What are the technical terms/techniques involved in sewing "paper bag" like bags? I was wondering if anyone knows the technical terminology for the various techniques/strategies/stitches used in the following pictures?

It looks like each panel in the first picture are separate panels sewn together. In the second picture it looks like the front, back, and bottom are one piece and the sides are separate but I can't say for sure with my extremely low knowledge of sewing. Am I far off in my assumptions?

I'm just looking to make these for personal use because I'd like reduce the amount of waste I generate.

So there is a lot to unpack here, hah. But seeing from other comments that you are new to sewing, I can understand how it can be a little daunting to try and make a direct replication of something you've found online.

There is no formal "technique" you will need to follow, but rather a knowledge and understanding of the materials you will need to sew a project. Here is a rough guide to the process I follow when trying to replicate something:

Determining if you want to try and hand sew by hand or a sewing machine. I would go with a machine since this bag looks like it has nothing more than straight stitches.
Material of the bag. There is a lot to consider here - the amount of weight you want the bag to be able to carry, do you want it waterproof, do you want it easily washable? Picking your use for the bag will help determine the type of fabric you will want to use for your project. I would go with a thicker cotton, cotton blend, maybe a thicker flannel if you want to replicate the fuzziness of this particular example. These fabrics are also kind to beginners. An additional item to consider is if you want your sides to be able to stand up like that, you might need what is called "interfacing" and it comes in iron-on or sew-in and it can help add rigidity to the sides and bottom support of your bag.
Construction layout of the bag. You will want to self-draft a pattern or try to find one on the internet that you can copy and test out measurements on before you start cutting and sewing together. This is as easy as getting some paper or cheap muslin cloth and drawing some shapes and pinning them together to see if you like how it is looking, and determine how you want to assemble the bag.
Taking your pattern/muslin draft and cutting out the real fabric and going through the final assembly.

Other assorted musings about the provided image:

The zig-zag cut at the top is called "pinking" and there are special scissors that do that called pinking shears. They are typically used to cut fabrics that have a tenancy to fray, and not necessarily used for decoration.
You'll want an iron to be able to flatten seams (where the fabrics are sewn together) and to create those creases on the sides of the bags. Irons will typically come with heat settings for the types of material you are using.

I hope this can give you a good starting point!


How can I efficiently make the loops for chain mail or small chain crafts? You see loads of people make their own chain mail. I can only assume they have some process with which to make the loops to make the process less tedious. There are loads of tutorials out there but some assume you already have the loops for the project.

Image from Amazon.com

Assuming I already have an appropriately gauged wire of a proper material how can I process it to create the thousands of loops/ rings required for a suit of mail? A starter project, that might be easier, would be a chain mail dice bag or diaper cover for my young one! That sounds less frustrating and more realistic to finish.

When I took jewelry making classes, we used the saw method mentioned in Kellerra's answer section "the slow way".

You start by wrapping your desired wire around something round like a dowel to make a "spring" of circles and then you cut them apart with a saw.

The best setup I found was to have something... either a dowel or steel bar... with a notch cut in the end as a "guide" for your saw blade with the far end held in a giant clamp attached to a table. Here's an image I found that shows what I'm talking about:

Use tension in your off-hand to pull the rings towards the blade notch... note that as you cut through each ring, it will drop, so you want something to catch them unless you want to spend an hour finding where they rolled on the floor.

The saws are pretty easy to use once you get the hang of them... but you will probably break tons of blades when you first start out because you're going to have to figure out the right amount of pressure to use that will cut the metal without snapping the blade.

And, once you get used to the saw, this is actually pretty fast. Granted, it's not as fast as some of the machined methods which, if you're really that interested in speed and you can afford it, are a good option... as is simply buying the rings premade, which isn't as expensive as you might fear if you buy in bulk, though it is more expensive than buying the wire alone.

I think you'll find the cuts to be quite a bit cleaner with this method than with a lot of other methods around, particularly using wire cutters.


How to wrap the polythene around the crafts to protect them from dust without destroying their appeal? I live in a very dusty area. The only feasible way for me to protect the crafts from dust is to wrap them in transparent polythene sheets.

These crafts are placed on the table and some are hung on the walls.

What would be the way to keep them in the polythene sheets without making them look shabby?

Intension here is that it shouldn't be obvious to the onlookers that the thing is in polythene just to avoid dust!

Wrapping anything in polythene is inevitably going to have a profound effect on its appearance, there is no way around that.

A better solution is to display them in a closed case or cabinet with glass (or similar)  sides or windows, these vary in design from very modern looking all perspex cases to more antique looking wooden framed ones (google 'display case' for countless examples.

There are also other similar solutions, you can get glass or acrylic bell jars reasonably inexpensively.

Two dimensional work can be framed behind glass.


How do I determine what size zig-zag stitch to use? I have a standard sewing machine, not a serger, so I use a zig-zag stitch when sewing knits. Typically, I just use trial and error on scrap pieces to figure out a good size of zig-zag stitch for however stretchy I want the seams to be. This can take a few tries, and I'm never quite sure if I'm doing it "right".

Is there a better way? Are there any standard sizes or rules of thumb?
When would I want a wider or narrower stitch? What about longer vs. shorter?

This is indeed a matter of preferences, although some generic things can be said about it.

The wider the stitch, the stretchier the result. Imagine a zig zag stitch of width 0 (which is actually a straight stitch of course), and the result will be as stretchy as the sewing thread.
As for the length, my advice is to make them not too small in order to avoid wobbly edges. Something else may help here: a wobbly edge is the result of the fabric being stretched while you're sewing. You could stick some tape on top of the fabric and sew right next to it. Beware: don't use duct tape or something with a very strong glue, as you want to remove the tape afterwards without damaging your project!


How can I paint consistently coloured lines with acrylic paint? I like the idea of being able to dip my brush into the paint and then paint a shape in one shot, without having to go back over it.

In my experiments so far I am having to go over each line several times to stop the background colour from showing through the acrylic. Even when the background is only white.

I am painting on MDF which has been primed with an undercoat of shellac and then some spray paint over that.

The effect I am going for is shown in this video of Keith Haring: https://youtu.be/VWRRQKwtB90?t=2m26s

He never has to go over his lines because the colour is consistent for as long as he drags his brush.

I an thinking it largely has to do with the paint and the brush that I am using. But am yet to figure it out.

Any help wold be greatly appreciated.

In my experiments so far I am having to go over each line several times to stop the background colour from showing through the acrylic. Even when the background is only white.

This is probably caused by the quality of your paint. Pigments are usually the most expensive ingredient in any paint, so the cheaper the paint, the less pigments are in it. In order to cover your background color you need to create a layer of pigments over it. If your paint doesn't contain enough pigments, that can only be achieved by putting several layers of paint over each other.

There are usually 3 categories of paint:

Hobby quality: Very cheap, full of fillers and almost no pigment at all. Mixing colors is a gamble at best and impossible at worst. Useless for any crafting project. These can be found in dollar stores and similar shops that don't usually have art supplies.
College / art student quality: Good price-performance-ratio with acceptable amount of pigments. They're often offered in a wide variety of colors that usually mix well. These are best fit for crafting projects and can be found in most craft shops and some DIY or construction stores.
Artist quality: Most expensive but usually contain the most (and purest) pigments and least additives. They're often thicker in consistency than collage quality paints and some very special pigments (like ground up semi-precious stones) may only be offered in artist quality paints. Use these when you need absolute coverage of any color in small areas (like miniature painting) or when you need consistent coloration despite extreme dilution of the paint.


How do I know I've got the right amount of moisture in the paper to wet-fold origami? I've only had experience dry-folding. The one and only time I attempted to wet fold, the paper disintegrated.  How do I know when the paper's absorbed the appropriate amount of moisture for wetfolding, where it won't tear along the folds, yet remain pliable long enough to get through the entire model?

Addendum: I've been using typing/printer paper, given that I knew I was liable to screw up a lot at the beginning.

The amount of water to use will very much depend on the kind of paper you use. Thick watercolor paper can absorb a lot of water and still stay intact while copy paper will disintegrate or at least tear with even a little moisture. This behavior depends on the paper's thickness, fibre length and sizing. Most wet folding tips found on the web (e.g. about using a spray bottle) apply to thicker paper and not to copy paper. Personally, I have never been able to wet fold copy paper and be happy about the result - it comes apart with even very little water.

So, first of all, I suggest you get some watercolor paper, 160-300 gsm for a start. Such papers are widely available in artist supply stores and not terribly expensive. Canson Mi-Teintes is a popular brand that comes in many colors but others should do as well. Then, retry your folding sequence and you should see a huge difference compared to copy paper.

The exact amount of water to use is unfortunately a matter of practice, but when I started wet folding, I always used too much rather than too little. It is easier to re-moisten paper than to dry it quickly, so better start with a smaller amount. You have to remoisten as you fold anyway. For most models, your paper should be damp but not soaking. While 160 or 300 gsm paper feels very stiff and almost not foldable at all when dry, with the right amount of water added it should feel leathery and be able to roll along a smooth curve easily. For some models, you only moisten a certain area of the paper at a time rather than the whole sheet. Also note that moisture takes some time to penetrate the paper, so you should wait a few seconds before applying moisture and checking if the paper has the right properties.

The rest is a matter of experience, so start with thicker paper and give it a try once more.


Does epoxy's final bond strength depend on its rated cure time? I've been building a decently strength-sensitive project and received conflicting advice regarding the final bond strength of epoxies.

I've heard some say that bond strength has nothing to do with the rated curing time and that 6-minute epoxy is just as strong as 15 or 30 minute after it has cured, while some have told me that longer cure time epoxies will have higher bond strength.

Is there any merit to the argument that epoxy's bond strength depends on its rated cure time?

