How to clean neodymium magnet spheres I have acquired a large quantity of used neodymium magnet spheres that I would like to use in a project. When I roll a couple of the magnets around in my hand, they leave a black residue on my palms and fingers. Many of the magnets are silver in color, but some have a paint that is chipping off. How can I clean them so that they don't make everything gross. Separating them and washing them one-by-one is not reasonable given the quantity.

I'm revising this answer after further research.

Considerations

Neodymium magnets are made from an alloy of neodymium and other metals.  The magnets are typically plated with nickel.  Pure neodymium is very reactive, oxidizing quickly in air and reacting quickly with hot water (much slower in cold water).  I don't know the extent to which the neodymium in the magnet alloy is similarly reactive (the plating might be for protection as well as appearance).  It would be safer to just avoid cleaning with water.

Neodymium magnets also start to lose their magnetism at a relatively low temperature (below the boiling point of water), so don't expose them to temperatures above "warm".

If some of the magnets are painted, that might be a cheap replacement for nickel plating.  If so, I wouldn't rush to remove it if it isn't chipping off.  Neodymium magnets are typically made from small particles of the alloy, either using heat and pressure to fuse the particles or using a binder.  The alloy is a silvery-gray color.  If the magnet is not plated, it will have a grainy silvery appearance rather than looking polished.

If some paint is already chipping off and you can see a mirror-like silvery surface, the paint was added to plated magnets so it would be safe to remove.  Even if the paint is just "decorative", removing it is messy.
I'd be tempted to not remove the paint from any painted magnets that aren't chipping.

Cleaning

So there are two things to clean.  You might want to remove the chipped paint for appearance and to prevent further chipping.  What you describe as similar to getting newsprint ink on your hands may be a coating of grease or oil put on the magnets for protection.  That could be grayish, but the magnet spheres could  also act like a ball mill, grinding paint flakes to a fine dust, adding color to the grease or oil.

Paint removal

Put the magnets to be stripped in a plastic paint storage container with a lid, cover them with paint stripper, and seal the container.  Every so often, stir the contents so all the surfaces get exposed.  You might need to let it sit overnight so all the paint dissolves.

When there's no more solid paint on the magnets, pour off the paint gunk into something disposable.  Cover the magnets with paint thinner, and stir them around to get all the residual paint gunk thinned out.  Pour that into the disposable container.  If there's still paint gunk on the magnets, repeat the paint thinner.

If you don't have access to an appropriate place to dispose of the chemicals, spread the residue on something and leave it outside to dry.  After the solvents have evaporated, you can dispose of any dry residue in the trash.

Degreasing

If you are already using paint thinner, that will also remove any oil or grease, and you typically buy that by the gallon, so you're likely to have some left.

You'll have three groups of magnets -- ones that have just been stripped and cleaned, painted ones that you didn't strip, and unpainted ones.  The stripped magnets should already be clean.  The unpainted magnets can be cleaned in paint thinner.  Paint thinner will attack the remaining painted ones.  Those (and the unpainted ones) can be cleaned with 90+% isopropyl alcohol.

Don't use the alcohol sold as a solvent in the paint department.  That is denatured with other stuff that may attack paint that you want to preserve.  Use alcohol (90% or higher) from a drug store or drug section of a department store (typically sold in pint or quart bottles).  For the unpainted magnets, pick either solvent.

The cleaning procedure is the same for either solvent.  Wipe out the container and put in the magnets to be cleaned.  Pour in enough solvent to cover them, and stir everything well.  Let it soak for a total of maybe an hour, stirring occasionally.  Pour off the dirty solution and check the magnets.  If they still feel like they aren't clean, or residue comes off on a clean rag or paper towel, remove the magnets and wipe the container.  It wouldn't hurt to roll the magnets around in an old rag to remove some of the residue.  Then put the magnets back and repeat.

When the magnets are clean, dump them onto an old towel, flatten them into a layer, then wrap the towel over them and roll everything around inside the towel to dry them all off.  Then let the magnets air dry on a dry towel.


Who is the person in this artwork? Who is the person in the picture? I'm thinking he might be famous but I can't be sure...

Roy Lichtenstein, 'Roy I' by Chuck Close


How can I hide ends that have been woven in on a crochet project? I just recently finished my first crochet blanket, and when I was done I needed to weave all the ends in because I had switched colors quite a bit. Even though the finished product is done the ends stick out at various points even though they've been "weaved in". Is there a technique to getting ends hidden in a "finished" way?

First it is important to leave a long enough tails so that you have enough to weave in.

I usually just use a plastic needle and work inside and out of stitches to try and wrap around yarn. In the places where I know part of the ends are to be seen you would try to force those on the bottom of the work or where people wont see (like the inside of a hat.) Working into where your row ends also works since it is usually visually different anyway.

I would not weave in one loop at a time but try to pull many stitches close together and try to work the tail into all of them at once. Once I am sure I have covered enough ground I would relax the work and that will pull the tail back into the piece. Then after you might just need to either tuck in that last tuft or cut it off it need be.

Assuming this is something that you want to wash and is made of washable material then you can put this through and it should stay together. Not forever obviously but it won't fall apart instantly if done right.


What is the easiest/cheapest way to seal/stamp a brand in craft paper? I was just browsing in Pinterest and I found this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/454511787378322393/ and If you can't see it, I'll upload the image here:

Now, my question is: what is that? is it possible to make one of those that prints the brand in the papel craft? Thanks!

Simply put, that is a rubber stamp. That particular one appears to be professionally machine-made given the fine detail in the rendered image e.g. lines in the skull and the typography this would be expected.

That does not mean you are forced to have one made. You can get very good results making your own. Although I doubt you could make the one you pictured without specifically designed machining tools.

There are many options for this as well. A very simple one would be to cut a stamp from a potato. You only need a potato, ink/paint and a knife for the some simple like a star. If you are curious this YouTube video would be a good primer. It even shows using cookie cutters to get more precise shapes.

A realistic option that is more in line with what you show in your question would be to carve your own rubber stamp. Lots of tutorials out there for this one as well. I found this one from dearhandmadelife.com to be well written and full of useful pictures of the process. I will provide a basic outline of the process here.

You need to following tools or variations thereof:

Carving rubber: this is what will become the stamp
Carving edge Tools: Search for rubber carving tools will get you the basic idea. Minimum you are looking for V-groove or U-groove edge tools. These would be better at removing material then your basic craft knife
Pencil and paper: Your initial design will be done in this medium
Mounting block: Optionally a block of wood, or something similar, to mount the carved rubber to. This will make the stamping process easier and give a uniform appearance to the applied stamp.

Use the paper and pencil to draw what you want the stamp to actually look like. No need to draw it mirrored or anything. Just exactly how you want it to appear. Fill in any space that you want to be stamped. White or blank areas will become the negative space of the stamp.

The graphite from the pencil should transfer easily to the carving rubber. After that it is just a matter of carving out the blank areas in your rubber deep enough to prevent ink from adhering to it during the stamping process. You will also need to carve away an area outside the stamp as well for the same reason.

If you wanted to mount it then cut off any excess rubber and glue it to the block. Stamp all the things!

