How to reuse a sewing pattern without damaging it What's a good strategy for reusing a sewing pattern without damaging it?

Say I have a pattern I like, I can fuse some interfacing to it to make it last longer.  That said, the way I was taught to cut fabric from this pattern involves either using weights or pinning the pattern to the fabric and then cutting around it.  Although I try to be careful, I always end up trimming the pattern slightly when I do this.  Theoretically, I could trace the pattern first, then cut.  At the moment, I use some fabric pencils, but I find the process kind of cumbersome and a pain because the pencils catch the fabric and everything moves about.  I feel like there's a better way to accomplish this in case anyone has an idea.  Thanks in advance!

I regularly reuse my own patterns, as I myself have a few favorites that have been incredibly helpful to me. I use the technique I was taught in a theatrical costuming class:

When cutting the pattern out, cut closely around the outermost size lines (there is no need to be exact at this stage, but try not to leave huge chunks of tissue behind)
Pin or weight the pattern to the fabric as normal
When cutting the piece out, cut the fabric layers only. You'll do this by slipping your shears under the tissue, and cutting while following along with the appropriate sizing line above. If there are areas where there is a single line for all sizes, feel free to cut all layers at that point, but anywhere that's graded should be cut from underneath.

This takes a little getting used to, especially in tighter curves, but with a little practice it becomes second nature. And occasionally (especially in the beginning) you'll nick the pattern tissue, but a little clear tape can easily patch it up, and make it a bit more resilient in that area as well. Similarly, if you pin the pattern (as I do), eventually some of the pinhole areas will start to wear out, but again, they are easily patched with clear tape. I suggest clear over any other options as it makes it much easier to see your scissors as you're cutting underneath the tissue.

When you're done cutting, use a fabric marker or tailor's chalk to transfer your markings from the pattern as normal, patch the paper with tape where necessary, then carefully refold it (along existing lines if possible, or neatly if it's older and the lines are no longer easy to find). You can tuck it back into the paper envelope if the pattern will still fit, or use a gallon size plastic zipper bag to collect the pieces and envelope together for storage.

I have been using this technique, and some of the same pattern pieces, for years. One particularly useful pattern has been reused more times than I can count since 2003, and continues to be both usable and useful.

Sources: Instruction from a costume construction class, nearly two decades of experience.


Why is my metallic Sharpie drawing thinned out and transparent lines? I recently bought a gold Sharpie marker (regular Sharpie, not the oil-based ones), but it's writing almost clear.  It's not dried up, there's plenty of liquid, but the color is very thinned out and transparent rather than opaque, and shaking it doesn't seem to do anything.

Did I just get a dud, or is there some way to get this marker up and running?

The thinness you are seeing is that your pen is dispensing more of the inks suspension medium than its pigment particles. The "ink" in metallic Sharpies is made up of particles suspended in a medium. It's the separation of particles from medium that is causing the "transparency" of your inked line. Over time, as the "ink" sits stationary, the heavier particles settle to the bottom and the lighter elements float to the top. Think of it as a paint can that has been sitting for a long time and needs to be stirred before use. In your case it sounds like your pen has been sitting in the same position long enough for the pigments to have separated and settled. Before using your pen try shaking it for a few minutes. The shaking with help re-mix the components and the pen will dispense the right amount of pigment suspended in medium based on the pen's design.

"Shake it like a Polaroid picture" before use.


Does rust matter on my wood carving knives if I sharpen them? I've got an old set of wood carving knives, my wife's actually, and parts of the blades are pretty rusty.

However, we have a sharpener for them. If I sharpen them, are they still safe to use? Or is there a possibility that the blades are completely weakened and I should just replace the set, to be safe?

I don't want to risk a blade chipping or something while using it.

Depends on how deep the rust is. Rust weakens the bonds in the metal, but unless it is rusted right through, it's probably recoverable. Basically, you want to:

Remove the rust, likely a soak in vinegar for a day or so will do the main job.
Sand off any remaining rust using something like steel wool or fine grit sandpaper.
Sharpen.
Polish to restore finish.

People restore old kitchen and pocket knives all the time and you can find lots of different techniques online. Unless the knife has been rusting for a lot longer than we've been alive, I think you're good once you've removed the rust and stopped the oxidation.


Technical advice to improve working with oil pastels I'm very new to both landscape painting/drawing and using and mixing colors, so one of the reasons for making relatively simple paintings and drawings is my inexperience.
I got a small pack of oil pastels as a Christmas present and I started practicing and painting landscapes.
I want to ask for some advice based on one of my paintings - the one I pasted below - which was painted this morning.
I used lighter and cooler shades in the distance, and making the sides of the slope darker.
For the pines I tried to make the right sides darker and add a little bright green and yellow to the left and a "weak" shadow to the right to emphasize the direction of the sun rays.
The darker, slightly blended line on the foot of the mountains is a forest. I tried to make it as light as I could to not to make it seem "nearer".
I just feel like the drawing looks too childish, too amateur - like it could be improved a million times. I watched landscape photos and other oil pastel paintings as well.
It seems to me more contrast would be good, and I thought about adding grass and flowers, which I'm sure I'll learn how to paint. Nevertheless, some objective, "general" advice would be very helpful :)
I use print paper and "normal" paper for writing. I cannot afford professional sketchbooks and papers at the moment.
The drawing:

The problem is not in your drawing - it's in the pastels. There are some media in which the quality of the materials you use make a huge difference, and oil pastels is one of them. (I also didn't like the childish way my pastel drawings looked, but getting a set of Faber Castel oil pastels changed it all.) So if you are into oil pastels, I'd suggest you get a set of good quality ones. They are expensive, but they are worth it.

Also, you could use cartridge paper instead of writing/printing paper. It is the general purpose paper for artwork - it is thicker than writing/printing paper and it is not expensive.


What are the different type of artist brush configurations and their purposes? I have bought many paint brushes recently, for acrylic, oil, watercolor, etc. I'm experimenting with paint at this stage.

Some of the brush packages have little charts showing what the different bristle configurations are good for, but I don't have a comprehensive list for my entire (basic) assortment.

I'm talking about bristle configurations like round, pointed, slanted, fan, etc. What are the different types (and their names) and what is their "intended" purpose?

Well, this topic takes up six pages in Ralph Mayer's "The Artist's Handbook" (5th edition) but I'll take a stab at it:

Sables and their imitations, soft fine bristles, are for delicate work where you want to minimize the brush marks. They are very good for glazing techniques. Bristle brushes or hogs hair brushes have stiffer thicker bristles and leave more texture in the paint marks. They can also handle heavier bodied paint for more impasto styles, where the sables are better for more watery paint and especially water colors.

Rounds and pointed rounds are good for more fluid paints and a simpler line shape, large ones are great for covering a lot of area with color. Flats are considered the most versatile since you can get a good variation in line from them. Filberts are like a rounded flat, kind of oval shaped, so fall in between the two, I find them good for hitting very specific spots. Brights are "good for buttery paints," so putting down thicker layers, they are a little stubby so are more likely to pick up lower layers when applying wet on wet if you work them too much.

Specialty brushes like chisels and sign painter brushes (very long flats) are all about the specific lines they produce. Fan brushes, another specialty brush, are good for very light applications and for softening existing brush marks (one of my favorite kinds of brush FWIW, think blur tool in photoshop). Water colors also have special brushes like mops which are good for putting down washes as opposed to the points that are more for detail work.

Hope that helps. To me it comes down to how much texture the brush puts in the paint (bristles), and the feel of the line it makes (length and shape).


What are some good tools to use for carving plaster? I love carving plaster! I have an assortment of tools that I've repurposed for carving plaster, but I'd like to know what else there is.

Are certain tools better suited to carving or detailing plaster? It can break apart more easily than wood, is harder than clay, and is sometimes prone to chipping.

Stone carving tools might be good to try, such as rifflers, files rasps. Made for stone they would easily survive being used on plaster.

Image below is from http://www.fine-tools.com/liogier-riffler-rasps.html


Wooden camping utensils? Ozark Trail has a set of camping utensils. Now my question is how might it be duplicated in wood by a wittler? If your not sure what I’m talking about check out the name @ Amazon.com

Here’s a better picture as the actual items came

Wittling a spoon or butter knife is not that difficult, but a 5 prong fork might be a challenge.  A two or three prong design would probably be easier.

As for "duplicating" the particular style and design of the Ozark Trail products, that would depend on the skill of the wittler.  The products that I have seen are plastic and factory smooth.  Personally, if I went to the trouble of hand crafting a set of cutlery, I would want it to look a little rough as that adds a little character to the result.


Stencil on wood issue I have a board that I stained and poly’d and now am having trouble with the final step. I have script alphabet stencils and can’t seem to find a great way to use them.

I have stencil brushes and am using a dabbing technique. I tried taping them down but had really fuzzy edges. So then I tried spray adhesive and that did a pretty good job of solving the fuzziness, but it left a haze on the board where the glue was.

What technique should I be employing for this?

A combination of getting the right consistency of the paint for the stenciling and technique in the application should stop the fuzziness.

You would want a fairly "dry" paint thickness so it does not run when applied, more like paste than water. Keep the brush loaded with paint so you do not have to work repeatedly over the same areas but do not overload the brush with excess paint that will gum up and bleed under the stencil.

Then use careful light dabbing, possibly holding the stencil close to the surface with your fingers like Willeke said, moving in from edge to center to keep from lifting the stencils as you work. You should not need to glue down the stencils, but maybe use a little masking tape on the outer edges to keep them aligned.


What is the best way to attach backing on a quilt with irregular pattern? I'd like to make a quilt with a design such as the one in the picture:

I understand that normally, when a quilt is just made up of squares or rectangles, you can just stitch a bunch of lines up and down and across it to attach the backing and it will still look good because the geometry doesn't get broken.