I've been told by the proprietor of the local hobby shop that long-cure epoxy adhesives will be stronger than short-cure. I was told at the time that it has to do with the lower heat generated by the long-cure, but my research today suggests nothing of the sort.

The few links I pursued indicated that long-cure epoxies remain in a semi-liquid state for a longer period (duh) which allows the cross-linked molecule strings to increase in length, when compared to short-cure epoxies.

I have noted that when using 5 minute cure time epoxy adhesive, it will sometimes fail under lower stress conditions than expected, while in a similar mechanical configuration, the 30 minute stuff holds up.

In all of these epoxy references, including those for fiberglass and carbon fiber applications, it is noted that full strength will require 24 hours or longer.

One of the forum posts I discovered (radio control model building) provided an anecdote in which the OP discovered the 15 minute epoxy adhesive would shrink and crack and become brittle under conditions that did not cause similar problems for the 30 minute formulation.

I was unable to locate any solid technical papers covering research. It appears anecdotal and also my personal experience.


Pattern for adding train tracks to a simple stockinette square? I'm looking to add vertical train tracks going up one side of a stockinette/knit square, all the same colour. I was wondering if someone more experience might be able to help me figure out how to knit it? Something like this:

Just one set of train tracks.

It would be okay if the design were flatter (so long as it still showed up differently texture-wise or a bit raised), and I'm not crazy about 'purls', garter stitches aren't my favourite either lookwise but they'd work (look ok in example). I like seed and stockinette/knit stitches. I'm brand new to knitting so something not too difficult would be appreciated.

@whrrgarbl - I'm looking to rotate the pattern so it will be knit vertically up one side of a stockinette square, and just one set of train tracks (2 stitches going up the sides and horizontal lines between them, textured differently and/or raised so as to differentiate them from the rest of the square). I'm looking to see if I can find a pattern for just a plain square of the size I'm looking for, so hopefully I could be better helped

In the photo example, the "train tracks" are actually created horizontally - an easy way to tell is by the direction of the V made by the knit stitches. The rightmost edge of the item in the image would have been the cast-off edge.

As a starting point, I'll go through the existing pattern. It appears to start with:

  Cast on an odd number of stitches
  Rows 1-8: garter stitch

This makes the end border. The odd number is so that when you get to the body, it will be symmetrical on both ends.

The gap between the "tracks" is a garter stitch border on the edges, with stockinette in between. Keep in mind that here the odd-numbered rows will be on the right side:

  Row 9: k across
  Row 10: k 5, p until 5 sts from end, k 5
  Row 11: k across

Next you make the "rail" of the tracks:

  Row 12: k across

Next are the tracks. Continue the garter stitch border, but with ribbing in between:

  Row 13: k5, k1, *p1, k1* repeat between * until 5 stitches from end, k5
  Row 14: k5, p1, *k1, p1* repeat between * until 5 stitches from end, k5
  Rows 15, 16, 17: repeat row 13, 14, and 13 again.

Then your second rail:

  Row 18: k across

The original pattern just repeats the tracks (steps 3-10) a number of times, then adds another gap (3-5) and end border (2) before casting off.

To create a single "track" in a plain stockinette square, you just need steps 6-10, omitting the 5 stitch border on either end of the row. Make sure you start the track pattern on the wrong side (WS), so the first row (k across) will become a purl row on the right side.

So the pattern would become:

  Cast on an odd number of stitches
  Knit an even number of rows in stockinette
  (WS) k across
  k1, *p1, k1* until end
  (WS) p1, *k1, p1* until end
  k1, *p1, k1* until end
  (WS) p1, *k1, p1* until end
  k1, *p1, k1* until end
  (WS) k across
  Continue in stockinette stitch

Or if you want to start on the right (knit) side of the stockinette, you can swap the k's and p's above for the same result.

In case you want to knit it purely vertically, you could rotate the k's and p's by 90 degrees - but this will likely skew the result since stitches are not perfectly square. Typically row height is shorter than stitch width, but you can check your gauge to be sure. If that's the case, you would want to add extra space between the rails, like so:

  stockinette, p1, k5, p1, stockinette
  stockinette, k1, p5, k1, stockinette
  stockinette, p1, k5, p1, stockinette
  stockinette, k7, stockinette
  Repeat rows 1-4 until tracks are desired length
  Repeat rows 1-3 for symmetry

To give you a visual, using 0 for knit and . for purl, this would result in something like:

000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.......000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.......000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.......000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000
000000000000000.00000.000000000000000


What do I use to seal or fix decoupage artwork? I've made a couple of coasters using the decoupage technique, but they keep sticking in to one another. I used mod podge to seal the tissue and I'm assuming that is whats causing the stickiness. How do I seal or fix this?

In addition to clear epoxy resin, you have other alternatives depending on what material you are working your decoupage art on.
And often based on the shape of your object also. Like, Epoxy resin isn't a good option in case of curved surfaces.

For coasters made of wood/mdf/acrylic, you may want to use Liquitex's Matte Varnish to give it a non-shiny, matte finish.

On glass bottles and decoration objects, you may want to use DecoArt's Triple Thick Gloss Glaze to give it a shiny glossy finish.

More suggestions would include:

water based: MINWAX's Polycrylic
oil based: MINWAX's Polyurethane


Looking to affix medals in a display case I previously had medals in a display case. They were originally affixed in a very rudimentary way (I just stuck push pins through the back, which was a thin cardboardish material).

I'm putting some green felt down in the display case and figured that I'd like to affix the medals in a better manner, but I'm not sure what this better manner would be. With the push pins, the medals would often slide off if the case was jostled in any way. I'd like to avoid that and affix them in a more stable manner. Any suggestions would be very appreciated!

Original push pin solution above

How the medals hung above

A very simple solution is to use small nails. Your medals slide off the pins because their needles taper off at the end, creating a tiny slope for the medal to slide down.

If you use nails instead (heads facing the front), the heads form a tiny barrier that keeps the medal in place. There's a surprisingly wide variety of nails available. For this purpose you should choose ones with a distinct, but not too broad head and - if available - black nails.

You might have to add a thin wooden board to the backside of your showcase to give the nails enough material to dig into. If you want to paint the nails in the same color as the felt, do so after hammering them in.


Porcelain brush pen does not stick to ceramic ring I painted a ceramic ring (this) with porcelain pens (edding 4200 porcelain brush pen). I followed the instructions of the pens:

Clean the surface of the ring and remove dirt and grease.
Apply the paint
Allow the paint to dry for 15 minutes.
Bake in the oven at 160°C

Nevertheless, the paint is not firm, can be easily removed with a finger and does not withstand daily use.

What can I do to permanently apply the paint to the ring? Are there other pens that hold better or a varnish that I can apply over the paint?

From the "usage" section of the pen website (my emphasis):

  Daily cleaning: avoid friction, rubbing and scrubbing by positioning the item in the dishwasher so that it is not in contact with other items of crockery or cutlery

These pens are listed as decorative. You are not going to get a permanent bond that is as strong as the original ceramic finish. I am sure if you were to paint and fire the decorations, and then set them on display where they cannot be rubbed or scraped against things, the paint will hold up fine.

If you wanted to get a permanent finish as durable as the original material you would have to reglaze the item using porcelain glaze and a kiln capable of extremely high temperatures, between 2381℉ and 2455℉ (1305℃ and 1346℃).

(source)


What paint to use for outdoor plastic chairs? I would like to paint my (garden) plastic chairs with nice designs. These are very standard chairs like this one:

I don't know their exact composition but a google search make me thinking that this is PVC or Polypropylene.

I'm living in central Europe so the paint should resists different types of weather, i.e. rain, sun and snow.

What are good paints for this purpose?

During my google search, I noticed that usually spray is recommended for such works. However, I would like to something like in the following example:

And for such patterns, spray seems very unconvenient (moreover, I'm not really used to work with sprays)...

 Click on the pictures to get redirected to their source on the web

I have a plastic chair in my workshop. It is spattered with acrylic paint which is very hard to remove. I suggest you use good quality exterior grade acrylic paints. I have painted concrete ornaments with student grade acrylics and then sprayed them with automobile gel coat. It protects the paint and gives a shiny surface.


Different materials that can be used for origami I really like making origami and have been doing it for a while now, and to be honest I'm kind of bored of only using paper (I must say I haven't really experimented with different kinds of paper yet: I was meaning to go shopping for paper in the summer, but owing to the current situation :( I have postponed that). Also, I'm really curious as to what all materials I can use to make origami.

I'd really like to know what materials you all use (including different kinds of paper) to make origami. Of course, the materials must be hard enough to sustain folds and thin enough so that they can be folded multiple times.

I know that this is a very unspecific question, but I want it to be open-ended to invite all kinds of answers.

Thank you :)

Tinfoil / aluminium foil
Usually has a 'dirty' look, as all folds will be visible, but is very characteristic and quite easy to work with.

source
Baking paper
Has a beautiful translucent look and warm, light brown colour, which makes your projects look more organic. Good for creating 'origamized' lamps. Or baking stuff inside your origami:

source
Clear or coloured PVC sheets
This is quite a large group of plastics, but I'm referring to any type that is foldable.
Usually, you will be able to crease the folds into place, making it a good option for very clean origami objects. And it's transparent, so it will emphasize the nature of the object even more. And you can use heat to change the material, or get more rigid folds, etc.

source
Polypropylene
More a sub-type of the last category, this is a sturdier type of plastic:

source

For the heavy-duty origamist:

Sheet metal
Not so easy to work with - you need proper tools - but you can make durable, large scale, practical, and sturdy objects out of it. They're easy to spray paint, as well.

source


What circular knitting needles can I use if I am allergic to nickel? I'm a knitter who's allergic to nickel. Are there any circular knitting needles made without nickel, chrome, or stainless steel?