Your choice of ink will depend on your applied medium. Experiment. Standard ink pads should do the trick though. Depending on your product and placement you may need to worry about things like UV and the like.


"Set-in" vs "Flat" sleeve sewing -- is there really a difference? When sewing for costuming/cosplay, most of the patterns I tend to turn to have a "flat" style sleeve construction; that is, the front and back pieces of the garment are joined at the shoulder, then the sleeve is attached while both parts are still able to be laid flat, before closing both the sleeve and sides in one long, single seam.
However, the pattern I'm currently working with calls for a "set-in" style of sleeve construction--the side seam of the garment is closed up first, as is the sleeve seam, and then the finished sleeve is inserted into the armscye and eased into place before being sewn.
This raised a question for me of what the difference between the styles actually is; I find it easier to sew a flat sleeve, so is there a reason I should do the more time-consuming set-in sleeve instead? A search of some blogs and forums resulted in mixed responses; some said "there's no difference, do whichever you like," while others espoused the superiority of one or the other technique without any reasoning to back up their assertion.
So my question is simply this: What is the real advantage (or disadvantage) of a set-in sleeve vs a flat sleeve, if any?

To be absolutely honest, the difference is marginal in most (but not all) cases.
You probably won't even notice any difference in:

short sleeves
wide or baggy garments (like a tunic or pirate blouse)
garments where the shoulder seam extends far down the shoulder (like a kimono or most casual menswear)
garments sewn from stretchy fabric

Puffy sleeves that are gathered at the top of the shoulder should always be set-in sleeves because that allows you to place the gathers where they need to be. In theory you could gather the (open) sleeve first and still use the flat method, but I honestly find it easier to use the set-in method in this case.
In tight fitting garments that don't stretch (like formal business shirts or coats) a flat-sewn sleeve might be too tight to accommodate the shoulder. The shoulder seam usually sits on top of the shoulder and the sleeve points slightly down at an angle. But the human body doesn't have angles like that, there is still the round of the shoulder that has to fit in there:

The picture is a tiny bit exaggerated to make the difference visible. (Original image source)
The blue line represents the flat-sewn sleeve. The fabric forms a straight tube without any ease, but the round top of the shoulder somehow has to fit in there. Bulky people will notice the difference more than skinny ones.
The green line represents the set-in sleeve. It was cut wider than the armscye on purpose, then was slightly gathered on top to shorten the seamline to the same length as the armscye, before it was set in. Since the sleeve cap is a curve, some parts of it are cut on the bias and can compensate the gathering without puckering. The result is not a straight tube, but one that has a bulge at the top to accommodate the shoulder.
Here are some tutorials for set-in sleeves that clearly show the too-wide sleeve being gathered into the armscye:

Tutorial: Setting In Sleeves
Set in Sleeve : Perfect way to attach sleeves


Can an artist use graphite powder made for dry lubricant? Graphite powder for use by artists costs significantly more than graphite powder used as a dry lubricant. Is the latter usable for artistic purposes? Is it hazardous in any way?

Yes, you can use it if you're careful about the material and the purpose.  Graphite, itself, can be purchased virtually pure.  It's available in different particle sizes, but the typical graphite powder used for purposes like lubrication is also fine for art purposes.

You need to distinguish between pure graphite and graphite-based materials.  Graphite-based materials sold for one purpose may not work well for a different purpose because the material is a mix of graphite and other stuff designed to optimize the mixture for a specific purpose.  So, for example, dry graphite lubricant powder may have other materials in it that will interfere with the properties you want to use it for.  Look for material described as pure graphite.

The product description will often include uses the powder is suitable for based on its particle size and purity.  For example, this product from Amazon describes that it is suitable as a lubricant and a pigment for resins, so I would expect it to be generally fine for other art purposes (although you may need to mix it with other ingredients for some purposes).

As far as safety, graphite powder in a particle size used for art is extremely fine stuff that easily gets suspended in the air.  You don't want to breathe the dust because it can be harmful to your lungs (and what gets into the air will eventually settle on surfaces and make a mess).  You should at least wear a good dust mask or N95 mask, and it wouldn't hurt to set up a HEPA filter, or vacuum cleaner with a HEPA bag, to draw in and filter the air in the area where you work with the loose powder.


Protection for oil painting on mylar? I usually work with ink and watercolor on mylar (paper used by architects). I tried to use oil paint on mylar and the effect is real nice. Do I have to protect the finished painting with a varnish or a fixative, is it crucial?

By Mylar I assume you mean drafting film (usually a (semi) transparent type of BoPET (biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate)), rather than drafting paper (or vellum).
Drafting film generally is coated, although the uncoated version is preferred for archival purposes.

Drafting film, especially the more common coated version, does not absorb the oil in oil paints. Along with the high flexibility of the sheets, this presents a great risk to both the drying process and adhesive support of oil paints.
This means that, apart from the protection it offers the paint film itself, varnishing or fixating alone will do very little to preserve the painting on mylar.
Moreover, covering the work with a coating can effectually enclose the complete painting, making it airtight, and, unless the paint is truly cured, this might cause increased deterioration.

There are a few things you can do to increase their integrity:

Using very fine sandpaper, slightly rough up the front surface (both surfaces, in case you want to mount the sheet);
Ground it with a little (diluted) gesso;
Use only thin layers of (diluted) oil paint;
Let it dry sufficiently in a stable environment;
Mount it to a rigid surface;
Frame it behind (or between) glass.

When mounting, you have to make sure no blistering occurs. You can use acrylic gel to cover the entire surface, smooth it out by hand, and let it rest for a few hours, while applying equal pressure.
You can also try double-sided adhesive sheets, working very carefully from one side of the sheet to the opposite.
More info on mounting in the comments here.

A really nice overview of working with paints on Mylar can be found here.


How to get spray paint off of concrete, wood, and metal I was working in my basement studio and a piece of acrylic punctured a red Krylon outdoor paint spray can which exploded onto the unfinished concrete floor, concrete walls, metal cabinets, and wooden backsplash. I am renting and thus need to clean the spray paint and have read that I can use turpentine or rubbing alcohol to remove the paint. What would be the best to use given the items I have to clean (concrete, wood, and metal)? Thanks!

Forget turpentine and rubbing alcohol. Whatever you do, you will have to refinish some of the surfaces.

For everything other than the concrete you should be ok with acetone. Use steel wool soaked in acetone to break the gloss of the solid areas of paint (being careful not to scratch the metal and to go with the grain of the wood) and then lots of acetone and clean rags. If the rag isn’t wet anymore, dip it in acetone again. Repeat. Wear chemical resistant gloves and a vapor rated gas mask.

Regarding the concrete: once the paint has cured (24 hours) try to chip it off with a chisel. Use a wire brush as last resort. If you use acetone, you will actually make it worse. Once you’re done, consider renting a floor buffer and use tinted floor wax to refinish the floor. For the walls do a similar preparation and then paint.

Dispose of the rags by bringing immediately to a hazardous waste treatment facility or burning in a safe and controlled environment.

DO NOT KEEP THE RAGS INSIDE THE BUILDING

EDIT:
I found this solvent description:
https://www.paintdocs.com/docs/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=KRI&doctype=PDS&prodno=075577025497

If you end up getting your hands on xylol or toluene - use excessive caution, as the fumes are carcinogenic and the fluid is caustic.


