle is:
A = a + 3/8 inch, where A is the beginning square of fabric and a is the ending sewn square

Or Beginning square of fabric = Desired Ending Sewn Square + 3/8 inch

If you are curious, the more accurate version of the formula is:

A = a + (√2 x .25)

So, for our problem of how large a square to start with if I want an ending square of 2.5 inches,
A = a + 3/8
A = 2 1/2 + 3/8
A = 2 4/8 +3/8 (converting to eighths)
A =2 7/8 inches

Last of the dying days!

These are the Jacquard Silk Dyes and the tools I used to dye much of the lace. It is ready to use and you just mix the colors the way you want them to be and add water to make it lighter or don't and it is dark. It came with a resist which I tried once without great results. It also came with a solution that you mix with water and then soak your died materials in for 5 minutes to set the die. This says it causes cancer in lab rats in California. I avoided dying lab rats and wore gloves myself. Really handy for this task were:

1. the dyes (-:

2. a couple of plastic containers with water in them (one for rinsing the brush and one kept clean to add water to lighten the color of the dye)

3. Several eyedroppers - one for each color

4. Several small containers - I bought jars for this purpose, but found using the lids worked best (Shari's idea)

5. tweezers to move the soggy died pieces around

6. Drying rack

7. lot's of paper towels

8. Larger plastic container for rinsing in the setting solution.

9. Brushes - I used some I got at goodwill that were designed for some other purpose I can't remember now. I liked them because they are stiff and you can't shove the dye in where it doesn't want to go.

It is really hard to paint an item just the way you want it because the dye tends to run, especially when the fabric/lace gets wet, which it does. I got really good at making my mistakes look like they were on purpose! Better just to let them run! (Shari, you will notice some of the butterflies and flowers that you gave me in the first photo. I will trade you many more shells for some more roses. (-: ) I liked using several colors to add shading. I liked having both the Jacquard Acid dyes for the larger items and the silk dyes for the smaller items. Some materials couldn't be dyed by either, so it was nice to have the paints too.

Day 4 - Dying

I'm done with the Jacquard acid dyes for now. I ran out of silk velvet! I only had a yard of it to begin with because it runs $20 per yard. Acid dyes are definitely a good way to go for immersion dying.

All you really need are:

1. your materials for dying (I used silk velvet, dupioni silk, laces, and white silk ribbon),

2. a sauce pan (I bought one at goodwill special for dying),

3. a measuring cup to get an idea of how much water works,

4. the acid dyes (all I had was red, blue, yellow and black),

5. measuring spoons (again I bought some especially for dying),

6. some plastic gloves and some large flat plastic containers, and

7. some vinegar.

8. Paper towels and a

9. drying rack come in handy for letting them dry.

I bought a yard of white silk fabric, a yard of silk velvet, and a roll of every width (2mm, 4mm, 7mm, and 13mm) silk ribbon I wanted ahead of time. The acid dye worked best on silks and not so good on some of my laces - probably all the synthetic laces. Luckily for me my Jacquard paints and Jacquard silk dyes worked well on them. So I started with 4 cups of water which I brought almost to a boil, then used a color wheel to select my mix of dyes (just got an estimate - nothing scientific!). I poured my die into my plastic container, added a little dye (less than 1/8 tsp for light colors and more than 1/4 tsp for dark colors), and a little less than 1 Tbsp vinegar. Stir and add your dying materials, then let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse in warm water. I saved the dye by pouring it into another container. Then I added a cup of water and reheated to a near boil to get a lighter version of the same color. That worked better if I started out with a fairly dark dye the first time. Some of my second dye attempts turned out very light. So, then I squeezed them out and laid them out to dry on my drying racks. (Shari - turns out I do have some - wasn't sure that was what you were talking about!) Anyway, I'll tell you about the Jacquard silk dyes and paints another day.

I did try to dye beads and they turned out really nice - one I dyed red and the other blue using the Jacquard silk dyes and they have a slight red and blue glow to them.

I also tried to use a resist, but I have to wash out the resist yet, then I'll post a picture.

I also tried to use salts on fabric to get a burst of color. First the instructions tell you to paint some Jacquard silk dyes on your silk fabric, then sprinkle on the salt and let it dry. They do warn you about using too light a dye and they are right about that! I'll have to try again with a darker bit of dye.