However, I'm not so sure that it will work with a design like this. The stray vertical and horizontal lines would look awkward here (I feel like) ... I know that another way is to just stitch again along where all the pieces connect. My question here would be as follows. If the backing is black, would it be better to use black thread to go over along the edges of all the pieces when connecting the backing? This way there wouldn't be an awkward design on the back of the quilt, but there would be ugly black thread on the front. Or, should i use the same color thread as on one of the neighboring pieces? This way the front would still look ok, but the back would have a strange colorful design...

Are there any other (better) ways to do this?
Is it possible to not attach the backing at all, other than around the perimeter or would that not work so well?

This is a perfect example for 'depending on your taste'.
I agree with you that vertical and horizontal lines don't do justice to the pattern, but then again, others may disagree.
That said, if I were to sew backing, I'd follow (some of) the contours of the cat.

If the backing is black, would it be better to use black thread to go over along the edges of all the pieces when connecting the backing? Or, should i use the same color thread as on one of the neighboring pieces?
If you're sewing with a sewing machine, you can use two different colours of yarn, one for the front, one for the back. When sewing by hand... I'd choose a colour matching the front side for that's the side you see most. And make sure the stitches at the back side are as small as possible so the cat shape would be more apparent than the colour of the thread.

Are there any other (better) ways to do this? Is it possible to not attach the backing at all, other than around the perimeter or would that not work so well?
Depends on the size of the quilt. But since this is a free form quilt pattern, why not attach the backing free form as well? Either by random 'squiggles' or a more regular pattern. Do an internet search for 'quilt free form backing pattern' to get some inspiration. You could also just fill the black background with a free form pattern and follow the outlines of the pieces that form the cat itself. Or use a different (free form) pattern for the cat. The possibilities are endless


How to make a skin or golden color in nail paint? I have different nail paint colors, but I don't have skin or golden. Is it possible to make these colors by using two or more different nail paints?

Skin color can be mixed if you have white, red, and yellow nail polish. Provided these colours have equal opacity and color strength, you can get a good idea of what the proportions should be here.
For a **gold coloured mixture** the process is the same, unless you need it to have the luster that is characteristic of gold. If you have silver or another metallic nail polish with such a specular effect, you could try adding yellow to it.
Another option is to combine several yellow hues. Looking at this picture:

source
you can easily distinct three different hues (by eye, or using photoshop or a similar image editing tool), that can be mixed with the same three colours you would use to create the skin colour.
Uploading the image to an online colour palette creation tool, like coolors.co, you can extract the colors quicker and easier.


Why is my papier mache balloon changing size between layers? This is actually something I have observed with my wife's pinatas.

I understand that as it dries it should shrink a little but I have seen papier mache balloons shrink leaving a wrinkled mass. I have also, on separate projects, seen it split down the side in between putting down layers. In this case the balloon inside does not appear to be getting smaller but large.

What is causing my wife's papier mache balloons to change size?

Her process involves using long strips of newspaper. Near identical to the following picture.

Between layers she leaves the balloon alone and propped up in a bowl to keep it vertical. As it dries she will turn it upside down to allow the other side to dry as well. Not all of the pinatas have this issue. Just from time to time.

Temperature in the environment
This would answer both cases.

Balloon shrinking: causing the papier mache to wrinkle as the form it was set on changed.

Balloon expanding: causing the papier mache to expand and crack while setting as the balloon is getting larger.

It is important for the project to dry in the same environment (temperature) in which is was created. This might seem obvious but small changes can affect this. Time of day for instance.
Expansion and Contraction
If working indoors the sun might not be directly on the project initially. If left for many hours after, layers may dried with heat from direct sunlight that could make the balloon inside expand.
The opposite could apply as well. If the project was in direct sunlight while the layer was being applied it could have then cooled while it was still setting. When the base you are forming your project on moved it will set in unexpected ways (turning into a raisin).
The balloon shrinking is less of an issue after several layers. Having 2-3 already dried layers gives a good base so the balloon shrinking would be a non-issue.
This also could happen if you take the balloon outside for example to have it set faster. A change in the environment while the balloon is drying is likely causing this to fail.
Keep the project in the same place and avoid changes in temperature. This is more crucial for the first few layers.

A wrinkled balloon can usually be ignored by adding more layers, assuming the project calls for it. As layers get added the imperfections are hidden.
A busted seam (or join) can also be fixed by patching with more papier maché. In the case of the piñata, this might be less than ideal, as it introduces a weak point. Setting layers with the paper strips perpendicular to each other can help fix that.


Preserving chalk pastel artworks? I got multiple chalk pastels sets and I'm really excited to use them, but I'm afraid to see the artworks messed up afterwards. Even though there are probably sprays I can buy to solve this problem, is there a way to use a common household product or a homemade formula?

You will see a dulling or muting of the colors if you use fixative, which is why many pastel artists will actually “fix” in stages. Personally I like to build up muted color layers and use my highlights and whites on the top.

No matter what, you should always apply multiple light layers of fixative, letting them dry in between stages.

Hair spray is good in a pinch (I have used it for decades), but it is never artist grade, as it likely is not pH neutral. Depending on the aromatics and the constituent chemical composition, you may actually (but probably won’t) promote long term damage to the paper.

There is one other notable alternative to acrylic-based spray fixative other than hair spray, but you will need to test them: the “impregnating” sprays used for shoes / leather.

But if you REALLY want to make it yourself, the classical method would be to dissolve damar varnish flakes in turpentine and use an atomizer.


Does a gauge recommendation refer to pre- or post-washing dimensions? I'm following this pattern to make a sweater. For the gauge requirement, it states:

  17 stitches and 31 rows = 4 inches in Seed Stitch

Then the schematic shows the front/back panels having a width of 20" each, and the pattern calls for 98 stitches each. But that comes out to 98 / 20 * 4 = 19.6, which isn't 17. It seems like this could mean the 17" measurement is unwashed, if the fabric is supposed to shrink.

But the pattern also says:

  Seed stitch will grow when blocked. If you are concerned about the length, measure your gauge in seed stitch from a washed and blocked swatch and calculate number of rows necessary to achieve desired length after blocking.

Finally, a rough comparison of the sleeve length in the schematic (18" including cuff) with the pattern (1.5" cuff + 127 rows) would give 127 / (18 - 1.5) * 4 = 30.78, which is roughly the suggested gauge of 31, suggesting the fabric would be expected to neither shrink nor grow during washing.

My gauge swatch before washing is roughly the recommended 17x31, but given the above discrepancies I'm concerned that the measurements in the schematic won't be accurate.

Should I consider adjusting my needle size to achieve a washed size of 17x31? Or should I expect the schematic's measurements to be accurate even though they seem to disagree with the gauge recommendation? Are there any other techniques I can use to validate the sizing before I get too far into the pattern?

(This will be my first serious blocked garment where the sizing actually matters, so I'm also not sure how much leeway I will have to adjust the size during blocking. If it matters, the pattern recommends 2–4" positive ease.)

I couldn't follow your calculations but the way I do it is to convert the gauge to stitches per inch which is 4.25 in this case. Then I divide 98 stitches by 4.25 stitches per inch to get about 23 inches. The row gauge is 7.75 rows per inch.

But more importantly, the pattern is an aran type sweater which means lots of different cables and stitch patterns across the width. The designer is saying that if you get 4.25 stitches per inch in your gauge swatch in seed stitch, you'll probably get the right size garment. IIRC cables shrink the width as they build up the 3d-ness. I've seen some designers give gauge swatch knitting directions that incorporate all the stitches and directions of knitting in the garment but that is quite rare.

I assume you are knitting this in wool which can stretch in blocking if you encourage it to do that.

It is my understanding that gauge swatches are always interpreted as washed and blocked sizes and they usually say so.


Metal Dies for Cloth or Leather I want to create some stamps or dies that kind of look like cookie cutters. I intend on cutting mostly layers of cloth, felt, and maybe a single layer of leather.

Does any one know of a good process to make these dies?

It sounds like you are talking about steel rule dies.

These use a flexible or semi-flexible strip of steel sharpened along one edge. This is embedded in a backing (sometimess fibre/particle board) usually sitting in a thin profile-cut slot which supports the steel cutting edge.

You can buy the prepared steel stock and make the dies yourself and there are also manufacturers who will make custom dies to your specification and they are relatively inexpnsive, at least by the standard of dies in general.

They are quite well suited to cutting resonably soft materials like paper, leather, and textiles. They work best when used with some sort of press.

I have made these myself in the past with some success when used with an arbour press. I cut the profile out of MDF with a fine coping saw and used thin shim stock to make the blades. This isn't quite as hard as the proper die stock but will just about work.


Why aren't there mechanical pastel pencils? I like mechanical graphite pencils (e.g. 0.5 mm), because they are sharp, they do not contain wood (are eco-friendly and do not generate any waste) and they do not require sharpening which can consume the pastel core as well. And I like pastel pencils because I like drawing small and detailed images. But why there are no best from the both worlds - mechanical pastel pencils? Or maybe there are?

Some 30-40 years ago the Soviet Union existed and I remember that they had mechanical pencils with wider cores, I don't know exactly, but they may have even 1-2mm cores and the cores could be graphite or something similar to colourful chemical pencils (watercolor pencils). I am not sure whether it was mass product and whether they were just exploring the technologies. Well - Soviet Union used lot of such pencils in postal work and so on, they had not printed labels and small-printing, that is why the writing devices should have been made and they did as they could.

I don't know much about pastel pencils--so there could be something like a mechanical pastel pencil out there, and if so, hopefully someone will answer this question with information about such a pencil.