What are the specifications of the paper required for pencil color drawings? Aim is to get dark colors on paper through student grade pencil colors.

What are the specifications of the paper required for pencil color drawings?

What should I look for on the label? What GSM paper should be preferred, why?

There are several characteristic for a paper that should influence your choice :

The weight

The higher this value will be the thicker and the studier the paper will be. It is usefull to have a rather high value, because you will be able to erase or burnishing, without completely destroying your paper. Personnaly I thing that having 200 gsm is enough, but maybe if you erase a lot and have hard pencils it would be a good idea to aim higher.

The tooth

It designs the microscopic grains on the paper that hold the pigments. Thus a paper with more tooth, will be able to receive more layers. But it is possible to apply several layers on paper with less tooth, but your first will have to be very light, otherwise the paper will saturate fast. On the other hand if the paper is very rough, you will have a different finish than on a smooth surface.
For watercolor papers it depends of the denomiantion from the smoother to the rougher, you have : Hot press, Cold Press, Rough.

Acide free paper

If you want a paper that last longer (less yellowing for example) you can use an acid free paper, but since you use student grade colored pencils, it not really necessary.

Products

You can try some hot press watercolor paper, and maybe cold press if you feel like you can't layer as much as you wish. If you have some smooth bristol at home, you can also try to work on this paper. Personnaly my favorite paper is the Stonhenge drawing paper, but it may be expensive. You can also use Canson Mi-Teintes if you want to draw on a colored surface, but becareful one side is too rough.

You can find here a comparison of different papers, but the colored pencil used are artist grade. It can give you an idea of the finish of your drawing depending on the paper you chose. Comparison of papers


Aggregate size and mix ratio for concrete sculptures What aggregate size should I use for making concrete sculptures of humans and animals, 1.2 x Life-sized, poured into moulds?

And what ratio should I use for the (white Portland cement) to sand to aggregate?

There are two scenarios to consider:

Molding and Sculpting

For molding, most use a 1/4" to 3/8" aggregate.  Using larger aggregate may force aggregate to migrate to the surface.

The ratio depends on how big the statue will be.

Typical mix:
   1 part  Portland Cement (white cement ratio is the same)
   2 parts Sand (nothing fancy - its the connector for the cement to grab hold of)
   1 part  Aggregate (Gravel) - this can be as big or small depending on preference.
           most use the Pea Gravel sized rocks for statuary.

It may be necessary to increase the amount of aggregate to 2 parts in bigger pieces like the life-sized ones as described.

Additional things to add and think about:
  1) Add a Acrylic Bonding Liquid to help the mix stay together better.
  2) Add Alkaline Resistant (AR) Fibers and Mesh to the pieces to help with strength.
  3) Add metal wire - Rebar or stiff wire - to help with strength and flexibility.

Pointers for molding:

Concrete in molds can trap air bubbles and distort the surface of the piece.  To combat this, vibrate the mold to release air bubbles - tapping the sides of the mold or vibrating the entire mold with a mechanical device.

Experiment with making the mixture thicker or thinner to allow the bubbles to release without needing to vibrate them away.

If there are voids created by bubbles or mold issues, create a slurry of cement and water to fill the gaps and smooth them over

To finish the piece use a stone rasp, file, grinder, or sand paper while the surface is still damp.  Be careful as the surface is not cured and may mar or damage easily.

For actual sculpting:
   1 part  Portland Cement
   2 parts Sand

This mixture much less stable and can be shaped and worked.  This is really just a mortar and not concrete.

When making a large structure, something bigger is needed to support the cement.  Different ideas for use are:
Styrofoam (Extrude Polystyrene - EPS),
Backer board,
wood,
metal,
wire,
plastic,
paper,
cans,
glass bottles,
and anything to take up space and provide support.

Structures can be similar to the type used with topiary designs, but these won't be hollow.

After making the piece, it's important to let it cure and to seal it.  Any concrete exposed to the outdoor elements will deteriorate and lose it's details if left unprotected.  Clear varnish or sealers are the best choices, but be sure to use Outdoor products.

Curing times vary depending on the thickness, humidity, and temperature.  The longer, the better.  Keep the piece from undergoing extreme changes (temperature and humidity) to minimize the cracking and possible powdering/flaking. A slow cure with a stable environment is best.

The longer the cure, the stronger the piece will be.  For smaller pieces, wrapping in plastic is the most common way.  Misting or wetting the surface will help the humidity to remain stable and promote the curing.  The curing can take from 3-4 days to two weeks.  The process is done from the outside inward.  Many cracked concrete slabs that were poured years ago and are still damp in the center.

Some of the better instructional videos can outline specific methods and procedures.

There are good YouTube videos about concrete casting and sculpting from these channels:

Rubbermoldman (aka P. David Jensen)
Mrconcreteartisan
Microcast Molds
T.TB- Construction - Specific to sculpting with mortar on top of other pieces.

Happy Casting !


How can I get that translucent effect on Jack O' Lanterns? I've tried to mimic to translucent technique that people use on really detailed Jack O' Lanterns, such as this:

However, whenever I try I either can't get the husk thin enough, or I go too thin and bust through.

Are there certain tools that help with this? I have a lot of carving tools.

Do certain pumpkins work better? How should I select one?

Or is this about lighting? Do I just need brighter candles/lights to shine through the the pumpkin?

The lighting isn't great here. This was my last attempt last Halloween. I wanted the teeth to be translucent. As you can see, only a couple bottom teeth have any semblance of being see-through.

Obviously you need to remove more material in order to allow light to shine though. You know that much.

  However, whenever I try I either can't get the husk thin enough, or I go too thin and bust through.

What you need are depth checkers spaced around the surface of the lantern where you are trying to achieve this effect.

Toothpicks would be an easy suggestion for this. Put the pick in and feel the the inside of the pumpkin for where it is going to come through. You don't want the toothpick protruding the inside. That would negate its purpose as a depth check. You know it is inside enough once you barely feel it with your fingers. Putting it too far through might make it move easier which would again reduce its effectiveness. With enough toothpicks you can then use the portion that is outside of the pumpkin to gauge the thickness near the toothpick.

While I cannot find a picture of this being done to a pumpkin (yet!) a similar principal is used when making a quinzee. They use sticks to make sure the whole structure is of the same thickness.

Likely, the tactic I described above, is what was used in your first picture.   Look at where you see the pinholes of light coming though. I have used MSPaint with awesome circles to draw attention to the holes.


Is it possible to use common household ingredients to create resin? Not sure, if possible, but from my understanding, we often buy resin and hardener from shops, and then mix them before pouring into mold tray.

So, I was wondering if we can use common household ingredients (such as soda carbonate, white glue, the list is non exhaustive but are items that is commonly found in a house) to create non-toxic or less toxic resin, to be used in mold tray.

So, is it possible to use common household ingredients to create DIY resin?

According to Wikipedia, resin is:

  In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly
  viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically
  convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic
  compounds. This article focuses on naturally-occurring resins.