Non-metal circular knitting needles (wood or bamboo) are also available.

This is an example of bamboo needles with a plastic cord connecting them:


Expedite drying acrylic painting in a cold temperature environment I have a kitchen unit in my shed waiting for its final coat of acrylic paint. However, the paint tin says not to use it below 10 degrees centigrade, and it's winter here, with temperatures rarely over 12. At 12 degrees the paint takes ages to dry.
My solutions are:

Finish the job inside the house. But I don't want to risk drips and splatters on walls and carpet.
Heat the shed -- too expensive.
Wait patiently for a warmer day.

Any other solutions?

Well, let's give it a try with some other creative options:

Paint in the shed, make sure the kitchen unit is placed on a surface that can be transported, allow to dry inside the house.
Paint partially in the shed, touch the unpainted parts for transport to the house, allow to dry inside the house.
Cover a large area inside the house with huge sheets of plastic and paint inside the house.
Paint in the shed, use the heat of a hair dryer to dry the paint. Be sure not to blow your paint away while it's still wet!
If the kitchen unit is made of metal you may also choose to heat it up before you start painting. Be careful though, as you don't want to ruin the first layer(s) of paint. And you probably have to paint quickly or repeat the heating while painting.

The romantic solution:
6. Put candles in the shed for a local and temporal raise of the temperature.

And if all else fails:
 7. Wait patiently for the paint to dry. (Like your option 3, but now the waiting is after the painting instead of before the painting and it will reduce your waiting time.)
Good luck!


What is this decorative motif called? I was walking past an old building on Canal Street, NYC, and I saw this:

Is there a term for the... peanuty pattern around this column? I can't remember the address of this building, though I am pretty sure 240 Centre Street has a similar pattern (can't find a picture where it's visible, unfortunately).

I don't know if this was intended but after looking for banded column style I ran into rustification or rustication:

  Rustication is a form of exterior ornamentation particular to buildings in the classical style. It is defined by projecting stones with sunken joints or grooves conveying an air of deliberate roughness and strength.

That is not compelling but the article goes on to describe different kinds of rustication. It is a broad definition but a specific style of rustication is:

  Picked-work or a simple chiselling or chipping of the stone surface to produce a general rough effect

Two of the examples on the page do my connection more justice. Click to enlarge in both cases.

It seems obvious from the photo in the question that this is not carved but it looks to be emulating picked work rustification. I can almost draw a line of symmetry down the middle of your picture but that might just be looking for a pattern that does not exist.

Searching for images of rustication yields similar results.


image transferred onto black fabric? I want to attach some flag patches to my backpack but I don't want to sew or embroider them to the backpack. I saw some video about image transferred to fabric using techniques like mod podge transfer and I really like it. However, I realize this won't work for the patches that have white color background because I can't print white color to paper. Does any one know a better technique that will work with image that has white background color?

I'm not an expert on this technique, but this Instructables may be of help:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Iron-on-Transfers-for-T-Shirts-Tote-Bags-and-Oth/

Here is the section on making transfers for dark fabrics that seems to overcome your problem of not being able to use white in your image:

Iron on Transfer Sheets for Dark Fabrics
"If your shirt or fabric is black, dark gray, dark blue, or another dark color, you'll want to buy iron on transfer sheets for dark fabrics.  They are thicker and have a white backing, allowing the use of white and light colors in the image or design.  The major downfall of this type of transfer paper is that with the background appearing white, you cannot have part of your image appear clear... so you must carefully cut around any letters or other design elements or have a solid background as part of your design."

Additionally, here is a YouTube video showing the technique for tranferring onto dark fabrics, with links for buying the paper.
(note: Epson also makes and sells transfer paper for dark fabrics.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi_2X8sKifY
"In this tutorial we cover the ways to use and the applications which transfer paper for dark fabrics."

Sources for the paper:
UK/International Store - http://goo.gl/MkeowS
USA Store - http://goo.gl/S0eIFJ


Thread for sewing silk? I have a pair of silk pajama pants that have come apart along one seam on the leg.  There’s no damage to the cloth and it’s spreading very slowly, so there was just some flaw and that bit of seam was not fastened properly.

To fix it, what kind of thread and needle should be used?  I’m leery of using the generic thread from a wardrobe repair kit (a couple dozen miniature spools in different colors) without at least checking first.

For a 4 inch repair I would use the yarn and needle in the repair kit, and do it now before it spreads further.
Use the most matching colour and the finest thread if you have several options, and as thin/fine a needle as you can handle for the repair.

When sewing a whole project, it is good to get good quality thread and needles, but for a small repair you use what is at hand.

While silk thread is available, it is expensive and many people will still use polyester or cotton for the hidden seams and only buy silk if there is top stitching where it shows. When you do buy it for the top stitching you might well use it for the rest of the sewing as well.


How does embossing powder work? What paper is most recommended to be used with it? Ive been trying to use embossing powder for lettering, I want to know what paper works best for this and what kind of procedure to follow for this.

The kind of embossing powder that I'm familiar with, is melted with a heat gun. After being melted, it gets smooth and creates an embossed layer above the paper.

I think any kind of strong durable paper that can tolerate heat as well as a little weight, e.g. card stock, could work well.


What are the key disciplines of realistic drawing? I hear a lot of drawing instructors say to "focus on the fundamentals", but I am unclear as to what the fundamentals of drawing are. For many of the other arts, the fundamentals are clear, in music, its scales/chords. Every music instructor will teach you about these things.

In writing, you have grammar and story structure (such as the heroes journey and the three act structure), every writing instructor will teach you about these things.

However, with drawing, it seems that every art instructor talks about different things as being fundamental.

So what are the fundamentals of drawing?

By drawing, I mean drawing realistically, from life or from imagination

Definition of drawing

Drawing is the technique of putting marks on a surface to create an illusion of the thing or things to be represented. Drawing can be done with pencil and paper, digital drawing tablet or even a piece of silver wire on gessoed panel.

  It sounds pedantic, but one of the fundamentals of drawing is remembering that a
  drawing is a representation of a thing and not the thing itself.

Emphasize the details

A well-crafted drawing emphasizes the features of the thing being drawn, those features that define it. This emphasis is made by the juxtaposition of a range of values (shades) and sometimes colors (tints). It can, for example, be accomplished with shading, cross-hatching, stippling and/or variable-width line-work. Indeed, the tool(s) being used will give the drawing specific characteristics that can be aesthetically interpreted.

  An ink contour drawing of a banana can be executed in several
  well-placed lines, whereas a shaded pencil drawing of the same subject
  can literally be composed of thousands of marks of the same intensity layered upon one another to “build up form”.

Seeing is forgetting

When learning the skill of drawing, it helps to compare details, like the distance between the eyes of the model’s face as related to the width of the mouth, and how those distances relate to the diagonal distance from the outer corner of the right eye, the left nostril and the point where the upper and lower lips meet in the left hand corner of the mouth. Then a comparison is made between the real face and the drawing of the face, adjustments are made and recompared. Then, the next comparison is made between the lips and the ears, for example and the process continues.

  Even if you are drawing a tattered zombie with a tree stump as a club on a  battlefield surrounded by forest elf cavalry mounted upon giant mutant
  frogs, things like proportion, perspective and shading are still
  necessary skills to have mastered before the drawing could be considered realistic. However, if you have no idea how frogs
  should be saddled, you should get some visual resources (like frog
  pictures and saddles) and use drawing to figure out how it should look. Sketching is one way of finding answers.

Start generic and generate detail

In many classical life drawing courses there is a warm-up phase, where the model changes the pose every several minutes. There is simply not enough time to do a completely detailed drawing, so these warmups make the artist look at the whole subject to capture the feeling of the pose, the emotion of the body language. This is like sketching, trying to “figure” out the body. Then there are somewhat longer poses, perhaps 5-10 minutes. In which details can be focused upon. And then after a break, there might be one or two longer poses in which “finished” drawings (perhaps including backgrounds etc.) can be made.

  If you take this life drawing example as a model for creating
  realistic drawings you should: first create a general volume in
  perspective space for your subjects, then pay attention to details
  that bring out the specific character and then apply finishing touches
  like shading.

Light and dark

Shadows and highlights are what make a drawing seem realistic. Here, you would do well to study the works of the old masters like da Vinci and Michelangelo. Especially the folds of fabric and the glisten of metal are hard to master but rather important if you want to succeed to make drawings of things that appear realistically drawn.

  If you set up a still life for material studies, be sure to include a
  light source that you don’t move until each study is finished. Then
  move the light and make the same material study. The casting of
  shadows and reflections of edges within shadows are phenomena that you
  should pay attention to.

Colors change with different neighbors

If you only have one color, you are making a monochrome drawing, which can also be interesting and realistic. The thing about color is that it is really quite challenging to learn about palettes, warm colors versus cold colors, etc.

  This is one place where every teacher will have their own opinion,
  which is good and should remind you that the feeling of a
  drawing can really be defined by the colors you choose. A good place
  to begin is to choose a highlight color (i.e. the color temperature of
  the light source), a shadow color (i.e. the basic color of the material minus the highlight color) and a midrange color (the basic material value of what
  you are depicting) and experiment with shades of each. This is also one of
  the bridges from drawing to painting, but I’ll ignore that for the
  time being...)

A few tips

The darkest black is next to the brightest white. (Contrast pushes adjacent values further than their respective absolute values.)
Use black sparingly, if it all. It is better to have a deeply dark and vibrant color than mere black.
Treat materials  that you are depicting uniquely. (Don’t use the same shading technique on both metal and skin, for example.)
Don’t draw people or objects from photos, use real things and people. You will find that understanding the volumetrics make your drawings more than just mere copies.
Do draw architecture and landscapes from photos, because this will help your understanding of perspective.
Find a community. (This really helps you generate feedback, see your work in a new light and push yourself to keep working.)
Learn to recognize the point where the drawing is good and have the courage to stop.
Once you have good technique you may begin to break the rules.

*seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees is a great book about Robert Irwin that I totally recommend. It is not about drawing per sé, but a book I really enjoyed reading when I was in Art School and gives great insight into one of the most formidable artists of our time.


How can I remove paint from glass bottles w/o paint thinner? I've got a couple of glass Saratoga bottles, like the one pictured below.

I'd like to remove the paint from them, but I don't want to use paint thinners or similar solvents. What household tools can I use to remove the paint?

Your best bet is probably a razor blade.  You can also buy them with handles as "glass scrapers" with the decorating supplies, for getting paint off windows. Steel wool shouldn't scratch glass unless you really lean on it or i's got grit in it, so may be handy for the last bits.  Heating the bottle first may soften the paint (to heat it without the risk of cracking, put it in a cold oven and turn on) but it may just make the paint smell bad.

This assumes that there's enough of an edge for the blade to bite. It's also possible that the design is etched.  You may need solvents to get the last little bits off - acteone (nail polish remover) is worth a try if that's more acceptable.


Why have my paper crafts hung on the wall deformed and what can be done to prevent this? I cut these butterflies, and hands out of paper, spread gum on them and sprinkled glitter.
Then I pasted them on these CDs with Fevicol.

I did not fold them at all. They were straight the day I made them.

Deformation started the next day. I stuck the big hand's finger on wall with a tape
since that was the one that bent forward the next day. Now, after nearly 5 months all of
the hands are deeply curved, so are the butterflies.

Sticking them to the wall has the demerit that it makes the craft immobile (I live in a
rented house).

Why did they deform? What all choices do I have now for such future projects?

I can think of a couple reasons why your paper curled like that:

Vertically displayed paper has a tendency to curl more in my experience, especially when it has no support.
The gum/glue itself may be causing or aggravating the curling. Some adhesives and coatings draw, or shrink inward, as they dry. (You see this in nail polish, too, when some thicker top coats cause the color to pull away from the tips.)

To counteract the curling, you could try a few things:

Coat both sides of the paper with the gum/glue, or a varnish. The drawing affect would be lessened as it would be trying to curl in both directions at once.
Tape the paper down while working and allow to dry thoroughly, leaving it overnight to 'cure' before removing the tape.
Add a stiffer material as a backing. Thin sheets of metal or wood would be the most stable. But, chipboard or even a heavy cardstock would afford some further support.


Proper glue to adhere laser printed paper to glass beads The setup: Trying to make custom fridge magnets that are a large glass bead (with flat bottom), printed paper circle with text or image, then a magnet.
So...
Glass
Adhesive
Paper (printed side up)
Adhesive
Magnet

Our attempts so have used super glue (cyanoacrylate) to bind the paper to the the glass. The results have been that the image/text on the paper bleeds or smudges. This surprised us as it was a laser printer which we thought would be pretty fixed. I think the super glue is acting as a solvent to the toner on the paper.

Main question is: What would be a better adhesive here to afix the printed side of the paper to the glass without running the print job (laser printer toner)?
Needs to be fairly permanent but also needs to cure clear and not yellow much over time.
A different glue/adhesive for the magnet side is acceptable and not the focus of this question.

Thanks,

There is a pretty big ‘cabochon’ crafts movement that sounds a lot like what you are talking about: Flattened glass bead + acrylic emulsion glue + laser print + backing.

The first video I Found on YouTube advised Modge-Podge Dimensional Glue, but I have no experience with the product, and would recommend an acrylic gloss medium, which will dry clear. DO NOT ADD WATER, you will only create wrinkles.

Here is the process:

Trace out the exact size of your paper backing and cut it out. Do not touch the surface of the print with your fingers.
Wash the glass with rubbing alcohol, let air dry. Do not touch the back where you will apply the glue.
Apply a drop of the gloss medium to the back of the glass.
Spread it out and make sure that there are no bubbles.
Place the paper on the glass with the printed side to the glue.
Press it down firmly and let dry. (30 minutes - 60 minutes)
When dry apply a second coat to the back of the paper to seal it (and especially the edges) and let dry.
Now apply third coat and attach magnet. Let dry. If you are feeling adventurous you can add the magnet without waiting for the medium to dry the second time.

A bit of extra advice: try not to use too much red in your design, because red dyes and pigment inks fade over time due to sunlight / UV exposure. I have experienced this in laser, some offset and most ink jets - even the 10-color art print versions. The only options you have are museum glass (that will reflect UV) or UV blocking acrylic emulsion. I use Sennelier Gloss lacquer with UV protection.


What's the best approach to drawing a colored picture I'm not an avid artist, but when I draw, I usually just sketch in pencil because it's such a simple and forgiving drawing tool. I thought I'd try drawing a colored picture, but I'm a bit lost at how to do it. My first instinct is to use colored pencils because it is a somewhat forgiving tool, but it is harder to erase than plain pencil. I also don't know if I should do a basic sketch in pencil, then erase it and go over it in colored pencil. What is the best technique? Are there special art colored pencils that would be significantly better than regular crayolas?

I also don't know if I should do a basic sketch in pencil, then erase
 it and go over it in colored pencil

You absolutely can do this - try using a harder pencil like a 7H or 5H and keep your lines light so you won't have to cover up as much later.

What is the best technique?

The question is too broad to answer well, but I think your first instinct to try colored pencils is a good one - they are forgiving and familiar.

Are there special art colored pencils that would be significantly better than regular crayolas?

Yes, there is a big difference between Crayola and the higher end colored pencils by Prismacolor, Derwent, etc. At many art supply and craft stores you can buy individual colored pencils if you'd like to see the difference without dropping a lot of money on a full set.


Erasable blue pencils for sketching? I've just started to learn to draw comics.

The fine arts shop recommend me a Blue Faber Castell Polychromos pencil for sketch (the lines and geometrics figures that we start first before we can draw the face or the body). But I can not erase it with the rubber.

I want a blue pencil for sketch, and I want to erase it.

What do you recommend me for sketching?

It seems that I have to mention: "I'm not asking about brands".

There are certain companies that market "erasable" colored pencils, but I have seen plenty artists use them that find that they still don't erase perfectly or that they still smudge slightly while erasing. There's no perfect solution, due to the nature of pigments.

An alternative is looking at why you need to have a blue pencil for sketching.

Why blue?

Historically, certain shades of "non-photo blue" were used because photocopiers wouldn't pick them up, so as you'd layer your final lines and lineart on top of the blue undersketch, the blue wouldn't show up in your copy. This has led to what is, in my opinion, a bit of an obsolete tradition of using blue for undersketches.

Why obsolete? Because every modern scanner I've used in the past 15 years has had no problems picking up the non-photo blue pigments. The color you use is irrelevant, because Photoshop and GIMP can easily remove whatever color you use. You can even use multiple colors, ending with your grey/black final lines.

Why erasable?

As you're practicing, you're going to want to erase a lot if you're making large mistakes, but needing to have a highly-erasable undersketch might indicate that you could improve your workflow.

For instance, many artists will do their initial messy sketches as thumbnails or smaller-scale pictures, in order to figure out proportions, layout and composition. Using simple graphite pencils, it's easy to erase and experiment. Alternatively, if your thumbnails are small enough, mistakes can be "discarded" by simply starting a new thumbnail next to it.

After the design and layout is decided, you would then pull out the pencil, colored or otherwise, that you'd use for the undersketch. Since you're generally just up-scaling your thumbnails, there's less mistakes in positioning lines and thus a lower need to erase them.

Okay, use one anyway!

All that said, (non-photo) blue pencils still work great for many artists! There's nothing wrong with it. But if the "erasable" types, like Prismacolor's Col-Erase line, are still too difficult to work with, there are two more things to try.

Practice line control. You could be making your lines darker than necessary. This is both a physical and mental issue. The physical part is gaining the fine motor control to make light enough lines. The mental part is being okay with not having dark, clear lines. Both require practice and training to overcome.
Try a different type of eraser (link). Some types of erasers simply don't work well for certain media.


How to identify the level of tooth a paper has? I have 145 gsm Cartridge paper in my house. I want to know whether it is great for colored pencil drawing or not.

I am told that toothed paper is great for colored pencils. So, I want to know how to find what level of tooth the paper has.

What would be the way to find out whether it is the best, good, or worst for it?

This paper is fine for colored pencils. But its weight is maybe a bit low, so do not erase too much. Also you will probably have the grain still apparent even after several layers. But it is not necessarily a drawback, if it is the finish you want for your drawings.

To test your paper you can try to color little surfaces with different pressures, thus you will find the optimal pressure for your type of paper and colored pencils. Also you can try to layer different colors, in order to see after how many layers the paper starts to saturate.


How do I get a punchy acrylic paint colour? I am diving in abstract painting but my acrylic colors are not alive.
My reds are sleeping, my blue and green vivacity are even worse. The only one that do it are my black and white. Mmm.
I know I should learn to make my own colors and master their punchiness (very saturated and opaque/thick), but I would prefer to have a consistent technique/material I could add, or better, a brand that creates live/punchy colors.
No matter what I do, my mixes are tern and really not interesting (just talking about colors themselves here, not the composition, which is another subject).
What can I do about this?

Henry is close, but the problem is that your acrylic is drying Matte. This is also, by the way, a problem with many different kinds of paint, whether they are spray paint, oil paint or acrylic.

You can add glossy mediums to the paint, but I have found that painting a varnish (or firnis) on top generally yields more even results. I prefer sennelier gloss UV-protecting acrylic finish, which you can buy at pretty much any art supply store.