But, I have a hunch that they don't exist because of the different composition of the "lead" in a pastel pencil vs. that in a mechanical pencil.

I have only ever used pastel sticks, so I had to look up the details of how a pastel pencil is created.  I found this description of the Caran d'Ache brand of pastel pencils on the Dick Blick website:

  Caran d'Ache Pastel Pencils are made from pure raw materials to create a pastel pencil paste that is fed by hand into round moulding dies, oven-dried in special baskets, carefully glued between two strips of the finest California cedar, and cut into lengths to produce several pencils....As a final step, the pencils are sharpened in a double-cone process, a particularly delicate operation for such a fragile product

(I added the emphasis to the last line)

It sounds to me as if the ingredients that make up the "pastel pencil paste" simply don't have the structural integrity to hold together as individual sticks of lead without being enclosed inside a protective shell. Manufacturers might be able to make the pastel sticks of the appropriate shape and diameter to work inside a mechanical pencil, but those sticks might be too delicate to be transported to customers.  They could also be too delicate to be able to function with the type of mechanism that advances the lead in a mechanical pencil; depending on the softness of the actual pastel lead, the compression mechanism that advances the lead in a standard mechanical pencil might actually crack/shatter/smoosh (that last is a scientific term) the pastel lead.

I know, for example, that my regular pencil sharpener does not work well to sharpen my colored pencils, which are wax based--I actually have a special sharpener designed to work with colored pencils that is MUCH more effective.  My guess is that there is something similar going on with the pastel pencils that mean that they simply cannot work with the mechanisms in a mechanical pencil.


Thin, Flat, Rigid Sheets? (cheap) I'm looking for something I can put behind ink-jet printed pictures to keep them from bending, but I don't want to increase the thickness of the final product any more than necessary.

The thinnest balsa wood works but is expensive in 8" wide sheets.  Manila folder material sort of works but I would prefer that it was more rigid than that.

80lb. card stock adds too much thickness.

I am not adverse to reusing salvaged materials for this.

Any suggestions?

How about a very thin acrylic sheet/plexiglass. It may not be as rigid as you need (being too thin), you have to check that for yourself. Also, plexiglass is not a very cheap material, generally speaking, but the price depends on the size and the thickness of the sheet, so what you are looking for may not end up being expensive. If that doesn't work for you, I'd suggest you go and look around a place where they sell construction materials and you will likely come up with a good solution.


How do I clean dried brushes? I have a bunch of brushes with dried paint and glue. I've tried to clean them up but they're still hard. What medium is best to restore my brushes?

You need a Brush Cleaner and Restorer formulated for this task. There are a few of these available, only in art supply stores; you'll want to check with the ones around you to see what you can purchase.

If you are in the United States, Winsor & Newton makes a widely available product I have used with great results; it's formulated for dried acrylic and oil paints, but I have also used it to dissolve away dried latex (house) paint, as well as years-long set dry varnishes. With this product, you'll let the brush soak up the solution, checking periodically to monitor the progress. In a low quality brush, it may end up damaging it by damaging any glues holding the bristles in place in the ferrule, but at the point you're using a restorer on a brush, it's typically ruined anyway, so there's no risk in trying. In my experience, I've only had one or two brushes lost this way out of dozens.

Unfortunately, this particular product is not available outside of the United States, but other companies do make similar products that you'll be able to find by asking your friendly local art supply shop. The employees there should be able to recommend a product to you with which they're familiar.

Ultimately, the best option is to avoid needing a restorer in the first place; take proper care of your brushes, cleaning them right away instead of letting paints dry in them. Avoid getting paint up into the ferrule, and dry them bristles down so paint and water don't soak down into the ferrule and cause damage.


How can I avoid chipped edges on glass etching with a Dremel? I've been trying my hand at etching glass with my Dremel 4000 & a Flex Shaft. I've been experimenting with different diamond bits and speeds but my edges always come out chipped.
I use a water drip system I sort of invented to keep the dust down and to keep the bits and glass cool.
The glass I'm practicing on is from a candle, so it's pretty thick.
If anyone could give me some tips, I'd really appreciate it. It would also be really helpful if anyone could share links to some good bits. Searching Amazon gives me hundreds of results and they mostly seem to be the same thing.
Thanks in advance!

It's hard to diagnose without seeing the bit you used, but here are my ideas:
Orientation
The line in the center of your image has only one chipped edge on one side. That implies that the problem either arises at the side where the tool starts touching the glass or leaves the glass.
If you turn the glass (or the tool) so that the rotation of the bit is parallel to the line you're etching, the chipping might still occur, but it won't be visible because it'll be part of the line.
Grain
The bit you're using might be too coarse for glass. Of course the bit needs some grain to be able to etch glass at all, which would be visible as bumps under the microscope. When one such bump touches the glass, it breaks tiny parts of it away. High grain bits have a lot of tiny bumps, which break the glass away evenly like a chain saw would cut a block of ice evenly. With lower grain these bumps get bigger and fewer, chipping away chunks of glass like an ice pick would chip a block of ice.
Uneven rotation
I've made the unfortunate experience that bits sometimes won't be centered properly in the collet. You can have the same effect if the shaft of the bit is slightly bent or if the stone of the tool (if it has one) isn't centered. As a result, instead of a constant grinding you get a tool that jumps over the surface like a miniature jackhammer.


What is this tool in my sewing kit? I found this tool in my sewing kit, and I wanted to know what it is.

It is a couple of inches (centimetres) long. It has two metal prongs on one end and one of them has a plastic ball protecting the tip. Do you have any ideas?

It's a seam ripper. You use it to pick up and cut stitches in a seam that you want to "unsew".

To use it properly, poke the longer end under the stitch, then push it through so the U part cuts it. Repeat every few stitches, then use either your fingers or the tool to pull out the threads.

To use it the quick & dirty way, pull apart the layers of fabric until you can see the stitching on the inside, position the U part of the tool at the bottom of them, and push up between the layers of fabric to cut the stitches. You'll need to hold the fabric taut while you do this, and there's a danger of cutting the fabric instead of the stitches (hence the "proper" but tedious instructions).


What to use as amigurumi stuffing if you don't have access to poly stuffing? I, for one, do not have easy access to poly stuffing, so I was wondering, what is the second best choice for amigurumi stuffing?

Some options:

Cotton Balls - try pulling them apart a little with your fingers to give them more volume & squish.

Old Pillows - cut open an old pillow you don't need for the fluff inside (which is more or less polyfill).

Other possibilities: Roving wool, bulky/super bulky yarn (loosely wound up), microbeads, beans (don't get them wet though!).


How do I evenly space my knots for my hanging craft project? I'm attempting to make a ladder-like structure completely out of fishing line. I'm trying to avoid any extra materials such as rings, hooks or crimping sleeves because I want this to be as low-visibility as possible.

The project will consist long vertical sections connected by horizontal segments at regular intervals.

Here's a diagram of a portion of what I have in mind:

The black circles here would be knots, and I need to be able to space them the same vertical distance apart each time.

The red sections connect the two verticals, and I need to be able to tie them to the the bottoms of each vertical section. Again, each segment should be the same length.

My problem comes in being able to keep the distance between knots equal. I tried a double slip knot, but I can't seem to control the length well enough since I need a knot at both ends of the segment.

Is there a way to get them evenly spaced, within about 1/8th inch tolerance? It doesn't need to be the same knot at either end of the segment, if that helps. I'm not sure if there's a specific knot combination I need to use, or some technique/trick (like using straws on thicker material) that will help me space whichever knots I go with.

The ends don't have to be tight knots, but could be open loops, as long as I can make the length from end of loop to end of loop consistent.

This project will end up supporting weights which will hang from the horizontal sections, so it's important that the knots withstand the weight. There'll be about 1 pound per horizontal segment. This means that if I make 5 sections, the top will support all the weight (5 lbs) and the bottom will only support the last pound.

First thing that comes to my mind, why don't you try it in the same way as bobbin lace? In your case, that means a large cushion (maybe a(n old) mattress), as stiff as possible, and use pins to get/keep the knots in the right places.


Boning for self-supporting tote bag I'm working on a tote bag to carry various swimwear items to the pool, similar to  bags from ThirtyOne. I want the bag to be able to hold itself up & open, but still be able to make it mostly flat for storage.

I'm using some outdoor canvas-type fabric. To stiffen it, I'm thinking of using boning in the corners and around the rim. My main concern is that the boning could get creased if the bag is shoved around. Is there a better option for providing this support?

Boning around the rim is a good idea to make the bag stiff enough to hold itself open, but boning in the corners would make it impossible to fold the bag up for storage. You can add boning only in the green lines.

A heavy canvas is strong enough to hold the bag open, especially since the material is doubled in the corner seams. You actually don't need much strength to hold the bag upright because its own weight is negligible.

For the boning itself you should use plastic boning. Since the bag is supposed to carry potentially wet items into a potentially wet environment (the pool), you should avoid metal boning because it could rust in time.

You need to cut seperate strips of boning for each edge around the rim. After cutting the right length, clip or file the corners of the boning to avoid damage to the fabric. If you think the boning is not strong enough to make the bag as stable as you'd like, simply add another strip of boning to the same edge.


How can I safely transport a charcoal drawing? What is the best way of transporting a charcoal drawing over on a long ride?

The drawing is fixed with a workable fixative but im still concerned about smudging. I was thinking about rolling the piece with a protecting layer of paper on top but I'm not sure if the charcoal could 'break' off in the process of rolling.Or would it be better to transport it flat (but how exactly?).

PROFESSIONAL VERSION

Put on a pair of clean white cotton gloves.