The article references plants which secrete resin for protection. The synthetic aspect of resin covers epoxy and polyurethane resins, more commonly used for casting.

It is likely that you would be unable to create sufficient quantities of plant based resins for casting in molds.

As a more generic answer, one could use gelatin to cast items, but the physical properties may be insufficient for your purposes. Gelatin is not known for durability nor for physical strength.


What art style does this black and white work represent? My cousin makes this kind of black and white art. He doesn't have any education in art or doing paintings or drawings. He once told me he just sits and draws whatever that comes from within. So, all he makes is really original without any copying. There are some samples on his page:

I was wondering if this is any known style of art?

I would think that this is high contrast art. The variance of dark and light colours is very high in that picture. While this does not fit all the styles linked it fits enough of them.

This is like what you see in the classic Che Guevara graphic.

This effect is not limited to just black and white but excels in using minimal colours.


Can you do a Garter stitch on double pointed needles? I have been working on some hats for only a little while and I saw a pattern that has on there to work the pattern in garter stitch. Is it possible to do the pattern on double pointed needles?

Yes.
Assuming you still intend to work in the round, you'll need a stitch marker for the start of the row. You'll need to ironicly alternate between plain and purl each row. Otherwise you'll just get stocking stitch.

If you intend to work flat which given the pattern is garter it probably is. I would recommend cables over DPNs.


How to make permanent design on my plain white T-shirt? I want to design, my white T-shirt for my up coming university party. But I want to have permanent designing on it. So what is the best method I can use to get a permanent design. I have already  selected the design just wanted to know how can i make it permanent so that i don't have to over do it again.

If you are happy to hand draw, you can get permanent markers specially made for fabrics, which will stay in even if washed often. These also come in many colours and in several surface structures.

Less fancy but often nearer at hand, normal permanent markers, like sharpies. These will fade a bit with washing but mostly good for several to many wash cycles.

If you do not want to hand draw, the easiest option is to print or have printed on iron on sheets. This website has instructions, which include one brand of sheets. (I am not connected to the website and have never used this method and as such do not know which sheets and which printers would be best to use.)
The commercial alternative is a T-printing service, often they start with very small numbers but the price goes down when you get more printed.

More permanent, harder to do yourself and more expensive to have it done:
Embroidery.
Mostly machine embroidery which is done from computer pictures. But you can hand do it with enough patience (and a lot of trial and error.)
You can do hand embroidery as well and I am sure that this stack exchange site has questions about it.


Creative embroidery technique to fix a damaged knitted sleeve What would be a good darning or embroidery technique for fixing the frayed/missing edges on the sleeves of a machine-knitted cardigan? The cardigan material is 100% wool (see picture below).

I'm aware that techniques exist for using knitting or crochet to fix holes in knitted garments, but I am not skilled in these techniques, whereas I do have experience with embroidery. I am looking for a type of stitch or technique that will:

prevent the sleeves from fraying further
straighten out the edge of the sleeve so it looks less uneven / ragged
Be creative / aesthetically pleasing

My first idea was to use something like a blanket stitch, but I anticipate that this will preserve the ragged edge to the sleeve, as in the image below:

I am looking for a technique that would 'fill in' the missing material, similar to darning. However, most examples of darning I can find work with a hole that is surrounded by material, whereas I want to fill in a missing edge:

I know this is not an embroidery solution per se, but what about binding the edges of the sleeve with something like a light weight felt (use real wool felt, not the kind you played with as a kid), and sewing the binding in place using a saddle stitch?

If you are concerned about losing the elasticity in the cuffs, you could also use knit bias tape, which should allow you to retain some of the stretch.

I am still hunting for a picture that shows something similar to what I am imagining. If I find one, I will add it.

In the meantime, hunting for photos led to another possibility when I stumbled on this picture:

Obviously that is a lot more embroidery than you are talking about--but what if you did some sort of embroidered embellishment around the sleeve edges to disguise the uneven edges?

Before starting either of these options, I suggest sewing a line of stay stitching about 1/2 inch from the cuff edges to help prevent additional raveling.  If you have access to a sewing machine, I would use that, as it will be more consistent, but you could also use a line of running stitches done by hand to accomplish the same thing.

ETA:  Still no pictures of a bound sleeve, but here is another idea.  What about using a beaded blanket stitch, something like this:

The beads will be irregular anyway, so the unevenness of the edge should be much less noticeable. I would use larger beads and a heavier thread/embroidery floss.

Still not able to find a picture of exactly what I am talking about, but I did find a picture of a similar type of treatment that could also work.  This woman was sewing a boiled wool jacket (you can find her blog entry here), and wanted to add some embellishment to the sleeve cuffs.  So, she cut a strip of fabric the correct length to go around the cuff and used decorative stitches to topstitch the new fabric to the outside of the jacket cuff. Because boiled wool/felt won't ravel, you don't have to worry about the edges of this additional piece.  You could do something similar with your sweater cuffs-creating an outer cuff of felt and attaching that to the outside of your sweater cuffs to hid the raveled edges.


How to glue mug pieces What are good materials to neatly glue mug pieces together?

Moreover, the final object should be:
 - waterproof,
 - food-safe and
 - heat proof
(as stated by @SF, this last requirement makes things more difficult).

By neatly I mean that one should see the crack as less as possible. By heat proof, I mean that I wish that my final object should be able to contain at least a tea or a coffee and I'd like to be able to put it in the dish-washer.

I remember my father repairing broken flower pots with Araldite but I'm fearing that this is absolutely not food safe.

Most 2 part epoxies are food safe once fully cured. You can see these used in kitchen applications like counter tops and bread boards. There are some that advertise as being food safe grade.

Masterbond.com

Reading the product labels both on the product itself and online will help. Some will even reference FDA compliance when it comes to food safety. If you find something that does not quote it, err on the side of caution and consider a different product.

Many epoxies, once cured, can handle high temperatures. So it should be fine to use to glue your mug pieces. Ratings of different products will vary so be sure to make an informed purchase e.g:

3M™ Scotch-Weld™ Epoxy Adhesive EC-2216: Rated to -423°F/-252°C
Masterbond EP21TDCHT: Rated to -100°F/-73°C to +350°F/176°C
LePage® Epoxy Gel: Rated to -9°F/-23°C to 120°F/49°C

Note: the latter is not rated for something like boiling water.

They can take from 24 hours to a couple of days (usually for larger applications). I recently used epoxy to fix my hand made ceramic renaissance mug handle which broke in 4 places.


How can I finish stitching those last few inches? I am a gifted amateur when it comes to sewing - at least with a blanket stitch. Never touched a sewing machine in my life and do it all by hand.
My kids are naturally rough with toys and their clothes. Some are better designed than others. I hate throwing things out that I know I can repair and I will sew broken seams frequently just to get a little more time out of everything.
Problem is that when I am mending something like a toy, when I get to the end I can't work the needle inside anymore, I end up with a stiff line that does not look good.
What can I do when I am finishing a seam and can't reach the other side? What stitch or stitches should I be using?

You have two options: Prettier - the Ladder Stitch, and Stronger - the Baseball Stitch.

First, the Ladder Stitch.