It really works!

The best thing to use is not any kind of spray, you want a thick, viscous medium. NEVER thin it with water, work from the center outwards and use a very soft wide brush. Don’t rework the gloss after you have spread it out, and be careful that your brush doesn’t lose any hairs.


What can I use to repair a beach glass pendant? My wife got a small painted white beach-glass (also known as sea glass) pendant while we were travelling out east (Canada) years ago. I got a good size chip on it somehow recently. The chip is about 1cm2. I thought about just using some epoxy resin but that would dry clear unlike the translucent appearance of beach glass. While I could rough that surface I do not know how it will look with glass.

I do not have much to experiment with so I was looking for alternate/supporting ideas.

What can I do to try and repair a large clean chip of beach glass while trying to maintain its normal appearance? I no longer have the shard so gluing it back on is not an option.

Best way will be to use resin and mix it with some pigment. Some resellers even advertise their resin colors and pigments saying that they produce an opaque look similar to sea or beach glass.

Basically any pigment of the color of the pendent mixed with some white pigment will work. However some trials are necessary to obtain a coloring matching the pendent.

In the end sanding the surface of the colored epoxy with a very fine grit sandpaper will also provide the surface structure of sea glass.


How to paint the background of a portrait painting? Assumption: I have painted a bird with water colours. Now I want to colour the background green.

I will start painting from the edges of the bird's body and take my strokes outwards. My problem with this approach is that the brush stroke directions will be visible. Also, if I get too close to the bird's body, I fear some colour will get on the bird as well.

Moreover in the following painting, the painter has used different colours for the background, yet no strokes are visible!

What is the technique to achieve such result?

Does the kind of paint make a difference here?

Am I supposed to first paint the background, then paint the bird?

http://www.jesuspaintings.com/bluebird_of_happiness.htm

The paint does make a difference in whether or not you can easily paint over the background.

Watercolor, for example, does not easily cover other art and you would need to use a different technique for the background if you used this medium. Most other paints (like acrylics or oil) are thick enough that you can easily paint over the background without any effort.

Thicker paints

With thicker paints you should paint the background of the image, get it as you like it, and then paint your subject over the top.

This has the down-side of not being very forgiving should you make mistakes to your main subject, fixing the background after touch-ups will be challenging.

Thinner mediums

With thinner mediums like Watercolor you would want to paint them independent of each other and not overlap them. I, personally, would paint the subject first and then follow with a watercolor background.

With watercolor you can use a common technique where you apply water to the paper before using any color. Carefully outline the dry subject with a wet brush and once the paper is wet, carefully apply your color.

The water will pull the color out of the brush and disperse it to the wet areas neatly without spillage. If you make a mistake with the wet brush, simply let it dry and try again before applying color.


What is a good work-flow for a water-color painting? For the context, I am a self-taught painter. Consequently I often find myself mixing the same shade more than one time, painting different regions in no logical order etc.

I would like to know what the golden progress rules ares, for instance, here is my guess at it, please help me improve it:

Wash- diluted version of the the main color.
Fill- the actual color
Shadows and Highlights
Details

Coloring aside, what is a good progression for painting, say a frog?

Here's an example of the frog I painted, if I were to do it again, would I start from the limbs, then paint the body?

I'm far from an expert, but here's what I've picked up:

The most important technique for watercolor is to work light to dark. Unlike other types of paint, you can't just paint a lighter color over a dark patch. (You can lift pigment after, but it typically leaves slight discoloration, and you risk damaging the paper.) Instead, with watercolor you are building up layers of translucent tints to create your image.

With that in mind, let's consider the types of areas that you listed for a generic watercolor painting: wash, fill, shadows, highlights, and details.

Mark out your highlights, because you want to work light-to-dark. You don't want to put pigment on top of an area that is meant to be light.
Washes - typically lighter and less saturated than the subject - come next, so that you can paint the details over top of it. You can do a background wash later on, if you're careful not to disturb the other parts. However, it's certainly easier to do first.
Fill in the main subject, taking care with your highlights from earlier.
Add details and any dark shadows. I'm listing these together, because the exact order will probably depend on the piece. I've done both ways: sometimes details first so they were also shaded, sometimes details last so they'd be sharper. (Or details, shade, touch up details..)

If you have a dark wash but light fill/details in your painting, you could instead try:

Paint the light areas, wait to dry, then carefully outline and do the wash.
Mark the light areas, paint the wash around them. Clean up edges by lifting the pigment, then paint the light areas.

Your frog painting is a great example for discussing this, since it has a dark background and dark spots on the lighter subject. My approach would be something like:

Paint the frog limbs and body color (minus black spots). This would include the color variations e.g. at its nose, after laying down the base color.
Leaf base color
Lines on leaf
Dark spots on frog: outline with a fine brush around the edge and the highlight spots, then fill in
Dark background section at top edge (this could be any time after 2 though, really)
Shadows: probably on frog body first, then on the leaf

Of course, this is art - everyone has a different preference, experiment with what works best for you!


Pressing rubber (butyl) I'm trying to make a fairly minimal wallet out of an old inner tube (for use while cycling, with one card pocket and one change pocket into which notes can go as well).  The basic structure of my prototype is there, but it's not quite right yet.

One thing that's annoying is it doesn't lie flat enough.  The folds could do with being creases, especially on the seams (that I've turned onto the inside).  Construction is a mixed of hand-sewn and glued with contact adhesive, and my sewing isn't very tidy so I'd rather not add visible stitching. I also want it to be as small (in terms of area) as possible.

Here are some pictures. The visible glue marks on the right in the second and third shots are where I've removed a strap made from another piece, that's meant to hold it shut.  Some re-working is required there (sewing as well as gluing, for strength).

With a card in there, it lies flat but the other end, intended for cash, doesn't.

Even though this is only for my own personal use, I'll probably remake the next attempt from scratch, as the coins escape -- that pocket needs to go closer to the hinge and/or have a flap over it

Is there any way to press a crease into rubber?  The hinge in the middle and the ends of the pockets both need it.

Have you considered topstitching?

Stitching down all the edges that you want to have a crease in them will offer a mechanical fastener, in the form of thread, to keep the folds in place. This sidesteps the rubber's resistance to being holding a crease.

You can test how it would look by attaching clothes pins or similar along where you would topstitch.


Which Fabrics are suitable for origami tessellation? I would like to experiment (being new to this expression of Origami) with creating origami tessellation patterns using fabric of some kind rather than paper. If anyone has experience with this, what fabrics do you feel are better suited for this initial foray, and does the fabric benefit from a stiffening agent in advance? Thank you!

Cottons which take folds well and hold the crease when you rub or iron it in.
I would look for a woven fabric and not for a certain weight but I would experiment with several which I have around in the house.

I know that sail makers used to use a sail rubber when having made a fold in the sail before sewing.
Sail cotton (also called cotton duck) is about as heavy as you can get it and still be able to work it by hand.

Whether you need to stiffen it depend on what you want to do when the initial folds are in and on the quality and weight of the fabric.

Some other fabrics will work, if you use an iron or steam in the folds. Traditionally woolen fabrics were used to make pleated skirts where the folds worked pretty much like the patterns you plan to make. Steaming those fabrics was a specialist job, but simple patterns should be within reach for people at home.

The best is to experiment.
And please come back to tell use what worked for you.


Rusty axe head restoration I have an old axe head, kind of a family heirloom, that I want to clean and restore. Given its age (approx. 60-70 years) and condition, my goal is not to make it usable as an axe, but preservation and possibly use as decoration.

To be clear, there is no wooden handle, I'm only asking about the metal part.

I have started removing loose rust using sandpaper and WD-40. However, even where the loose rust is removed, the metal surface is very pitted, and I was unable to remove rust from these pits and indentations (some 1 to 5 mm in diameter).

I am asking for advice (and/or resources) on removing rust from this pitted metal surface. I don't need it to be 100% smooth and polished and shiny, but I want to prevent further rusting and give the old piece a decent look.

There are a number of "baths" one can use to clean the rust pretty thoroughly from a part you described. WD-40 makes a product which performs well in the YouTube videos I've seen. Pour a sufficient amount to cover the item in a plastic bin and let it soak. I understand from the videos that the smell of the used liquid is objectionable, so stand upwind.

Some agitation would improve the action, as well as higher temperatures. Perhaps leave it in the sun to assist the thermal aspect.

A quick search for rust removal liquid returns many options.

Once the rust is removed and the part is washed of the chemical, you can coat it with a polyurethane clear product or similar.


How do I prepare a plastic mold to easily release beeswax? A friend of mine keeps bees, and asked for help cleaning the beeswax he harvested this year. I figured out a solar oven and filtering setup which melts and cleans the wax. However, I've now got a big chunk of (clean) wax solidified in a plastic bowl, and I'm struggling to get it out!

This was a great trial run, but I'm planning to re-melt this to pour into some ice cube trays, in order to have smaller (easier to use) blocks. How should I prepare the plastic mold so the blocks will release easily? I'll hopefully be using the same technique when we eventually make candles!

Sounds like you're looking for a mold release agent.
Some examples of release agents are:

Pam Cooking Spray
Olive Oil applied with a spray pump
Industrial Mold Release Agents such as McLube

All of the above mold release agents are applied in the same manner. Starting with a clean mold, spray on a thin layer of the mold release agent into the mold, covering all the surfaces of the mold. Let it sit for a few minutes before adding your compound to the mold.
Careful not to spray too much mold release as the excess can mix with your casting compound and affect the surface finish of the cast part. A light application is all that is needed.