Mount the drawing on an acid-free sheet of museum board with archival mounting tape. Prepare a beveled matt with an interior size 1-2 cm smaller than your paper. Attach the matt to the museum board with one strip of archival tape along the top edge. Place a piece of 5 mm thick plexiglas on the matt and tape to the museum board along the sides. Place the entire object in a thick plastic bag, fold down the opening several times while pressing out the air and tape shut with plastic packaging tape.

Then place the packaged drawing into a wooden shipping box with custom cut styrofoam spacers so that it cannot move. Put a sachet of silica gel under the museum board in a small space you have carved out of the foam. Put a foam sheet on top of the matt and close the box with screws. Using indelible marker (or hand-cut stencil for the authenticity) write FRAGILE GLASSWARE. HANDLE WITH CARE. on every side of the box. Label with the contents, attach shipping label and place in the loading bay for the (insured) delivery company to pick up.

DIY CHEAP VERSION

In an emergency I would use waxed paper like the kind used for baking to cover the sheet of paper. Fold it over the top, tape with removable masking tape to the back of the drawing. Use multiple rows that overlap and then sandwich the drawing between two sheets of cardboard that are 1.5 times bigger than the drawing. Put the whole thing in a garbage bag that you then wrap airtight and tape closed.


Chirality-neutral string String and rope are usually composed of a few smaller threads twirled into a larger thread:

This causes the resultant string to tend to twist itself one direction more than the other.  In addition, when twisted in the direction opposite to the twirl, the string will unravel itself, and the result is ugly.

Are there string that has been twirled in a chirality-neutral manner (i.e. the string does not have an intrinsic "left/right-handedness"), so that it won't unravel when twisted in either direction?

Googling "chirality-neutral string" and "non-handed string" doesn't yield any good results, but obviously I'm not getting the name correct.

You don't say what you are trying to make or do so I can't help there, but what follows addresses your question about twist in string.

String is technically a yarn.

The two major classes of yarn are Spun and Filament.

Spun Yarns are composed of individual fibers that are "spun" (by various means, manual and mechanical) together into a longitudinal structures called a yarn.  What holds the fibers together? Why doesnt the yarn just fall apart into loose fiber? The physics that hold the loose fibers together is supplied by twist.  Low-twist yarns are looser and less stable than tighter yarns - think of a loose fluffy (low-twist) yarn in a soft sweater vs. a tight (high-twist) yarn that is woven into a smooth dress shirt fabric.  Even sewing thread is technically a yarn and has twist for strength and stability.

Filament Yarns are zero-twist yarn structures.  Filament yarn is extruded (again, via various methods) and is not composed of fiber held together with twist.  Examples are synthetic monofilament like fishing line, and the monofilament that is used to weave some outdoor fabrics and furniture, and some types of indoor-outdoor carpeting.

The twisted string structure you show in your question looks to be two yarns simply twisted together.  The twist in the red and black yarns holds each of them together individually, but simply twisting the two yarns together does not produce the physical cohesion between the two structures that mimics the twist imposed in a fiber spinning process. That's why ropes and braids will easily unravel.

This is a simple explanation, it's possible to get a material science PhD in the physics of textile spinning, so there is much more info out there.

Hope this helps.


Finest ballpoint/rollerball pen? I would like to have a rollerball pen (or a ballpoint, or preferably both) for caligraphy, that is as fine as possible.

I have a fineliner that is 0.05 mm, and I would like to have a fine rollerball pen as well (I know rollerballs won't be 0.05 mm).

When I look around online for fine rollerball pens, I am somewhat confused:

Some ads say their rollerball pen is 0.4mm ball diameter, 0.2mm line width. Should I believe their claim about the line width?
To what extent does the brand matter?
What is the smallest line width that is out there for a rollerball (or ballpoint) pen? What specific pen achieves this? I have found this seemingly very fine pen, but it seems to no longer be available: https://www.jetpens.com/Uni-ball-Signo-Bit-UM-201-Gel-Ink-Pen-0.18-mm-Black/pd/1614

Ball tips

I was familiar with the Uni-ball Signo 0.28mm tips (virtually the same as a 0.3mm tip, which is commonly available), but the 0.18 was new to me, and that's apparently been discontinued.  I suspect that's pushing the physical limit of what you can do with a ball tip.

A number of manufacturers have 0.25mm rollerballs.  If you've found one with a 0.2mm line, you will have a hard time doing better than that.  Note, though, that even the .25mm ball pens have a reputation for clogging, and ball tips that small can be scratchy to write with.

Ball diameter vs. line width

To answer your question about ball diameter vs. line width, the ball needs to be captured at the end of a metal tube, so just a small portion of the ball sticks out.  That portion will be smaller than the diameter of the ball, and that's the part that defines the line width.

That line width spec isn't always a reliable indicator of line width.  If the tip dispenses a lot of ink, the line can spread and end up wider, depending on the media you write on.  Also, the softer the media and the harder you press, the more of the exposed portion of the ball will contact the paper.  So different pens that all claim to write a specific line width will have very different lines.

Brand

Brand does matter.  Once you get beyond manufacturer's that exaggerate, and are dealing with products accurately described, there are big differences in manufacturing quality and in how long the pens will last.  There are also differences in writing feel, comfort, and line quality.  Different people swear by different brands.  Some of that is due to the type of writing and media, and some is personal preference.  You can check reviews and opinions to narrow the selection, then try some different ones and see what you like.

Super fine lines

The only kind of pen I've seen that claims to get down to 0.05mm or less is a plastic or felt tip pen, and you're already familiar with those.

If you want to go smaller than you can with a ball tip, technical pens fill the gap in that size range.  They're called technical pens because the tip is contained in a thin metal tube that allows it to be used accurately with a straightedge or template.  There are several types of tips used in these.  One type is similar to your Fineliner; the writing tip is plastic or felt.

The other is a metal tip; it's a tiny metal capillary tube that can get down to very fine line widths.  A Rapidograph 6x0 tip has a 0.13mm line.  A Staedtler MarsMatic 5x0 tip is 0.13mm.  Several manufacturers make a 0.1mm tip.  The pens and tips are available from art and office supply stores, and online.

Even with technical pens, the claims of lines finer than 0.1mm (0.05mm and even 0.03mm), are for a plastic or felt tip.  Those claims can't actually be true.  For perspective, A single dot of inkjet printer ink is in the ballpark of 50 microns.  A single dot of toner from a laser printer is in the ballpark of 80 microns.  Dots this small are barely visible up close to the naked eye if they are arranged in a regular pattern.  To create a line that narrow with a pen, you would need to write with a single human hair, feeding ink through its hollowed out center.  So claims of writing a 50 or 30 micron line with a plastic or felt tip just aren't realistic.

I've used a 0.13mm (Staedtler MarsMatic) tip.  It's easy to use on a surface like velum or tracing paper, but it's like trying to write with a needle on regular paper.  At the small end of this style, you need to develop some skill with it to use it on regular paper (which those sizes aren't designed for).  Sizes approaching the smallest ball-type pens aren't a problem writing on paper.  As a practical matter, if you want to make lines substantially finer than what a ball pen can do, and want to do that on regular paper, a plastic or felt tip will probably be the best solution.


What components are involved in this kind of scroll? I've seen pictures of scrolls such as this, that contain their material within a larger metal case, and are read by pulling the material out using a tab on the side.

Image from game: Skyrim

All of them, such as this one, are not actually real. It makes me curious as to whether or not these kinds of scrolls ever existed.

Supposing that this kind is real, what real life/ historical scrolls exist that are of this style? What are the basic parts that make up the scroll? I am not looking for complete design specifications but more of a basic schematic.

Image from Dark Souls 3

Also I've found another picture, from dark souls 3, that is still fictional though it represents what I'm looking to identify.

These types of scrolls do exist.

One example is called an "Esther" scroll case.

Here are some examples.

http://www.museumsinisrael.gov.il/en/items/Pages/ItemCard.aspx?IdItem=ICMS_IMJ_366069

http://www.magnes.org/collections/museum/jewish-life/synagogue-and-communal-life/esther-scroll-collection

http://www.imj.org.il/imagine/galleries/viewWallE.asp?case=34&srm=Purim&swl=The%20Esther%20Scroll

And ... if I were to try to make something similar I would break it down to the following parts.


Is there a name for this style and/or "subject matter" of art? Is there a particular term for style of illustration found on Codenames: Pictures cards, and/or is there a term for the subject matter?

Ideally I'd like a term, or phrase, or something to describe the subject matter specifically -- this weird combination of everyday objects, like the butterflies coming out of the steam of a teapot, the ice cream cone with the 8-ball, the briefcase with the house inside, the fish on the hamster wheel, or the snowman-bee thing with the flower.

I agree, "Clip Art" or "Graphic Arts" would seem an appropriate answer.
Also, they might be described as "icons" or "avatars" in another usage. Again, the answer to this question is perhaps largely a factor of where the clips are used, what they are being used for and how they are included.
There is a lovely "quirky" humorous flavour to them. They could be used in a "satirical" way, or perhaps just as a "quirky" or even "geeky" personal avatar by different people. I actually like them.


How can you preserve oil paints on your palette between sessions? Sometimes you mix a great color using your palette but then you have to put your work aside for the evening or even longer. So, how can you preserve the colors on your palette until you're ready to use them again?

Light, Air, AND Temperature. After restricting the air flow like by putting the palette into a container you can put it in the fridge or even the freezer for a longer period.

Some painters immerse the working palette into a recipient of water in the fridge for the best air restriction, because it is oil based the paint is not altered and is workable within an hour of removing from water.

read http://painting.about.com/od/oilpaintingfaq/f/freezing-oils.htm

  It's fine to store your oils in the freezer if you're taking a break. The cold temperature will slow the rate of oxidation and evaporation, preserving the paint.(...) "...by early Renaissance times professional supplies of pigments existed ... Prepared oil paints were kept in the studio under water to prevent them from drying out."