Quoting the linked site:

  First, poke your threaded and knotted needle through the bad side of one cloth, ensuring that the knot is on the inside of the plushie. Next, pass the needle partway through the good side of the other piece of cloth at the closest location where the pieces meet. Don't pull the thread too tightly; you'll need space to perform the next step. Now that the tip of your needle is on the inside of the plushie, pass it through to the outside and pull the whole needle out. Repeat. Remember to pull the earlier stitches tight at some point, once you don't need the wiggle room.

This one, when pulled taut, closes neatly, holding the two halves pretty much flush with each other and looking very neat, but it isn't quite as strong as the latter, and when mistreated, it will just pull apart, revealing the needlework, crumpling the cloth laterally, and losing the whole appeal.

The Baseball Stitch - same as on a baseball ball, except pulled taut such that it forces the material to fold and crumple, is much stronger, but when pulled taut, the sides don't form such a neat, flush connection, but form a shallow groove, and the needlework may be visible if one peers into it.

Just push the needle from the inner side of the material onto the outer, and cross to the other side, repeating, inner to outer. When pulled taut, it crumples the material left inside into two "bars", which provide tension to the stitch preventing it from coming apart, and pressing against each other pull it inside, forming the characteristic groove. It requires much more force to break and doesn't crumple the visible surface of the cloth when strained, but if it does come apart somewhat, due to abuse, the needlework will show more, and even perfectly new it will form a deeper and more visible groove than the Ladder stitch.

Let me add that in your situation, where you're repairing items that were already subjected to abuse and likely will continue to, the baseball stitch is a better choice, as despite worse initial appearance, it doesn't degrade nearly as much when abused.


Why is this painting with Link from Ocarina of Time funny or ironic? There is an artist in Buffalo named Dave Pollot who takes famous paintings or works of art and inserts characters or cartoons in them to make them funny. I got this one for my husband:

I don't know a lot about art or video games, but I do know this is Link from the Ocarina of Time, a game my husband likes. I'm thinking of getting him a framed print of this because I think he'd like it. But I don't know enough to know why this is funny or ironic like the artist's other works. Can someone help me out?

I don't consider it "funny". More interesting or "cool".

According to Dave Pollot's website, the title of the painting is Leveled Up. It features Link, from The Legend of Zelda, riding a horse with Navi over a reproduction of Napoleon Crossing the Alps.

Notably, Napolean refused to sit for the original set of paintings:

  Sit? For what good? Do you think that the great men of Antiquity for whom we have images sat? ... It isn't the exactness of the features, a wart on the nose which gives the resemblance. It is the character that dictates what must be painted... Nobody knows if the portraits of the great men resemble them, it is enough that their genius lives there.

The Link version effectively captures the spirit of the originals, since Napolean's posture of victory is one modern viewers would associate with having just leveled up. If Jacques-Louis David had been a truly daring man, he might have painted something similar while attempting to convince Napolean to sit for him.


Can I use salt water with watercolours? I'm going to the seaside at the weekend, and I plan on using my watercolours while I'm there as a way to relax. I have these brushes that can store water in the end of them so I don't need to bring a water pot. However, if the water runs out, I want to know if it's okay to refill them with water from the sea. That way, I don't have to worry about bringing extra water with me. I'd like to know if using the sea water would have an effect on the quality of both the paint and if it'll damage the brushes.

Yes, you can use salt water with water colours. But remember, table salt (or salt water)is highly hydrophobic. Salt repels water. Anywhere salt is present on your paper it will repl water way from the area. The water colour pigments floating in your solution will concentrate around the salt particles. As the water is pushed away from the salt you will get concentrated areas of pigments in those areas where salt particles are present. So if you are looking to achieve a spotted texture on the surface of your water colour painting salt is a good choice.

As an experiment try sprinkling some table salt on the surface of your water colour painting, the sprinkled salt will create a more pronounced effect as the larger salt crystals in the table salt will repel a larger amount of water.

When done painting clean your brush with regular tap water. This will keep a layer of salt precipitating out on the hairs of your brush as the salt water drys.


Wall art sizing - how to convert between inch and cm? I need to convert size of the paintings between inches and cm.

Is there a preferred way to convert between inch and cm in wall art sizing?  I see many online stores where for example 8x14 inch artwork is converted to a metric 20x35cm. Even though 14 inch equals 35.56 cm

Which sizing is more accurate - imperial inch, or metric cm? Or is it somewhere in between? Any other advice on converting is highly appreciated.

If you are seeing online store references that sell items manufactured for US sales primarily, the inch figures are more likely going to be accurate. The conversion results, for your example, in 35.56 cm, but for marketing purposes, rounding is acceptable.

I have no experience in metric-following countries, but I would expect the reverse to be true. It is practical to expect a metric-sized frame to be 35 cm, but if it is going to list the imperial measurement, it would list it as 14 inches, rather 13.xx inches.

If measurements have to be precise for your purposes, ensure that the specifications are clearly listed, or request same from the vendor. I have purchased imperial-based items but required to know the accurate metric dimensions for a project. The vendor in both cases was able to provide more accurate numbers than the marketing copy listed.


Blacklight sensitive paper I'm working on a college project which involves blacklight. I know about the blacklight sensitive paint which glows when exposed to the blacklight. I also know that some papers are sensitive as well. I want to know if there are any specific types of paper that are sensitive to blacklight. Or is it just based on the colors?

Paper brighteners used in modern papers contain fluorescent materials that make the paper glow under a black light. Bright white paper will actually glow fairly well.

Any paper that's been treated with these types of brighteners will glow under a black light. Typically, you'll see that neon colors are going to be the "brightest", and so they will glow the best.

In this case, it's not anything to do with what the material is made from, but how it's colored/treated. The chemicals are called Optical Brightening Agents, and are used in a wide variety of products to add fluorescence. Think of any neon/fluorescent paint, crayons, safety vests, etc. The OBAs work by reflecting invisible (to us) UV light as just-visible blue light, which is why they glow.


How to expand one pattern repeat I've been reading Leonie Morgan's '100 Colourful ripple stitches'. Some of the patterns are an unusual shape, and have no explanation of how to expand upon the pattern. One pattern repeat is given as, for example, 22cm (8.75inch) x 22cm (8.75inch), but how do I expand this into a much bigger afghan or blanket? See photo of the Arcade pattern in the book.

The usual way to combine these 'squares' is to make many and stitch them together into a blanket.
In your irregular 'square' you may find they do not fit together well or at all in the usual pattern.
You can try out how the pieces fit together by cutting out a series of paper versions.
Select your pattern, make at least 10 realisticly shaped paper (or real) pieces and play around with them. Try using them at other angles as well. It may work to turn part of the pieces 45 degrees.
And do not forget that if you crochet them together you can make shorter or longer stitches, bridging bigger openings if needed.
And there is the option of combining 'squares' or different models. The one you show have points sticking out in the middle of the sides, there might be corresponding pieces which are having 'cut out' bits that would match.
Some blankets pieced together from crocheted pieces have bigger and smaller squares, it might be that there is a kind of matching piece in the book that is not obvious as the size is different.
And in the end, it is well possible that the writer of the book did ignore the 'making the blanket' as they did not intend these pieces to be actually used. Which does not stop you to be creative and still use them, but you will have to make your own matching pieces or filling connection patterns.
Alternatively, if you see a pattern in the expanding 'squares' you could keep expanding the single pattern till big enough to become a blanket by itself.