How to fix glass kaleidoscope inside cardboard tube I have a maker/craft project making a kaleidoscope out of three mirrors and a badminton shuttlecock tube (sawn in half).
This will be a project for a class of school kids aged 8-12, so we'll have to teach them to make the item by hand.
Is hot glue (handled by teachers only) the best way to secure the glass triangle inside the tube, or is there a better, long-lasting secure way to fix it in place without risk of dropping out from the tube after several months? Kids safety in mind here.
3x mirrors measuring 2in x 6in each
Sawn shuttlecock tube length is just under 8 inches

If the size of the mirrors is such, that it's already (sort-of) tight fitting in the tube, then you don't need much force to keep things in place. You may consider a kneadable adhesive like blu-tack.
An Internet search also leads to someone mentioning dimensional glue dots. Glue Dots are a name brand adhesive, sort of like stickers except the stickers are double-sided tape pieces, but also refers generically to similar products.

If all else fails, you can stick to the hot glue.


Can I use Lucas oil colors for painting plastic kits? I bought a plastic fighter kit, now I want to paint it with an airbrush and some oil colors.

Now, I've got a question : Can I use Lucas oil color for painting plastic kits? Is it permanent after painting?

My colors :

You can try, but first you will want to degrease the plastic with a little rubbing alcohol (and prime it). The paint will not dry quickly unless you add a siccative like China dryer to the oil to thin it out.

That said, I doubt that your airbrush is designed for oil paints. If you do want to risk ruining and clogging it constantly, make sure to really make sure that the thinned paint is free of clots by passing it through a fine meshed filter. You MUST have a moisture trap installed, because otherwise you will be mixing moisture from the air into your oil - which you definitely do not want. Clean everything with acetone and wear a mask.

But really, that is not the right kind of paint. There are liquid enamels that are better suited to permanent applications, which you can probably find in the store where you got the model. But as Walrus notes in the comments, water based paints are the better choice.


Transparent resin to fill small acrylic plastic container? I have a small clear acrylic plastic container, roughly spherical and about 1.5 cubic inches in volume, with a 1/4-inch wall and thinning to about 2mm at the top edge (near the 1-inch diameter lip). I want to put some objects in it and fill it with clear resin and a small amount of tinting (glow-in-the-dark powder) so that the objects and glow can be seen through the clear container. What resin or other substance (silicone, etc.) can I use for this?

Some concerns, in rough order of importance:

1) Shrinkage. I want the resin to entirely fill the container once it has cured, with no gaps. If it shrinks and pulls away from the edges this would be bad.

2) Crazing or other chemical reactions with acrylic. I have heard that polyester resin (or maybe just the hardening catalyst?) reacts with acrylic plastic to cause crazing (tiny cracks) on the acrylic surface. This would be bad in my application. I am not sure if epoxy or other resins have this problem.

3) Ultraviolet transparency. Ideally I would like the resin to  be completely transparent to ultraviolet, although some translucency (browning?) may be OK. (The glow-in-the-dark powder needs to charge.)

4) Transparency. I would like it to be as clear as practical. It is going to become somewhat translucent when I add the glow-in-the dark powder, so I would prefer to at least start fairly clear.

I would appreciate suggestions as to a resin or process that could satisfy these criteria. Thanks!

I’m answering my own question since I seem to have found a solution (and nobody else has replied). If anyone has other suggestions I still encourage them to add additional answers.

My first attempt was to use JB Weld brand ClearWeld two-part epoxy. This didn’t go well: As the epoxy cured it shrank, just a tiny amount, but enough to pull away from the acrylic plastic that surrounded it in most places, leading to a thin partially visible mirrorlike bubble boundary between the two plastics. Not what I wanted.

What actually did work was MG Chemicals 832WC Water Clear Epoxy Potting compound. This is designed for encasing electronic components, and did not appear to shrink at all. It does not adhere strongly to the acrylic (I can scrape it off with my fingernail in places where I had drips), and it is a pain to work with due to the long curing cycle (72 hours at room temperature, or one hour under 176-degree temperature). It is also fairly expensive (about $40 for 375 mL). These caveats aside, it does seem to have done the job, and its index of refraction is such that there is no visible boundary between the acrylic plastic and the cured epoxy: the entire project looks like a single piece of clear plastic, which is what I wanted.

Since I did not want to wait 72 hours, and had no oven that I wanted to use for epoxy, I wrapped my project in watertight plastic wrap (basically a Ziploc bag)  and heated a pot of water on the stove to 176 degrees (checking temperature periodically  with an infrared thermometer), and submersed the wrapped project in the water for an hour, using clamps to hold it in place.


Can I cast a glow in the dark flower in resin? This is my first time experimenting with resin. What I want to create is a glow in the dark version of preserved flower in resin.

Based on this thread, it's possible to create glow in the dark flowers. So, in order to keep it lasting a long time I am planned to make an ornament like this:

However I want to use a glow in the dark flower instead.

Sadly, given my condition, getting my hands on the materials such as resin and the glow in the dark paint is not easy, so waste (or do "let's just try it first") them is hardly an option. Therefore, I want to make sure that every step that I'll take basically works as I can't afford to experiment.

Because this is an amateur resin casting project I want to do this with as basic items as I can. I've been exploring the internet, but it seems the most common item do cast a resin is a silicone mold. Can it be done with either of these containers?

Because so far the only limitation that I have found (based on my limited research) is "don't use a wax container".

A few comments about the problem as a whole, before I address your specific question...

You are attempting to encapsulate something in a clear resin shell.  That shell lacks any distinct shape, being comprised of flat planes and soft organic curves.  It does not contain any sharply detailed features or surface textures.  In short, the shell probably does not contain any aspects which need to be captured by an advanced casting medium like silicone.

Consider Casting a mold using a mixture of Gelatin/Glycerin.  This avoids much of the cost of casting silicone.  Silicone is better in my experience for capturing details, but for your project, gelatin will probably work fine.

On a different subject, clear resins are notorious for capturing air bubbles which may detract from the look that you are pursuing.  There are techniques for reducing those bubbles but the only way to completely eliminate them is to use a vacuum chamber.  Here are some instructions on creating a cheap vacuum chamber.

Now for your actual question...

The containers which you show are suitable for holding your mold.  I prefer the red Wall's container because it seems to widen near the top.  That will make removing the mold from the container easier and leave the container intact between castings.  That way, once you have cut your original out of the mold, you can return the empty mold to the container to support its original shape during the application and curing of the resin.


How can I treat leather with dyes and keep it protected? I want to create beautiful knife sheathes, like in the first picture below but I'm having problems with treating leather.

I've sewed a few simple things so far (only using fake leather and very thin and soft leather, but now I have "5-5.5 oz. Natural Veg Tan Cowhide" as it said on EBay. It looks like on picture below here:

but I have no clue at all, how to treat that kind of leather, how to soften it, how to dye it, how to "wax" (is it even proper word?) it, how to finish edges, how to ...anything.

I've heard, that Fiebing's dyes are one of the best, you can get, so I'm thinking of buying Fiebing's Leather Dye and Fiebing's Edge Kote. Is that a proper thing for me to buy? Do I wax the leather after? If so, with what?

Should it be acryl, alcohol, oil based?

The general order for treating leather, or at least the one which I use, is as follows:

Cut and shape the raw leather. As enderland pointed out, untreated (veg tanned) leather becomes quite supple when soaked and will retain it's form when dry (this technique is known as wet forming, and is probably how the sheath in your picture was shaped).
Dye the leather. For veg tanned leather water based dye will work just fine. I don't know much about other brands, but Fiebing's dyes have always worked well for me. Remember to wear gloves, as leather dye is unsurprisingly good at staining skin.
First soak the leather in water, then apply the dye with a rag or sponge. Soaking the leather first will help the dye to penetrate the leather deeper, instead of just staining the surface. This step is of course optional.
Finish the leather. There are different ways to do this, but the general idea is to work oils into the leather to stop moisture soaking in and rotting it. The traditional method (and the one which I use) is to polish with dubbin, a mixture of oil and beeswax. You'll find that the leather softens a great deal when the dubbin is worked in.
Finish the edges. You can use Edge Kote, but burnishing with dubbin/pure beeswax and an edge slicker also works. This step is also optional, and you can do it before finishing the leather if you want to - it makes no difference.
Assemble. Leaving assembly until after all the parts are treated makes it much easier to ensure that you've definitely got into all the nooks and crannies of whatever you're making.

The pair of images below show before and after photos of this process, from a recent project of mine. I'd post more (and links to other resources) but I don't have enough reputation.

My leather is probably darker than yours, but that won't be an issue. I used Fiebing's Cordovan dye, undiluted, and dubbin to finish.


Importance of fabric grain in embroidery If you wish to embroider, say, 3 meters of fabric to create a shawl, do you still need to make sure the fabric is on grain?
Or do you only check for fabric grain if you will cut for sewing projects?

I know the weave of the cloth makes a very big difference.

I am a weaver and have seen professional looms in action. Grain, as I understand, is the Warp + Weft in threads per square mm, or inch.

The grain is a living part of a fabric.  I would take that into accord, but I've not done a lot of "fine embrodery". It is just logical.


Can Dollar Store Tool Bench Hardware Wire be baked in oven? I recently purchased some 6m wire from the dollar store for a sculpting project.  However, the wire seems to have a sheathing on the outside.  (See pic)

Is this stuff safe for baking in the oven with my sculpt?

According to this post, the black and red coloured wires are insulated with plastic:

2 coils at 33 feet wire red plastic insulation
2 coils at 33 feet wire black plastic insulation

Unless you find packages with the regular 'silver' coloured wire - which according to a review here might actually be hard - I suggest using different wires.


Why is my dyed plaster losing its color? I'm working on some plaster carvings, following the steps in the answer I was given about making plaster.