Using left over paint within " the evening or even longer" should not require any special method.
Otherwise, if you add oil to the paint before setting the palette aside it will be work able for days longer, and even longer with a slow dry medium.

The best way is still to use paint little by little so not to have too much left over.


How to knot an elastic cord into a circle? I'm going to be tying some elastic cord (the kind that's about 2 mm thick) into circles about 6 inches in diameter.

The circles will be subject to a fair amount of stretching, but nothing excessive.

Is there a certain knot and/or glue combination I can use to accomplish this?

My limitations are that I need to be able to fit up to 3 of these knots inside of a straw.

Fisherman's knot

This is what I would use if you are looking for a pure knot solution. One of the easiest ones to use as well since it is just two overhands knots.

Image from Wikipedia

Basically lay the ends of the elastic along side each other. Then take one end and tie an overhand knot around the other end. Then do the same with the other loose end. (Describing how to tie knots is a hard venture). Once both knots are tied you can pull the elastic away from the knots and that will pull them tight.

Consider fusing

This really depends on the material the cord is made out of but this works for certain ropes. Use something simple like a lighter (some people use heat guns) to melt the elastic ends together. Assuming that material allows this, fusing after you put the cord in a knot will help create a stronger bond. you do have to be careful not to overheat the cord as that can damage it or if nothing else reduce its longevity. Might not be worth it for the project you describe.


what could be used hanging object such as painting on wall without nails? Is there any adhesive material through which we can hang painting and photo frames on wall without nails.Such that on removing it not damage the walls?

Despite the questions in my comment, one answer to your question may be to use 3M Command Adhesive products. These are double sided foam strips with an accessory attached to one side. Sometimes the accessory is a hook made from formed/molded plastic, sometimes it's a metal hook on a strap-like attachment.

Other versions use a velcro-type product on the foam adhesive strip. You attach one piece of the velcro to your frame and the other (foam) velcro to the wall with the 3M adhesive.

Many other accessories exist and most are available in local retail outlets as well as on Amazon.com

The key feature of this product is that when it is necessary to remove the hanging item, one pulls on the tab attached to the foam tape. It stretches and distorts and releases in a controlled manner, creating nearly zero damage to the underlying surface. I say nearly zero, because poorly painted surfaces may crack and peel, but properly painted surfaces will release cleanly.

There are versions of this product that are rated by the weight each strip will hold safely. If you have a 10 kg frame and can find only 5 kg capable strips, get two, and you'll be safe.


How can I repair broken glass inside a stained glass project? My wife has this small stained glass decoration she made in high school that has been around forever. For almost that same amount of time there are a couple of break in one of the pieces. The pictures below are the same except the second one has arrows to give focus to the breaks.

It can be hard to tell but there is some glass missing in one of the breaks.

Now, is there something that can actually be done about this? I suppose I could put some solder on top of it to give the illusion that its more than one piece of glass but there is nothing for it to adhere to.

Is there a possibly that the glass could be removed maybe or part of it removed? That might be more effort than it is worth for this project but that does not mean the solution is any less valid here.

What can I do to fix or hide this broken glass on my wife project?

Take it apart

Desolder the near and far corners of the frame - easier said than done, but just patiently melt the solder and push it away with the tip of the soldering iron.

Glue the broken glass back together

Once half the frame is removed, the broken pieces will probably still adhere to the foil, but still be flexible to allow the insertion of your favorite glass glue - e.g. Loctite.  Of course this does nothing about patching the missing shard of glass.

Place copper foil patches in the cracks

Once half the frame is removed, the broken pieces will have to be removed. If you're lucky the pieces of glass will slip off the foil.  If the foil continues to adhere to the glass, it might be necessary to peel off some of the solder coated foil and replace it.  As for filling in the cracks, the pieces will need to ground down so that cracks become wide enough to accommodate foil.  Foil the pieces, coat with solder on both sides of the piece, and reattach the frame pieces.

Do nothing

Repairing with foil is going to look really klutzy. Using glue still leaves a gap where the chip of glass is missing, not much different from doing nothing.


Binding variously sized pages into a book I have a bunch of paper memorabilia which would like to bind into a book. The challenge is that there are two types of pages, each type having a slightly different size; and the pages interleave. I don't want to cut them to the smaller size - there is virtually no margin space on the smaller pages.

Is there a binding technique I can use? How do I even align the block? (the problem is that smaller pages are free-floating between larger ones)

I was thinking about going page by page and manually gluing each one to align. After that I would use one of the standard book-binding techniques to form a strong spine (e.g double fan or notched-spine). But maybe there is a better way?

Two types of pages (smaller white and slightly larger yellow):

Block:

Update: described the problem with the algnment, clarified that I meant to use glue to help with that part only, and mentioned the planned ways to form the spine.

A Comparison of Two Possible Solutions:

Binding the larger papers, scrapbooking the smaller ones: You have thought of the unconventional idea of binding the larger memorabilia pages and then using scrapbooking techniques to secure the smaller pages within that bound book.  Unfortunately, it is possible that the bulk that would be added with this technique could be prohibitive, depending on how many smaller pages there are.  For example, if you were to interleave one piece of paper in each gutter of any random bound book, you would have effectively doubled the number of pages, and the book would neither close nor lay normally:

I used the term “unconventional” for your idea, because it would be out of the ordinary to bind the documents you are trying to preserve, as this would irreversibly alter them. The more traditional approach would be to affix the items to archival (lignin / acid free) album pages.

Proposed Alternative: Traditional Scrapbooking in a Post-Bound Album:  In agreement with @ChrisH, below is a list of “pros” for a scrapbooking approach (which is, the use of adhesive or mounting corners to adhere your memorabilia to album pages.)

I am specifically recommending Post-Bound albums, which have special expandable bindings that use 2 or 3 metal binding posts (screw heads on both ends of a post, one stationary, one moveable) to tightly hold the pages between the front and back covers. Using an album with three posts is much sturdier for a thick, heavy project.

Pros:

One can easily achieve the look of a bound book, even on the back of the spine.
Post-Bound scrapbook bindings are expandable, allowing for the addition of more pages by changing to longer post screws.The longest posts I found are these 60 mm posts on the Michael’s website.
The integrity of the memorabilia can not only be preserved, but they can be protected from further damage.
Pages with contents on both sides can be placed in page protector pocket sleeves or in photo sleeves so that both sides are visible.
By not binding the larger memorabilia pieces, one can tap into archival methods for mounting materials:

Photo and Art Mounting Corners made of polypropylene; these are [self-adhesive.][10
Adhesives, all archival, including acrylic-based glue, starch-based glue, or even convenient glue dots.

You can customize the size and weight of album paper to what is best suited to your materials:

SIZES of Scrapbooking paper: The two main sizes for a project such as yours are 12” x 12”, and 8.5” x 11”. 12” x 12” seems more economical, as you can fit in more objects per page. Also there are more choices of paper in the 12” x 12” size. Cons of 12” x 12” are that it is more expensive per page, and that there is a wider selection of binders in the 8.5” x 11” size.
WEIGHT of album paper: This is measured as the fixed weight of 500 sheets of said paper, stacked, then measured in pounds. A stack of 500 sheets of copy paper, for example, weighs about 20 lbs. Therefore, standard copy paper has a listed weight of 20 lbs. (This is the U.S. measurement system. It is measured by GSM in Europe and other parts of the world.)

  Categories of paper by weight:

  10-55 lbs: Light weight paper
  55-85 lbs: Medium weight paper
  85-120 lbs: Heavy weight paper
  120 lbs and up: Extra heavy weight paper

  Choosing the best weight of paper for your application: I think 60 to 80 lb paper would probably be your best range:

  20 lbs: Jot a note, make a copy.
  35 lbs: Print double-sided without it showing through on the other side; no embellishments.
  60-65 lbs:  Heavier than copy paper, but won’t be holding very many embellishments or liquid adhesives; a common weight for
  lighter patterned scrapbook paper, drawing paper, and lightweight card
  stock.
  80 lbs: A base for a card or a sturdy layout page involving liquid adhesives, embellishments, and some mixed media elements; the
  weight of business cards.
  90-110 lbs: High quality invitations or announcements; a  heavy, high quality cardstock, accommodates heavy embellishments,
  paints, paste, ink, mixed media.
  110 lb paper: Standard for cards with lots of embellishments.
  140 lbs: For watercolor painting and mixed media inks; a thick, heavy paper, will  buckle or warp much less than lighter papers
  when wet; holds weighty embellishments.

Although archival scrapbooking materials can be expensive, decent products are out there in an affordable range, especially if you maintain a simple design, which seems to be your intent. When I was new to scrapbooking, the biggest challenge was dealing with the overwhelming quantity of choices.  Going into this project with as clear and specific an idea as possible on what you want the final product to look like will help prevent information overload. Here is an excellent article for beginning scrapbookers, which was a source for quite a bit of the information above, and includes compelling rationale for use of archival materials.
Scrapbooking techniques are very straightforward for a project such as yours. Really once you have researched and chosen your materials, the rest of the task will not require much of a learning curve at all, nor a lot of special equipment, which would both be the case if you were to go the bound book route.


What does "work as dropped stitch" mean in knitting pattern? The knitted sweater pattern instructions for casting off sleeve at shoulder says:
"Before casting off, work center st and 5th st on either side as dropped st."

Please explain!