How can I hand-sew an "invisible" hem? I'm sitting at work and my pant cuff started unraveling. Luckily I have a needle and thread in my purse, and I would like to repair this while I'm on a conference call with little else to do.

Since these are work pants, I don't want to see the hem after the repair is done. What sort of stitch am I trying to do, and is it something I can do by hand (at least sturdily enough to get through the day)?

Yes, what you need is called a blind stitch to create a blind hem… and it can definitely be sewn by hand.

Of course, hemming pants while you are wearing them is a bit more difficult, and it will never look quite as finished without an iron. But in an emergency, this will work great and the stitches will remain virtually unseen.

Start by folding your cuff under to the correct length (wrong-side to wrong-side) and crease the fold as best you can with your fingers. Now grab the entire cuff (two layers of fabric) and fold the hem back to the right side so it leaves just a little bit of overhang (~1/4" or so).

Now sew along your hemline through the three layers so the stitches will catch only a very small piece on each side of the fold. Run the stitches around the entire circumference of the cuff.

When you turn the hem right-side out, you will have a virtually invisible seam.

For an emergency quick tack, you probably wont need so many stitches. The tighter stitches assure you won't catch a toe and rip the stitches out when you put the pants on, but in the situation you are describing, one stitch every inch or so (or even every few inches) should be enough to get you through the day.


Which glue works best for paper sculptures I have tried several types of glue but, have yet to find the perfect glue for my needs. For instance, I'm creating a miniature tree and need to glue multiple small leaves onto a branch.

I don't want runny or slow drying glue that the leaves slip off before the glue dries or nearly dries. I often get a few leaves on to have them all fall off as I try placing another leaf. I then wind up having to glue them all back on all over again. I don't want to have to just glue a couple on then wait anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes or more before I can glue anymore on. Sometimes I have to sit and hold on one leaf at a time until it dries enough so that it doesn't slip out of place or come off all together.

I need the glue to dry clear and matte. It will also have to work with card stock, bond paper, brown paper(such as used to wrap packages for mailing). Sometimes painted with acrylics or water color paint. Also I run into the problem of the piece I'm trying to glue sticking to my fingers or instruments as I lift of the piece.

Hot glue doesn't work because I have lots of small pieces in one area and it will accumulate to much glue not to mention other issues with it. The glue I want works like this: I put glue on a piece stick it where it goes on 3D objects and it stays put while gluing other pieces next to or on top of that piece. It seems like it would be real simple but, what it seems to be and what it is are 2 different things.

Given your criteria the glue I would think should be tried to see if it fits your needs is cyanoacrylate glue, or CA glue. This can be commonly refereed by brand names like Super glue or Krazy glue as well. They are advertised and being very versatile when it comes to applicable mediums and have very fast drying times.

Looking at one brands technical specifications as a base line we can see that it

  Dries in 10-45 seconds, no clamping required.

Most CA glues dry at or near those times as well. Careful working with the stuff as you a likely to get some on your skin and it bonds skin very easily (Recently used it to repair my glasses).

Now what you could so with this is use it as a placement glue. Using a little just to get the leaf in place so that you can continue with a longer setting glue without concern of the leaf moving.

Would clamping options apply here?

I don't know how your leaves are made nor how they touch the tree but have you tried clamping options instead of looking for a fast setting glue? Some simple like paper clips( which you can mold to conform to shape if need be) or even something like binder clips? Perhaps if you have something small and light weight to help hold the leaf in place your choice of adhesive might no longer be a concern.


Why are longer sheet metal screws snapping on installation? I've been converting a school bus for several months, and I've driven thousands of 3/4" sheet metal screws with no issue. However, when I try to drive longer screws (3") through a couple inches of wood and into 14ga steel on the other side, their heads invariably snap off barely after seating in the metal.

I'm using #12x3" sheet metal screws with 5/32" pilot holes. What could the problem be?

Torsion strain exceeding screw strength. It's likely that 3" of wood is creating some friction, even though your pilot hole is nominally larger in diameter. You might try a 3/16"ø pilot hole and see if that reduces the amount of torque needed. Deep holes of narrow diameters in soft materials are never perfectly straight so the extra room of a wider pilot hole is a fast and cheap solution. I remember being warned early in my career to pay attention to the screw head type and do not expect the same results when you use a screw gun on a screwhead designed to be turned by hand (as traditional panhead and button head slotted screwheads are). You might also trying lubricating the screws to reduce the torsion load. Beeswax being typical and safe here for both wood and metals. You could expect that even though some heads didn't snap off, that they may do so in service - being under the same stress. You can also use a higher strength screw preferably with a head designed to be power driven.


Plastic paint on laptop I have this black touchpad with a red paint around it, how can I make this black? Does some vinyl exist? Paint? I tried to find some touchpad skins that matched the rest of the laptop, but i couldn't find anything. Any ideas?

You could use acrylic paint or a carbon fiber vinyl. Not sure on how well the acrylic paint would work, but both myself and my fiance has used the carbon fiber


How to maximize the post-dried life expectancy of flowers? I want to make a piece that mixes a drawing on paper, with a flower collage (or flat bouquet?) on top and put it in a frame. I know dried flowers don't last forever, but what is their post-dried life expectancy? Is there a way to make them last longer for display? I would ideally like to use real flowers, but if they only last a couple years I will have to use fake flowers.

A few sources I found on the internet say to spray them with hairspray
(cheap option), or get them professionally dried and preserved (expensive option) like you would do for your wedding bouquet. I don't want to spend a lot of money ( more than 30$ or 40$).

The piece will be behind glass like a shadow box. I don't want them to decay. They will not be open to be touched, but I don't want them to crumble, loose colour or generally disintegrate. I want the piece to remain aesthetically pleasing.

Project Update

I ended up using folded paper flowers for the project and it turned out quite lovely. Thank you everyone for your feedback, but the dried flowers were not working out as expected.

If a flattened flower is okay for your purpose; you could adopt techniques from herbarium-sheet preparation. Keep the flowers in a fold of a diary or hardbound old notebook. Change their position every day (if flower is larger or jucier, you could use newspapers since entire papers should be changed at few to 6 hours interval at start days, latter intervals will increase gradually). At first day the flower (or anyother plant matter) would become soft and weak. Gradually it would become hardened like potato chips. Sunlight in way is very helpful.

After completion, paste them with fevicol or such polymer glue in thin-amount ((since your work is permanent, feel free to fevicol or such. Botanists use  gum or glue instead so that specimen could be taken out later-on and dissected)), and some simple biology box tools like a pair of needles, a forceps and a scalpel with neat and clean, gently stretched way. (if don't have biology box, don't worry, other art tools and household things could be used). After completion of your artwork, dry it under hard sunlight. could take help of hair dryer. but never a iron. Any spray or coat is not used in a herbarium sheet, but if you wish to spray laquar or such; please make sure it is properly dried. Because if the water is locked it will ensure quick deteroration.