These blocks dried in their container for about 8 hours, then have been air drying for another 48, as of this morning.

Last night, they were fine. As of this morning when I woke up, even the carving that I started has its sharpest edges turning orange. These edges do not match the edges of the initial mold. They seem to be the most completely dried portions of the plaster. The thinness of the edges might have sped up the drying process, which could be part of the issue.

As of now, about 7 hours later, my WIP carving has started turning white wherever it has dried out.

I used blue, liquid food coloring dye.

Why are my edges turning orange? What could I do to prevent it?

It seems to have stopped turning white as of 72 hours or so. The orange is gone, but blue remains.

The dye you have linked to is known as Blue 1, or Brilliant Blue FCF, and is, unlike my comments under the question, a synthetic dye. It is a dye that can be consumed by humans. It is not defined as a redox dye (indicator), so should not react to changes in pH, but it is derived from Methylene blue which does change colour from blue to clear in it's reduced form.

I cannot provide a definitive answer on why the dye appears to have broken down but the probable causes are a reaction to the plaster, air, sunlight, or a combination. Nor can I suggest how to stop the colour change once it has started.

What I can suggest is to use dyes purposely manufactured for use with gypsum, limestone, or portland cement plasters. There are quite a few colours available, such as blue, and can be easily obtained from building supply stores and websites. The link I provided is for the UK, but I'm certain that they are available world wide.


Can wigs be made by hand? My anime-loving daughter and her friend are attempting a couple of cosplay creations for some convention in the fall. I'm a fairly competent seamstress, so have offered guidance and help with designing the clothes.

However, both girls "need" wigs to complete their costume. This is anime hair, it's not expected to be realistic in either color or shape -- but is this something we can expect to do ourselves? Are cosplay wigs generally handmade, or bought and then customized?

You totally can make your own wigs

Are cosplay wigs generally handmade, or bought and then customized?

Yes and Yes or a combination of both.
When you need to get a certain style of wig for a character it can be hard to find that perfect wig online or at a costume shop either due to availability or budget. So making your own could be a useful skill you have in your back pocket when cosplaying or costuming.

but is this something we can expect to do ourselves?

Like many crafts it is something that requires patience and skill. You can't expect to make a magical, handsome, mysterious, captivating, bagelrific etc. wig your first try.
The following is a really brief tutorial of what you can do for a basic wig.
You need hair off course (synthetic or otherwise). The hair will typically be assembled into wefts for the portion of the wig. Wefts are assembled "rows" of hair. The units can be sewn or glued together usually to some other material like. You might also know these as hair extensions (which coincidentally make good raw materials for custom wigs). You could make these yourself from existing wigs or "raw" hair or purchase them outright.

Image from beautybychristinelieu.com
Depending on the overall design you might need to make other constructs, like a ball base for a pony tail or buns or something, but wefts would be a simple start. You could easily ask several questions about making wefts alone. I will move on assuming that your hair has been treated and /or processed so that it is now straightened (if you made your own wefts from fibre stock).
These wefts, and other parts, will typically be assembled on a cap e.g what you will actually be wearing on your head. Caps can be commercial products specifically designed for wigs or just material that can be used for a cap base like jersey etc. The caps are important as they need to be comfortable and allow your head to breath. That and something you can sew into.
Having a head model, preferably fake, is almost a necessity for assembly and getting a good idea of what the finished product will look like. Bear in mind, model heads are likely not the same shape and size as your own and that adjustments will need to be made to compensate for the size difference.
You then just need to sew the wefts to the cap. Examples of in progress wigs:

Image from cherishedcrowns.blogspot.ca

Image from casualtycosplay.blogspot.ca
As you progress you will likely need to use a combination of at least water and or heat to help form the wig into shape while also preventing damage to the hair while you work. One of the tips I read is that when sewing don't sew into the weft but into the hair as to not damage the weft.
Again this was a really simplified overview of a wig making process. Depending on you wig needs things can get pretty crazy but you will still be doing much of the above as your base in most cases. I hope this gives you a little incentive to consider wig making in the future.
Continued reading
A non extensive list of resources I saw while researching wig making.

A really good primer on making your own wigs with ties into other custom wig tutorials: Wig making from scratch
Wefting: Getting Started
Beginners wig making on YouTube by BeautyCutright


What kind of triangle / ruler is shown in this video? https://youtu.be/p8LBr6cZPuY?t=530

At roughly the timestamp above the architect uses an odd looking metal straightedge and I was wondering what it was called. I thought it was a regular architect's scale at first, but two of the fins are small. I can't make out any brand marks and have so far had no luck finding out what it is.

Have any of you seen something similar?

It’s a ‘Brown + Sharpe toolmakers knife-edge #530’

In the video he was probably just referring to the second ruler he showed with the bevelled edge.


How to salvage dry poster and acrylic paint? I have bottles of paint thats been dried up, is there a way to make this usable again?

Depends on the binder. If it's acrylic/latex, it can't really be reconstituted. For poster paint, there's a good chance the binder is gum arabic, in which case you can just add water, or grind it (on a slab with a glass muller, or failing that with a mortar and pestle) and then add water.

If you want to experiment, you can try grinding the dry latex paint. If you can get the particle size small enough, you could add the binder of your choice (acrylic again, gum arabic, heck even white glue could work) to make a lower-quality, but possibly still useful paint. But this is probably not worth the effort unless it was very expensive acrylic paint.


Capiz shell table top I have been looking for a tutorial on how to make a table top with a mosaic of capiz shell. I have quite a lot left from making a chandelier style lampshade and I thought an accent table might be nice.
I did find some very vague instructions for a cigar box, but it didn't say what kind of glue or grout to use other than to use clear or white, or what would properly seal it.

Then something else said something about softening the shells and I got completely baffled. I need help. Thank you in advance!

I just want to make a table like this.

click to enlarge

Judging from the images of the example you linked to, I assume the shells have been softened and shaped, which is most obvious around the edges (as they fold around the borders). What I found about softening capiz shells is that heat and/or a (chemical?) solution are used.

Here is a paper on the softening process, but it's likely automatically translated from Chinese to English, and kind of hard to read, but this is what I take away from it: the shells have to oxidize for 11-12 hours using a chemical process, and then, through applying pressure, the cracked shell can be shaped.
Here is another paper, speaking of softening the shells of crustaceans for edible purposes by soaking them in a mix with glacial acetic acid (which is sold, among other places, on Amazon):

  Soaking the crabs at temperatures from about 80 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, in an aqueous solution containing from about 2% to 25% by weight of glacial acetic acid, until the shells become acceptable soft as determined by tactile examination.

Hopefully, these papers might provide a starting point to experiment with the softening of shells.

However, since that process is likely quite hard to perform - since little information on it is readily available - as an alternative, I suggest casting the shells in a clear epoxy resin (see also here).

Lay out the shells in a pattern you like on a flat surface large enough to contain the size of the tabletop. Set up a border around the area, and slowly and carefully add an epoxy resin. After curing, you can saw off the excessive part of the edge, and grind it down to a nice smooth surface.

Depending on the height or thickness you want the top to have, you might consider adding an additional layer cast in the same fashion.

For more detailed instructions I suggest reading this article (I won't go into the details, since I only want to address the specificity of your question as it is quite broad in scope as it is).


What should I use to draw under oil paint? I was drawing onto my primed canvas in pencil, in preparation to paint over the top in oils, but a friend told me that I shouldn't do that, since over time the graphite will rise to the surface of the painting.

What should I use instead?

If using graphite make sure to spray a few coats of fixative over the graphite drawing prior to painting.

  What should I use instead?

You could also try:

charcoal
Water color pencils
diluted ink


Crafting a sturdy, not heavy mask for shows I have a metal band that use costumes for shows, I need to craft a mask that is durable but not too heavy, since I will use it on live presentations. I tried to make it using plastered gauze, but it seems too flexible.

Here's visual representation (the grid part is inside).

Plaster that is thick enough to be reasonably strong and rigid will probably be too heavy.

Masks are often made from papier mache, essentially building up strips of paper soaked in paste over a former which dried to a fairly strong but lightweight material. Other methods involve pressing paper pulp into a mould.

You could also use your plaster original as a former as long as you coat it with wax, Vaseline ect to act as a release agent and prevent the paper from sticking.

An quick internet search will find many tutorials on making masks in this way.

The big advantage of papier-mache is that you don't really need much in the way of tools and equipment to work with it and teh raw materials are cheap and easy to get hold of.

There are also many other options depending on your particular priorities, moulded leather, sheet metal or cast resin or composites would all potentially be pretty cool but there you are looking at either a substantial investment in time, practice and materials or engaging a specialist to work with you to make it.

Having said that you may find that if you reach out a bit you may find an artist of fabricator who is sufficiently interred in the project to give you a good deal. I would certainly be interested in something like this but equally if you want at a good deal based on collaboration you need to be prepared to give up some creative control of the project. So you need to make sure that you have a similar vision in mind.


What are the types of charcoal pencils and how do they differ from each other? I noticed that in the following picture there are at least 3 kinds of charcoal pencils:

Wooden charcoal pencil with just the word soft written on it.
Paper wrapped charcoal pencil with 600-H written on it.
White charcoal pencil with 558 written on it.

Are there more varieties of charcoal pencils? What are their properties that make them different from each other?
How does paper wrapping effect the charcoal pencil as compared to wood?
Why would there be specific number written on paper wrapped pencil but not on wooden one?

http://thevirtualinstructor.com/draw-with-charcoal-pencils.html

These charcoal pencils are just a demonstration of the styles of pencil you might encounter.

Wooden Coated Charcoal

The first pencil, labeled "soft" is a softer charcoal pencil, coated in wood. Wooden charcoal pencils are generally cheaper and require a sharp blade (ex exacto knife) to sharpen them. They would not easily sharpen in a traditional pencil sharpener as the charcoal is so soft that a regular sharpener would grind and break the charcoal during the sharpening process.