That instruction (usually) means the last row at the top of the shoulder on the arm is knit w/ the same stitches as instructed to use thus far, except those two stitches as specified. In the case of the center and 5th, you don't actually "knit" them, not even a 'slip' stitch, which would result in the same number of stitches in that final row, and possibly a 'bump' at the shoulder when joined. You just drop them off the needle. The last row then ends as 3 stitches that are fairly compact, including your cast off, and is similar to doing a small tuck at the top of the arm in sewing so the shoulder is flat. There will be no need to 'gather' together as you sew the arm in place.

That is my first, and strongest, impression of what that instruction is asking. I'm an intermediate to highly skilled knitter, though I wouldn't go so far as to say "expert". I have to admit, that line would have me second guessing the intent of the author. My further thoughts on it, as I considered it a little longer, are as follows:

It seems as if they are instructing you to drop those two stitches as part of casting off, and I must say I do find that highly unusual. The cast off won't add any real "structure" and simply results in your last row being nicely flat, without curling in on you. That gives me the impression of leaving a hole in the very center of the shoulder at the arm seam. A very bulky sweater with chunky yarn may well need that exact thing, though that style of sweater doesn't usually call for a seam at the shoulder at all.

Sometimes, when a pattern calls for a "drp st", I will combine the specified stitch(es) into the previous or next one, and knit both as just one (as in reducing) if the yarn or pattern results in a stretchy/loose type garment style. In that case the 'dropped' stitch can look much more like a 'hole', or can result in a 'pointy' bump at the curve of the shoulder. You will have to judge that for yourself, according to the type of pattern you have.

The way the wording is, as you've given it, I don't blame you for needing clarification. Sometimes different regions will give stitch names like that but can mean something other than what you've learned. If there is a 'legend' of what each stitch name is, usually that 'dropped st' is written as "drpst" or "drp st" with a brief description of how to form it. I would have to see the pattern, go by the instruction style, and maybe determine the area of the world it originated from. I can tell you that 'cast off' does not 'add' a row, but it feels as if they are telling you to knit one more row "before" cast off (?). Depending on the pattern and garment style, of course, but I would err on the side of caution, and try doing a count of the rows you have for the arm and where it attaches, or the number of stitches called for at the circumference before joining. Also, look for a specified number of rows in earlier directions in the pattern, if there are several size options to choose from before starting, etc etc.

I hope that helps, and doesn't give you more confusion. The beauty of knitting, unless the pattern is very advanced and intricate, is the ability to adapt in what you know and are comfortable with. It will still look fabulous. There is so much room for originality.


What's the term for the opposite drawing style to hyperrealism? I'm learning how to draw, and I'm trying to find the name of my favorite style so I can find more resources about it. The style is reasonably minimalistic, using only the necessary detail to make recognizable portraits (as opposed to hyperrealism) and largely ignoring physical flaws in a way that basically makes anyone attractive. However, the eyes and other areas are allowed additional detail to make the subject as attractive as possible. It's sort of an extension on sketching with relatively little shading.

Can you name the style, and maybe even provide some resources for working on it?

Here are a few examples, the first one by far the closest to what I'm looking for:

These are simply portrait sketches. There's not, to the best of my knowledge, a specific term for the technique other than "sketching".

Sketching doesn't just mean an unfinished work, a doodle, or lack of detail. I think this phrasing from Painting.About.Com defines it well:

  A sketch is painting or drawing capturing the essence of an object or scene, giving an idea or outline of it or simply a part thereof. How quickly or slowly a sketch is completed depends on the individual artist. Some work very quickly and roughly, others slowly and in great detail.

So, in these portraits, capture the eyes and certain features is just part of getting that essence of the person. Eyes are a very defining facial feature, and they're very humanizing and expressive. Adding detail to them is an easy way to make the drawing "pop".

The three examples you've given are distinctly different personal styles. As you seen in the top, it's more defined by outlines, hatching and cross-hatching.  The second works more with fluid lines and varying tones. The last one is kept very loose, using "scribbles" and high-energy lines that go outside of the bounds for the hair, contrasted with well-defined edges and hatching for the face.

I wouldn't really consider any of these the opposite of hyperrealism, either. You can go much further away from that, such as gesture drawing and cartooning.

If there is a specific term for this, I've never heard anyone use it. This is the type of art I'm most interested in, so I've seen a lot of it and followed artists for years with no mention. I've also not heard anything used in any art class or tutorial I've taken.

At most, I think you'll be able to break down some individual techniques or concepts, somewhat like I did a couple paragraphs ago. If you're particularly focused on the beauty aspect of them, you may think of them as fashion, beauty or glamour portraits.

(As a side note, the first one you've listed is actually the most detailed of the three, which is especially obvious if you look at the lips, but there's many more details than that.)


What are foam erasers? I just now saw Sakura Foam erasers. They are rated higher than Staedtler Mars Plastic erasers.
How are they different than plastic erasers? Do they actually contain foam?
Do they perform better than plastic erasers?
Do we have to maintain them in a different way as compared to plastic and rubber erasers?

I can't find any information on what exactly foam erasers are made of, but my guess would be a microporous reticulated foam (like melamine foam, for example).
Foam erasers are universally lauded as being excellent in cleaning graphite off of paper, leaving (virtually) no traces, without having to put anything near as much power into the rubbing as one would with classic rubber, plastic, or vinyl erasers.
This also means you are less likely to damage the paper you're working on.
They produce larger pieces of waste material - with the right technique you'll be able to produce a single piece of waste, which means cleaning up is far easier to do.
There is no maintenance involved.
There is one caveat, however: as you write about the 'performance', we have to take into account the amount of material used in relation to the erasion power, and here these erasers fall a little short: being foam, they are consumed a lot faster than standard erasers.


What type of thin or light wood is suitable for making box joints? I want to make a wooden box using box joints. The box should be cube-shaped with sides of around 10cm and one side open. This is my first time to make box joints.

I need the box to be as light as possible, so thin wood would be better - however, I can imagine that with thin wood, the joints would be smaller and thus more tedious to get right. Or would this not be such a problem?

If thin wood is not a real option, what types of light (weight-wise) wood could I consider? For example, I read here that pine wood is easy to shape and stain. Would this be an advantage?

Colour is not an issue, but cheaper wood is preferred.

Plywood is ultimately the answer. When making box joints or finger joints you need to have dimensionally uniform and preferably stable wood.

Plywood comes in many sizes and I would imagine something like 8mm would be fine. If you are OK with something larger like 16mm then you would have stronger joints as there would be more surface area.

This is dependent on what tools you have. A box joint jig on a table saw would make this a breeze.

  I read here that pine wood is easy to shape and stain.

Pine is cheap. That is its main advantage. Most softwood is easy to shape by nature. Easy to stain is inaccurate as pine (and other woods) is susceptible to blotching. Blotching meaning a non-uniform stain.

Real wood will almost always certainly look better. On box joints you are going to see the plys more so you need to know if that is something you are comfortable with aesthetically.


Do kilns get hot enough to fire their own bricks? Kilns for firing ceramics are lined with firebrick, which are also ceramic. Note that heating elements are often placed in grooves in the walls. However, different ceramics have different firing temperatures, so it may be the case that the walls can only be fired at even higher temperatures. I would think that this is the case, as ceramics at firing temperature are often weak and not far from the point where they start to soften and deform under gravity.
Is the maximum safe operating temperature of most kilns below the temperature that could fire the kind of bricks in their walls? If so, are these bricks fired in a graphite furnace or other special ultra-high temperature process?

Firebrick are thermally stable for the temperature range they are specified. However , some materials may cause chemical changes in certain types of fire brick and develop lower melting phases. I am thinking of glazes dripping onto brick.  The normal Nichrome elements will not do this. Also silicon carbide elements will not deteriorate the brick.


How to narrate a complete story into a single painting? A picture can say a thousand words

Sometimes we have to portray a series of scenes into one single picture.

I wan to make a painting which depicts a series of things into one single element, Currently I am finding it very difficult to portray multiple scenes into on painting, because due to multiple scenes I cannot force user to focus on only particular thing in that painting.

There are multiple ways to narrate a story in one painting. Some were already pointed out in the comments to your question.

The comic book way: By this I mean the arrangement of the scenes in multiple frames that are all on one painting (a comic that consists of only one page if you will). There are multiple ways to arrange the frames but most commonly the reading order of the intended audience is used. In the western world you narrate from left to right and top to bottom, whereas for manga its right to left and top to bottom. Text may be used to develop the scene, but the distinguishing feature are the multiple frames. Example: Wendy

If by 'in one single element' you mean that you don't want to use multiple frames there are still some options:

Composition: In painting the composition is the most important factor when it comes to telling a story in one picture. Setting up your narration you have to think about where the story begins: this will correspond to a section in the picture the eye of the viewer is immediately drawn to. This can be achieved using size, light, color, or the place in the image (usually a viewer 'reads' the image from the top left to the bottom right). Using a decreasing amount of emphasis for the following scenes, the eyes of the viewer will gaze along the line of your story (look for books about composition and see also this article mentioned by John Vukelic in the comments).
Format: if you use an unusual format for your painting the composition to tell a story might be easier obtained. Taking a really wide format - like for a panorama - the viewer will not be able to capture the entire image with all details in a single glance and thus has to digest the image sequentially, which is ideal. Psychology suggests that most humans will start from the right (e.g. Werner Tübke's 'Peasants War Panorama').
Another example would be to have a picture whose height is large compared to the width. The movement of the eye will then probably start at eye-height of the viewer and then move up before it goes down again.
Put a lot into the image. Some pictures of the early (middle European) renaissance will simply contain a lot of scenes connected by landscape or other (most notably the images of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel. With this approach it will be harder to tell a strict-time-line-story without using further tricks, as there is simply too much going on.

Basically everything boils down to the composition of your painting when you want to narrate a chronological story. Planning carefully and sketching the composition is mandatory to get a satisfactory result.

See also this blog-post about narrative.