If you wish make it insect-proof; could use book-binding gum with copper sulfate... but that is toxic as well as gums and glues may take more time to get dried, so isn't preferable. If you wish, could wish clothings-naphthalene but then you have to keep it out of reach of children.

But in a herbarium-sheet preparation technique; the flower-colour is not retained.

P.S. Herbarium sheet preparation technique already used by students for beautiful artworks especially with ferns, sedges etc. but rarely with flowers.


How do I attach crystals to a shaman stick without using adhesive? I'm making a shaman stick and I want to attach crystals to it but as it will be used in rituals, I don't want to use anything man-made like adhesive. Is there a way to attach them using something natural?

Adhesives based on pitch (e.g. resin from pine tree sap) and beeswax have been used for millenia.  This makes a hot-melting glue that's strong enough to secure knife handles.
One example is Cutler's Resin. Here's one of many recipes; other similar compounds include stone dust (e.g. ochre), and were used in ancient Eqypt (an old answer of mine).  The effect of the beeswax is to soften the pitch, while stone dust (or presumably wood dust) is used as a filler.
I reckon you might want to slightly inlay the crystals to make them more secure


How can I cut paper in one cut with scissors? While gift wrapping this holiday season I was trying to cut gift wrap with scissors in one pass. That is to say that I was not opening and closing the scissors while I was cutting the paper but trying to push the open scissors through the paper.

Trying to cut paper like that makes for cleaner cuts compared to repeated cuts. This, of course, is only good for making straight cuts. However I am having issues with my technique as I can frequently get caught or stuck which tears the paper.

I have considered the following factors

Paper thickness
Paper tautness
Sharpness of the tool

I could watch my mom do this like it was super easy but I only have a 20% success rate of doing it in one pass. This isn't limited to just gift wrap but that is where it comes up more often given the length of cuts needed.

How can I cut long paper in one cut from scissors without having to open and close them as I cut?

Focus on keeping the paper against the point where the two scissor blades cross.  At this one point, the paper is being sliced simultaneously by both blades which decreases the thickness which each blade needs to cut through.

When the paper slides forward onto only one blade, the speed of cutting slows because one of the two blades has been removed from the cutting process.  This slows the advance of the scissors across the paper, inviting you to compensate by applying more forward pressure.  The additional pressure speeds up the cut but slams the paper into the crux of the blades, inviting a snag and tear.

Slow steady motion, with a focus on using only the crux of the blades should result in a higher percentage of success.

Aside from that,...

Practice!


How to Bend Metal Rod to Make a Perch I want to bend some 1/4" or 1/8" diameter brass rod to make the perch seen in the photo below. Is there an easy way to do this? I tried in a vice and with a mallet but couldn't get nice round bends. I've also looked at a tool like this but am not sure which would work for the size/shape I want. Any advice is welcome!

Bend it around something like steel pipe ( a mandrel).Clamp one end of the rod and the pipe in a vice and pull or push the rod around ; you can use a hammer  It does require a sturdy vice. After the first bend rotate the pipe and rod into the vice jaw to make more bends such as 180 or 360 degrees. Once you practice it is easy; i have made about 25 copper "S" hooks with 270 degree bends on each end; using about 3/16 ' wire. OR, the tools should work well.


Creating Color Bleed From Magazine Cutouts Im currently working on an art collage project where I want to cause the dyes and inks from magazine cutouts to bleed, smear, and run across their paper. I have tried paint thinner, bleach, vinegar, fire, but nothing is creating this bleed effect that I desire. Is there some household products I can combine to create this effect? Are there chemicals that I can buy that would be relatively safe to use (indoor or outdoor)?

A technique that will get the result you are looking for would be to transfer the imagery from the magazines to something that you could then transfer again onto your work of art.

Color copies of the 'zines would probably work best, saw a lot of that in art school. Not sure the solvent used on the copies but pretty sure it is one of the things you tried for the magazine prints, probably rubbing alcohol. That will give the running and smearing effect that a "proper" transfer would lack.

The magazines themselves are printed in inks that are too permanent to dissolve before the paper breaks down.

The copying process allows you another point of manipulation as well, as you can scale the pictures up or down, copy multiple images, move them around during the scan, etc...


How to get dark colors on paper through pencil colors? I use these Faber Castell colors for school children:

This is what I have tried:

Despite after repeatedly coloring the same areas with these pencil colors, I could not get better results.

Though I can't afford artist grade pencils of Faber castell, I still wish to get the dark colors as shown in the following drawing:

Art by Dan Stirling

What can I do to get the desired results?

In the drawing of the hummingbird you posted, darker colored pencils are being used. Children's sets usually have bright, basic colors.

However, you may have some luck getting darker colors by layering what you have. Read up on color theory and combine colors to give the illusion of overall darker hues. The section on tints & shades from the wiki article is particularly helpful, and includes reasoning as to why you should avoid darkening colors with black or lightening them with white:

  It is common among some painters to darken a paint color by adding
  black paint—producing colors called shades—or lighten a color by
  adding white—producing colors called tints. However it is not always
  the best way for representational painting, as an unfortunate result
  is for colors to also shift in hue. [...] Lightening a
  color by adding white can cause a shift towards blue when mixed with
  reds and oranges. Another practice when darkening a color is to use
  its opposite, or complementary, color (e.g. purplish-red added to
  yellowish-green) in order to neutralize it without a shift in hue, and
  darken it if the additive color is darker than the parent color.


Husqvarna Viking 2000, on the off chance anyone knows the specs of the drive belt I am looking to replace one of the drive belts, the smaller one with the square teeth, on my Husqvarna Viking 2000. I cannot find anywhere the size or type of belt used. Any help in finding a replacement or determining the specs of the missing belt would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

According to sewingpartsonline.com (not an endorsement) the Husqvarna Viking cog belt (short 9 1/2") part number is 4111940-01:

  Guaranteed to fit Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machine Models:
   #1+, 100, 1020, 1030, 1040, 105, 1060, 120, 1200, 1250, 150, 180, 185, 190, 2000, 2020, 3230, 3240, 4020, 4030, 5220, 5230, 5430, 6010, 6030, 610, 6170, 620, 6230, 6240, 6260, 6270, 630, 6360, 6370, 6430, 6440, 6460, 6470, 6570, 6690, 90, 95, Classica 100, Orchidea

This is my best guess based on my best effort at searching. Please verify your belt matches this description.


Drying properties of corn starch paste In bookbinding different glues are used and the choice depends on their drying properties. From what I have read wheat starch paste is the traditional way to go. I want to produce my own paste and since it is easier to get I would like to use corn starch instead of wheat starch. In bookbinding one of the important questions is the colour the glue has in its dried state.
Is dried corn starch paste transparent or is it opaque? If it is opaque, which colour does it have?

Corn starch paste will dry transparently, with a slightly warm tint.
You can use it for about a week.
As with all starch pastes, make sure to let it dry completely so it won't attract mold.
You can also look into using rice starch/wheat as a basis, for a more neutral dried colour and increased adhesive strength.
See here for an introduction to the differences between the types of paste.


Drawing from a photograph that is too bright I'm drawing a cat. Cats have lots of hair going everywhere.
Here's the photo I'm using:

My problem is his body, it's too white, and I won't be able to do anything there, because there's no variation of colors.