Paper Coated Charcoal

The second pencil is coated in paper. Paper coated pencils are generally more expensive, but provide the ease of being able to reveal more of the charcoal by simply pulling the string and unraveling the paper rather than sharpening the pencil with a blade. The 600-H identification on the pencil is just Prang's model number for that pencil and means nothing with respect to the charcoal grade.

White Charcoal

The 558 is General's line of white charcoal pencil and, like the 600-H is proprietary to the company and has no real meaning with respect to the charcoal.

White charcoal is obviously different from black charcoal but is used in much the same way, but in reverse. White charcoal is a great way to come back after the work is finished to really bring out highlights and shines to be a "whiter than white" which brings contrast and boldness to an image.

White charcoal really isn't charcoal at all, but a type of pastel or Conté, often chalky and meant to be used with charcoal. It can be made from mixing white pigment with some type of binder, but the exact makings are generally proprietary and not disclosed.


Doll reborning paints I am new to reborning, and I am concerned about the use of heat set paints and vapours released from heating the vinyl doll parts to set the paint.

I have been looking at air drying paints as a safer option, but would like to know if the finish is as professional and realistic looking as using the heat set paint.

Looking at the process involved and the toxicity and the heat setting relate directly to the vinyl paints bonding with the base material to essentially become one complex surface.

Air drying paints on top of the plastic will not have the same translucency as the bonded vinyl paints so I think the answer is no as far as "realism" goes since it is the translucency, also known as subsurface scattering, that is mimicking the behavior of light on real skin.


Pilot Precise V5 RT refill alternatives I love the body of the Pilot Precise V5 RT (retractable rollerball) pens.
My question: has anyone found another manufacturer's refill cartridges that fit in that pen, or if anyone's had luck refilling an existing cartridge with different ink (fountain pen ink, etc.)?

Edit 1: Apologies if I was unclear. I love the body of the pen but I'd like different ink colors (and possibly different ink consistencies) outside of what Pilot offers. My question: Are their any other manufacturer's refills that fit the Pilot Precise V5 RT body?

It isn't clear what your objective is, whether you're trying to achieve a different writing result, or it's just that you've only found the complete pens for sale and want a way to reuse the body.

Forget trying to refill rollerball cartridges.  They are a complicated system designed to work together.  The ink needs to be just the right viscosity and other characteristics to be properly dispensed at a certain rate, and then dry quickly without spreading (and it's different from other kinds of inks).  Also, the rollerball tip wears with use.  If it isn't designed with the right long-lasting materials to be refillable, it will (hopefully) last just long enough to ensure you can use up the ink in the cartridge before it starts blobbing or leaking.

The cartridge is similar in size and shape to some other ones.  The writing experience and color characteristics will be different for different brands.  If you are looking for that difference, you can probably find some other refills that will fit.  However, Pilot does sell refills.  The listing on Pilot's web site gives the refill number.  Pilot makes nine ink colors and two point sizes for that pen. They should be available from online retailers and office supply stores.  I went on Amazon and searched "pilot precise v5 refills", and there was a good selection.

Note, though, that in small quantities, you will pay almost as much for the refills as buying the whole pens in a 12-pack.  Buying refills by the dozen will save you about half the cost of the whole pens.


What range of wall color options would be generally considered aesthetically viable for a room with colored light bulbs? I have recently installed LIFX colored light bulbs in my room.  However, my wall is currently painted a fairly saturated blue, against which some of the bulb colors strike me at least initially as unpleasant. For unrelated reasons, my room will be painted soon, but the new bulb acquisition will surely influence my paint color decision.

Presumably a very neutral, unsaturated, light paint color would look best with the widest range of bulb color settings. Do colored bulb owners typically opt for straight, untinted white wall paint, or would some sort of neutral off white/khaki/gray/etc. work as well? What range of paint colors would be commonly considered viable for such a room?

Disclaimer, I don't own such a bulb. This is straight color theory and design.

LED bulbs such as your smart bulb use additive color. They operate by combining Red/Green/Blue light at varying intensities to create the 16 million combinations given in the specs.

Your wall paint works with subtractive color or pigments. They work by absorbing some R/G/B light and reflecting the rest. So your blue wall actually absorbs mostly red and green, reflecting  blue back to your eye.

This means that when your LED is adding colors that more heavily rely on red and green (yellows and oranges), they won't look as appealing on your blue wall. This is because little if any blue is emitted, so little if any blue is reflected. On top of this, the wall still reflects some red and green as usual, and mixing it altogether leads to unattractive browns and greys. You can test this by changing your bulb to pure green and shining it on a red object, such as an apple, with no other light. The apple will likely look unattractive and greyish.

Change your wall to any other color, and the same thing will happen, except you've just adjusted which portion of the color wheel is affected. Darker walls will be more adversely affected because dark walls, by nature, already reflect less or absorb more of the light coming at them.

So, if your goal is to have your walls look pleasant under any of the 16 million color possibilities, assuming they're all pleasant, then lighter neutral shades or white are your best bet. This is because they will reflect back the most even light. The goal is to not have the pigment of the wall muddy the color by unevenly absorbing and reflecting the light shone on it.

However, 16 million colors is quite a color palette to try and coordinate a room around, and walls are not the only points of color. Furniture, decor and other accents may also play a factor in your decision. If you'd like to use a certain color palette in your decorating, then you may want to consider limiting your use of the LED's spectrum.

If that's the case, you could venture into some wall colors that take advantage of the spectrum you do use. For instance, if you decide to eliminate yellow from the LIFX, then there's a wider variety of blue wall hues that'd look pleasant under the remaining lights.


Alternatives to Citadel / Games Workshop Paints I haven't been into it for the past 20 years or so, but after finding one of their shops a few weeks back I decided to look at painting Warhammer / Citadel Miniatures again as a hobby.

I was really enthusiastic about it until I saw the price of the (acrylic) paints, and after researching a little, it doesn't seem like their "starter" kits give you all that much for the money either.

So I was wondering if there was any particular range of paints which work in a similar way, for a fraction of the cost.

Like I said, I'm trying to get back into this and therefore not sure if it's going to be a permenant thing or just something I want to try, so this isn't exactly a "I want the product but don't want to pay for it" kind of situation.

Any ideas or advice? Thanks.

Citadel paints are essentially just acrylic paints. If you're not sure you want to make the investment yet, you can use any standard craft-grade acrylic paint while you practice; I'd recommend investing in a flow medium to help prevent obscuring the small details in your miniatures, and not starting with any valued ones. (Dollar store plastic army men are a great way to practice.)

The advantage of Citadel and other paints formulated for miniatures is that they're designed to use on very small, very detailed objects. Basic craft acrylics tend to be designed for use over larger areas on larger objects, and thus tend to be thicker with a coarser pigmentation. Miniature paints use an acrylic medium with a greater flow, and pigments and mica (metallic pigments) with a finer grind, to enhance their appearance on miniatures. This difference in formulation contributes to the difference in price between the small pots of miniature paint and large bottles of craft paint.


Crocheting: 'knife' grip vs 'pen' grip When crocheting, there are 2 grips for holding the hook: like a knife or like a pen. The choice is - of course - a matter of what you've been taught and what you prefer, but can anything in general be said about the (dis)advantages of both grips?
For instance,

is any grip better for your finger joints and wrist,
does it help to crochet faster,
is it easier when crocheting larger (heavier) projects,
does it allow you to switch yarns more easily or anything else that occasionally needs to be done during crocheting, etc.

Also, if there is another way to hold the hook, please don't hesitate to mention it.

Practicing with both common grips is a good strategy.

While you will naturally develop a preferred grip for most projects, having a variety of approaches you are functional with will make a much broader range of thread weights and project weights possible for you to accomplish with some ease.

Also being able to alternate approaches will go a long way toward reliving tiredness and joint strain on big projects.

Short answer:  BOTH in combination are better than either alone.

It sometimes helps to wind a small scrap yarn ball around your hook that will fit comfortably into the V formed by your thumb and index finger metacarpal bones. There are commercially available hook designs that accomplish similar aids.


Suggestions to Make PVC-Like Suit So we have a competition related to firefighting and one of the tasks is to retrieve a PVC figure known as the "mannequin." It is composed of PVC pipes for limbs and a PVC plug with end for a head. There is rope that holds the components together. At the end of the limbs, washers hold the knots together.

We were hoping that we can make a human sized version for someone to wear. Granted that a scaled costume may not look exactly the same, are there any suggestions to go about this? We don't have many resources, but we may be able to buy typical materials if necessary. Thanks.

I believe the closest analog you'll find for human sized PVC pipe that wouldn't be PVC pipe is called concrete form tubes, sometimes under the brand name Sonotube. The Home Depot version is called Sakrete form tube. It's going to be lighter than PVC of human size, but that doesn't mean it will be light. As it is constructed of cardboard, it would be easily painted white with matching lettering. If you wanted to hide the joints, fabric could be glued at the knees, elbows, etc, but you're going to have a challenge finding a skinny enough human torso to fit inside the typically-available Sonotube diameters.

You could use some sort of cording that runs from the knee joint through the thigh bone up through the torso to a shoulder support to help manage the weight. If you're using a healthy firefighter for the inner-human, it would not be too heavy, I believe.

The torso could be a suitably sized plastic rubbish bin, also painted white. If you plan to encase the human's head as well, a portion of a smaller cylindrical rubbish bin would also work. It's starting to look a bit like a lego character in my alleged mind.

This photo is the 8" size, although other smaller sizes are also available. Some larger construction businesses may have discards if you have contacts in the area.