What is a good stretchy bind-off for 2:2 ribbing? I knitted a hat top-down with a stranded 2:2 rib edge. What would be an nice-looking and adequately stretchy bind-off?

I recommend a variation of Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off (JSSBO) explained here over at Knitty.com. An additional resource for this technique is this drawing provided by Interweave:

The drawing demonstrates the JSSBO technique in a k2:p1 ribbing pattern.  To use JSSBO for binding-off a k2:p2 ribbing, such as the one shown below, simply apply the knit-type and purl-type techniques described in Step 1–>Step 2 in corresponding fashion upon the k2:p2 stitches of the ribbing.  (Therefore you could use this bind-off on any ratio of ribbing!)

As you can see it is a nice looking bind off:


What are the different kinds of erasers used in graphite drawing? When you are drawing you inevitably make mistakes. Erasing therefore is a large part of drawing. Not just for mistakes either. They can aid in shading and detail work, like hair, and other fine details.

Erasers are obviously important. What kinds are out there when it comes to pencil drawing? I see many of similar colours, styles and hardness. What characteristics make them unique and, at a broad level, what are they designed to do?

While there are different manufacturers and styles there is finite number of basic modern erasers.

Pencil End or Rubber

This is a commonly found eraser outside the drawing community. Usually pink in colour and rough in texture (due to the abrasive). This is the same eraser type that would be found on pencils with erasers.

These remove graphite by shredding themselves over the paper leaving bits behind. If used incorrectly they can damage your drawing surface by tearing the paper.

There are also black and white erasers of similar firmness, but erase slightly more like the vinyl/polymer erasers. They are still abrasive, but less prone to tearing or wearing away your paper.

Image from heartclass.com

Gum

Usually large an brown in appearance. Can also be blue or transparent. They are generally softer to the touch.

They will fall apart or crumble, in larger bits than other erasers that function this way, as they are used. This is by design and why most are larger, compared to other typical erasers. The bits help pull and hold the graphite. Because of how they function and the fact they are softer allows them to be used more easily over large areas and don't generally damage the paper. This also means they have a shorter life span.

Image from Amazon.com

Vinyl / White Plastic

There are white and the usually the toughest of the erasers discussed here.

They are adept are removing a greater portion of the pencil and getting you back to paper. Graphite will stick to the eraser portion so one needs to be careful as you can accidentally transfer pencil to another spot on the page. There rigid shape allow you to cut them to remove used portions if you wanted or to create shapes and contours for more specialized removal. They come in multiple colors, but their function is identical.

Image from artstuff.net and currys.com

Kneaded

Almost all artists will have a kneaded eraser in their arsenal. They are very soft, mold-able and usually grey.

They are designed to conform to most any shape for detailed adjustment and a ergonomic hold if need be. They actually lift the graphite from the page to the eraser. Once that part of the eraser is not working as efficiently you would fold it back into the eraser to expose more unused surface. The picture below shows a new eraser to formed and then a used form (which is darker from graphite). There is next to no risk to the drawing surface when using these.

Image from helloartsy.com

Eraser Pencil and Stick

These are straight forward pencil with an eraser core. However the core can be like the pink eraser or a plastic vinyl one.

Since they can be sharpened to a point and are for fine or detail work. A slightly larger variation of this is an eraser stick which has a long eraser core which gets pushed out in the same way you would a mechanical pencil.

Images from cultpens.com and dick-blick.com

Electric

These are also simple to identify. Looking much like a hand held rotary tool with an eraser bit in the collar.

While they might seem like a novelty they are good at what they do. Since the eraser is rotating during function is take very little pressure to get good results.

Image from currys.com

Again, there are off course many different styles, manufactures and variations of what is pictured above but that should give you a good sense of what is out there.


Making a telescope for a pirate costume I am making a pirate outfit. I need to make a simple spyglass for it. I am opting for no sew but if I have to I will sew stuff I need for the outfit. This isn't for Halloween, just for fun and I like pirates so.

I only have cardboard and paper and fabric(I suppose I cold knit myself a square and tie it or something since I do have yarn) and the only source I have of cardboard tubes is toilet paper and paper towels. I don't want to waste them simply to get my tubes needed.

However I will store these tubes in a box so that I can use them. I have tape and glue to stick them on with. So how many cardboard tubes will I need to make the telescope and of what sizes?

A retracting telescope typically has 3 or 4 segments that retract into one another,

although the insecure pirate may feel the need to get a longer one.

The key features of the section diameters is that they slide easily past one another but will not fall apart when extended. In other words, you need a "stop" that prevents the larger segment from completely sliding off the next smaller one that's inside.

Assuming you have a method for building that stop, the tubes should ideally have a diameter difference of 1-10mm. A set of tubes with larger size gaps can still be used, but the extended telescope might look sloppier (the cumulative gap will cause more drooping, as in Jack Sparrow's overly long telescope above).


What is the name of this painting genre? I know the genre is related to photo realism/hyper realism, It's photo realism/hyper realism, But I want to know what's the name of it with this tools!?

They use graphite, They use brush and dark colors in it, They use different kind of black powders as color

Here is an example:

To me, this seems like it is charcoal pencil art.  Google that term and check out the Images it brings up.  They are very similar.

The way this is created is the artist uses a charcoal pencil to draw on the paper, then smudges the charcoal into the picture they want to make.  The powder is actually the charcoal.  In this case, the light color comes from the paper the eye/face is drawn on.


How can paper be glued to cardboard without creating wrinkles? In my projects, I often wish to affix a piece of paper to a more rigid material, like cardboard, and to do so using relatively large sheets of paper (say, around a square foot or two). However, I find that it is very difficult to get the paper to lay flat after placing glue on it.

Are there specific types of adhesives or techniques for applying glue that minimize the amount of wrinkling caused?

I understand that the wrinkles are caused by the paper expanding when it is exposed to moisture. Thus, I've tried to minimize the amount of glue I use, as well as tried letting the paper sit for a bit with the glue before placing in against the other surface to give an opportunity to expand beforehand, but still haven't gotten a good result. I've tried using wallpaper paste, PVA glue, and wood glue for this purpose, but the results seem very similar with each.

Use SprayMount, or similar - it is formulated for exactly this purpose: fixing paper to cardboard.

What you do is place your artwork face down on a piece of newspaper, spray a single, thin coat on the back, then place it onto the cardboard. It dries almost instantly, so there is no wrinkling, while still giving very good, invisible adhesion. There are some varieties which are repositionable/removable too!


Drawing with white charcoal Just a quick question since I've been drawing for a long time:
Do I really need that white charcoal pencil? How do you use it? Same as charcoal?

No, you don't really need that white charcoal :) However, it can be a very useful and fun to work with.
White charcoal can be used to create highlights in drawings, and is particularly effective in combination with dark charcoal. It is often used in academic drawing when drawing from a real-life references, like nudes:

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon - Standing female nude, seen from behind - 1810s
Notice the hue of the paper: white charcoal is naturally especially useful when used on non-white paper, preferably dark paper, as mentioned in the comments by users Lyssagal and agarza, or, when used in combination with charcoal, a hue in between white and black (medium greys, often slightly coloured, in blue, green, or yellow, are quite common).
Using this approach, you can use white charcoal as an opposite of charcoal, in the sense that you build your subject up from the illuminated aspects instead of its shadows, as one usually does using charcoal. Together, especially on toned paper, these two complimentary approaches give you more freedom, a larger tonal depth, and a quicker method of working, as you can correct most (minor) errors on-the-fly.
You can actually create your own toned paper by crushing some charcoal and rubbing it on a paper sheet using the palm of your hand (if necessary, you can use tissue or cloth to even it out more).
Unlike charcoal, white charcoal is harder to erase, and less prone to blurring as regular charcoal is (see the note below for the reason).

Note that - unless you're talking about binchō-tan - 'white charcoal' is obviously a misnomer: charcoal, from 'charred coal', is the product of burning wood.
This so-called "white charcoal" may be similar in character and regularly used in conjunction with charcoal, but is a pigment combined with a binding agent, often a (compressed) soft pastel. Binchō-tan is indeed (seemingly) white charcoal, but not suitable for drawing (and would probably appear grey).


Can gold/replacement leaf be water/damp proof? I want to put some gold stars on the ceiling of my bathroom using a gold-leaf-like material. The gilding paste that is recommended for it is water soluble, and I'm worried that after applying the stars they will not survive in the damp environment.

Will it be ok? Is there another substance I can use if not?

"Water-based" is not equivalent to "water soluble after drying". I have no idea what this particular (Pebeo brand) gilding size is made out of, but if it's like most others on the market, it's very similar to latex/acrylic paint (or white glue, or a number of other materials): it's water-based in that it can be thinned with water, and it can be cleaned up with plain soap and water while it's still wet. However, once it dries, it's basically insoluble: the only way to remove it is by physical means, i.e. scraping.

That said, unless a glue/paint explicitly says that it's water-resistant once dry, I wouldn't suggest using it in a wet area. It may not dissolve in water, but it may soften, or otherwise not react well.

Also, a bathroom ceiling is not where I'd personally recommend using imitation gold leaf: nevermind the glue, the leaf itself will tarnish pretty rapidly with that much moisture around. You'd need to use a sealer to prevent that, and I don't know of any that are meant to be used in damp areas on a plaster/drywall base. (Plus, how would you go about sealing the stars without getting sealer on the rest of the ceiling? Do you really want a shiny ceiling?)

If you really want to do this, I'd suggest looking into a gilding size and sealer meant to be used outdoors. That'll get you the water-resistance you need in a bathroom, but you'll hit other issues, like possibly discoloring (or worse) the rest of the ceiling, and having to use a respirator to avoid breathing noxious fumes.

One way to get around all those problems would be to get star-shaped wooden cutouts/plaques, gild those (with an outdoor-rated size and sealer), and glue them to your ceiling.


Do reference photos have to be the same size as my final drawing? I’ve been teaching myself drawing for about 6 months and find reference photos very helpful, especially to get proportions and values right. I usually use my phone for the since I don’t have a printer, but this limits me to smallish drawings, since I like to compare them side by side.
Is it common to use small reference photos for larger drawings “freehand” (ie not using a grid method etc.)? Or is it more common to do a small same-size drawing from the photo and scale it with a grid? Or should I just get a tablet or a printer?

Do reference photos have to be the same size as my final drawing?
No.
Typically for individuals that begin learning to draw, they would start out in a grid method. To get a feel (muscle memory) where everything is proportionately going to be placed. Over time the hand and eye coordination will start to catch on over time. There are also other methods, such a projectors, or even tracing tables to help assist in large scale pieces of art.
Printers and tablets can be a good idea. It is common for artists to print out pieces of art, and grid on the printed piece of paper, to help with proportions as well.


How to attach copper wire (8 gauge) to wood (Eastern White Pine)? We are looking to add a bit of "bling" to a the bar in a nano-brewery tasting room. The front of the bar (where your legs go if you are sitting at the bar) is 8" tongue-and-groove with a V-groove at each joint. The material is Eastern White Pine (a softwood) and will be finished with a light stain.

The idea is to add visual interest by affixing a length of 8-gauge copper wire within each of the V-groves. The wire needs to be attached securely enough that it will not come free if someone's leg or foot hits the wall.

My question is what to use to attach the wire. My first thought is some sort of rounded copper staples. I actually have some staples that fit one of my staplers that would be perfect, but they are steel. I have not (yet) been able to find small copper staples, however.

Any other alternative suggestions for attaching the wire?

Copper grounding clamps have a nice industrial look to them and they come in all shapes and sizes, easily handle the 8awg requirement.

Though the copper staples would be a far more economical solution.

The Acme staples company carries copper staples. http://www.acmestaple.com/


What is the name of the embroidery stitch which looks like tiny lines with gaps betweeen them? What is the name of this kind of embroidery stitch:

[Source: https://www.kollabora.com/projects/free-leaf-embroidery-pattern]

Based on this encyclopedia of embroidery stitches, it looks like this is a "darning stitch", which is in the running stitch family.

The darning stitch is about making rows of straight running stitches near each other. The technique of darning is used to mend  torn clothes, especially socks and looks like a woven patch.

Other sites corroborate this terminology.
The Wikipedia page for "running stitch" defines the darning stitch as:

Darning stitches are closely spaced parallel rows of running stitches used to fill or reinforce worn areas of a textile, or as decoration.


What can I do to finish intersecting plane models with minimal buckling? I might have made this too broad but I think this applies to all intersecting plane models. Simplest example, and the one I have actually tried, is the XYZ square.

Image from happyfolding.com

You can even see the yellow component face towards you has wrinkles.  I would conclude that was the last one inserted to complete the model. Also the red paper pouch is a little bowed out from the insertion process.

I had a tough time getting the last module in and ended up having to use implements to hold parts open so that I could try and slide in the last piece. I usually also use scissors to make the flaps (that you will see below) smaller to insert it easier. Instructions for this specific model can be found here. In the instructions the last steps are apply described:

  [A]ssembling the first 4 units is easy, last two are difficult

It looks bad when it is done by me. It is possible the paper has something to do with it. I made my model from 4" square origami paper stock.  Is there more advice I could head for models like this?

Yes, paper may play a role here. Typical Kami paper (I assume this is what you mean by "square origami paper stock") is rather thin which means it is easy for the outer, visible layer to become crumpled and embossed with the pattern of the layers below when you squeeze multiple layers together. An example is visible as a diagonal line on the yellow unit in the picture. Thin paper may also wrinkle and deform as you force the flaps inside pockets. In my opinion even plain colored copy paper is often better since it's somewhat thicker and stiffer. You could also try stiffer papers such as Tant or Elephant Hide. They will make it harder to leave marks on the paper as you move it around, but on the other hand the extra stiffness may make connecting the units even harder as it's harder to bend the units as you wrestle with them.

The other important aspect is technique. With tightly-knit models it is usually really hard to insert the last unit or two, so some level of imperfection is probably unavoidable. But there are some things you can do to reduce visible artifacts:

Strive for more symmetry as you fold. Instead of just inserting the last flap into its pocket when everything else is already in place, try to close the last vertex where three modules meet in a single step. So instead of two tabs fully inserted and one not at all, try to start with a loose assembly where all three flaps are just barely inserted into their pockets. Then, slowly try to tighten it, inserting the flaps deeper and deeper, all at the same time and trying to keep is as symmetric as possible. At one point the flaps should snap and all fall into their positions simultaneously. This technique requires at least moderately stiff paper and might not work with Kami (but give it a try). It may require a lot of coordination but often this technique allows one to close corners which would be impossible to close by manipulating just a single flap.
When folding, sometimes you have to make inexact folds on purpose in order to accommodate paper thickness. Diagrams are sometimes drawn with "perfect", zero-thickness paper in mind. Actual paper has non-negligible thickness and when you fold five layers, they are about ½ mm thick which can already be significant. So sometimes when you fold an edge to a point, you should actually fold a little bit before it so that it gets into the right place later when more paper layers accumulate.
Practice. Some tricks are just muscle memory and hard to explain to others but you will come up with such tricks yourself and develop techniques that suit you well as you fold more.
Cheat. Sometimes you can leave out the last flap by folding it back below the unit instead of into its pocket, and no one will notice. In a model with strong locks, one missing lock will not significantly affect the model's stability and may not be easy to spot visually, either.


How to start a pencil portrait without using an outline of features? I enjoy drawing head portraits in pencil, but I've found that sketching an outline of the prominent features often lead me astray. For example, due to shadows my eye is sometimes approximating the feature boundaries. This then impacts shading, and may lead to an amateurish feel and mean having to rework large portions of the piece.

Most of the best portraits I've seen are not necessarily precise but instantly identifiable as the person and also capture their 'look'.

Is there a better way to start the portrait than trying to capture the outline of the features? Should I be trying to plot the shadows/shapes or start in detail in one area and work out?

I would begin by constructing the form and mass of the head, as often seen in figure drawing construction:

Images from Andrew Loomis's "Drawing the Head and Hands". Loomis is a very well-known figure artist and illustrator with a variety of instructional books that are very helpful.

This construction, in drawing from the mind, is usually done by understanding some sort of system of proportions and then altering features to add character. Proportions would compare head height to width, or divide head height into sections to place features (seen in the images above), but it can get much more complex.

By understanding these general relationships of constructing a figure, you begin to see how real heads and faces compare and vary.

One popular method of achieving this development of form is called blocking-in. You can see a quality example of blocking-in using the Atelier method at GeorgetownAtelier.com. Depiction of bust of bare derriere in spoiler block, from that website.

You can start your base block-in similar to drawing an initial outline. But, instead of just focusing on the silhouette, think about the form in 3D. The outline will guide you on the proportions to use as you develop your other planes and shapes.

Then slowly add details, keeping your sketch light. You can measure placements of features, such as:

Where is the top arch of the eyebrow compare to the ears?
If you draw a straight vertical line on the side of the nostril wing, how far is the corner of the eye? (Or vice-versa)
Compared to the length of the nose, what's the distance between the tip of the nose to the bottom of the chin?
What degree of angle is it from the outside corner of the eye to the tip of the nose?
If you draw a straight vertical line on corner of the mouth, how does it compare to the center of the eye?

These are pretty limited examples. The key to getting an accurate portrait of a real person is by getting the proportions and placements correct for their anatomy. Since you can start with height or width, you can scale the other dimensions based on that, and then scale every other proportion on others you know you did "right".

The more you analyze the geometry, the more accurate you'll be.

Measuring this way can be done with classical techniques such as using your pencil as a measuring stick, which can also be aided by a plumb line for getting objective verticals. Or, if you working from a 2D source, such as a photo, you can take accurate measurements of distances and angles using rulers and protractors.


Lacquer on glassware I have some beer glasses with decal-like decorations that I assume are some kind of plastic or maybe even glass/faience. How are these made?

This is most likely an applied ceramic label. It's an industrial process that can't be achieved in a typical handmade craft setting (e.g., your garage), requiring ceramic inks or enamels, screen printing to apply the design, and high-temperature baking to set.

If you're considering removing an ACL to decorate the beer glass differently, the verdict is apparently that it isn't really removable (see related Q/A).


How can I make my flowers glow in the dark? This is the follow-up to a related question.

I wanted to know if there is any limitation or specific liquid characteristics on making a glow-in-the-dark flowers by imitating the techniques on this thread?

The available options are

solution of phosphorous paint + water,
solution of phosphorous powder mixed with water.

Which one of these options will work better or are there any other solutions to consider?

I lack both the chemistry and botany knowledge to address you question directly.  @ChrisH's comment suggests that your phosphorus pigments won't wick up through the stems like the compounds in the referenced article do.

Have you considered applying the pigment directly to the flower petals using either a paintbrush or airbrush?

Since you are planning to encapsulate the flower in clear resin, you don't have to worry about the paint rubbing off of the petals.  How it gets to where you want it is less important that how it looks once it is in place.  To that end, I would recommend a very light (high-air) spray of a very dilute pigment using an airbrush with a high-number needle and nozzle (3 or above).  Mist the flower with the glowing paint and test the results in darkness after each coat.

Skipping that idea, there is an immersion technique at the end of the referenced article which might work even if the stem-based approach fails with the pigment you choose.