The problem is that your reference photograph suffers from overexposure.
However, this image apparently contains sufficient information to tweak it to reasonable levels in Photoshop using the 'Curves' tool:

Nevertheless, I still suggest you pick a better photograph as reference: this one has a very small depth of field (i.e. the amount of spatial depth in the photo that is reasonably focused), and the level of detail on the cat's visible flank is very low (due to the high illumination of the photo and the DOF).
Here is the tweaked version of the photograph, if you insist on using it.

This question seems related to How to draw human body in chest/collarbone area?, where drawing proper shapes was problematic due to the reference image being underlit (or because the subject had insufficient lighting).


What are food safe finishes for woodworking projects, e.g. turned bowls? There are many different products to finish your projects with. What types are food safe and what should one look out for when finishing a project that needs to be food safe?

There are many different kinds of finishes that are food safe. It turns out most finishes once dried or cured are food safe to one level or another.

Most finishes that cure are only food safe after they have finished curing which, sometimes can take quite a while, days, weeks, for some months.

Many of the food oil finishes are very food safe, peanut and walnut oils for example.  However, these are not hypoallergenic, since people with nut oils can react to the finish in the wood.  Though people with extreme allergies could even react to the walnut wood itself.

Natural waxes are excellent food safe finishes that are also hypoallergenic.  Bees wax is a good one and apparently paraffin is also a good one, even recommended for cutting boards, which means with the knife in contact with the top it, you are sure to get some mixed in with the food.

My favorite wax is Carnuba wax, it is claimed to be the most hypoallergenic wax out there and it is also the strongest/toughest natural wax known.


Which type of adhesive should I use on posters, and when? There are three main adhesives used for poster projects:

Glue stick
Liquid glue
Tape

When should I use each of those adhesives for something I'm trying to put on a poster?

Assuming you're trying to affix things to poster board paper, here are some things:

Glue sticks

They don't set super fast, which is a pro and con:

You can adjust your placement if you make a mistake, and have a fair amount of time to do this
You have to wait until it's 100% set, being careful not to push or slide it around

They don't have the best sticking power, and items may fall off over time
You can apply it to either the board or the object you're placing very easily
It works best on flat, non-porous surfaces
It can be removed very easily if you accidentally put it somewhere, with a quick wipe of a dry or slighty-moist towel
It comes in colored varieties that dry clear, now, which helps you make sure you've applied it properly
It doesn't wrinkle thin paper as much as liquid glue, if at all

Use glue sticks if you want to put things up quick, have leeway with mistakes, and need a steadfastness in the sticking power

Liquid glues

Assuming you're applying it out of the bottle, and not using a brush

They take a bit of time to set, but have much better sticking power than glue sticks once dried
You can't easily adjust a misplaced item without smearing the glue around
They are more easily applied to the board, on a flat surface
They can work on porous materials, such as felt, and odd shapes such as pasta

If too much is used, they will bleed through the felt and make it stiff on the opposite side

It's a bit harder to clean up if you put a drop in the wrong spot, as it wiping will spread it
They dry clear, generally
If you're applying thin materials, like tissue paper, magazine pages or printer paper, then it's very likely to cause some wrinkles

Use liquid glues when you want your project to stay together longer, have some time and space to wait for it to dry, or want to use a variety of materials.

Tape

I'm assuming Scotch tape/cello tape, for this.

It sets instantly! Apply it and you're done.
If you make a mistake placing your object, you have to risk tearing the paper to pull it off ad try again
The sticking power usually depends on the length of tape you apply
You can fold a strip onto itself to create a double-sided tape, so the strips don't show on the outside

This takes more time and material and makes the tape easier to remove (a good and bad thing, depending)

The object you're sticking needs to be flat and thin, if applying it from the outside, otherwise it may pull of or not stick at all
It works best on clean edges, and not the kind made with decorate edge scissors, such as zig zags
You can find a variety of similar products, such as washi tape, to spruce up your project
It doesn't wrinkle your papers, but you have to avoid getting wrinkles in it

Use plain tape when you want something up fast and are willing to risk some tearing (that might end up hidden) on parts of your project and don't mind the obvious appearance of tap when using it on the outside. On the other hand, if you want to add quick, decorative borders, you can use washi tape or other products.

Double-sided tape is available, if you're using it under the object your applying, but it doesn't necessarily have extra sticking power than rolled up regular tape. Yet, it tends to be more expensive.

Another alternative to tape is stickers.


Glue for printed vinyl banner Hey guys I purchased a large printed vinyl banner (3050mm x 766mm). Due to cost reasons, I want to glue this banner to an aluminum sign and it looks like it is coated, maybe plastic or laminate. I’m located in Australia. Which glue should I use to adhere this banner to the sign? It is outdoor and I don’t want glue to damage the print either.

Im supposing you'll leave it there...
You'll need a strong

glue that is resistant to the most dramatic climates in the world (i know it from experience).
This glue does not affect the banner at all. One thing though,  do not put too much glue! "dot, dot, not a lot", this glue expands 3 times what you put! so be careful! This glue can be used for everything.


Removing creases from an oil painting canvas I just received an oil painting that was not packaged/rolled securely and folded/compressed during transport. Now it has creases. Is there any way to remove these without damaging the painting?

Stretching it properly on the right sized frame should be enough to remove the creases, no water required. Properly is:

Procuring a support of the right dimensions. The original frame on which the work was painted would be the best.
Centering the painting on the support, and tacking (stapling) the work
to the frame at the midpoint of each edge. This will be on the back of the work so put something on the table to protect the painting. Or, more challenging, do not place flat on table at all instead keeping in on the edge of the frame and only resting on the unworked edge of the painting under it on that side.
Stretch and tack (staple) the painting outward from the centers balancing the tension by working one center to edge, then the opposite side center to edge, and so on...

It may require some force to get the right tension but do not use too much or you will twist the frame. When stretching raw canvas water does help loosen the fibers and will dry much tighter and smoother. However it would be best to avoid water of any type on the finished piece. It could cause damage possibly staining the work, separating the paint from the canvas, encouraging mold and so on.


Drying floam for sculpting I'm looking for a floam recipe that will dry to a relative sturdy shape. I'm working on a puppet and I want to rough out the dimensions and proportions, and I want something cheap and light-weight. If the quality is high enough, I might just use it for the final build, but for now, I basically want to 'sketch' in three-dimensions.

I've found a number of floam recipes on the web, but they are aimed at kids' entertainment, so they are advertised as basically non-drying when sealed away. I want one that dries, so that I don't deform the shape when I'm done with it.

Can someone offer a floam recipe that dries, and will be sturdy enough to carry around once finished?

According to this link, adding more borax, starch or talcum powder will make the slime more rigid.  Also kneading the slime repeatedly with dry hands will extract moisture, further adding to the slime's ability to maintain its shape while air drying.


Storing Oil Paint in Bottles Can I store oil paint in an airtight bottle? I read in a lot of forums that the space in the bottle (air) will dry out the oil paint. This confuses me, why can we store linseed oil in a bottle but not the oil paint?
I really need a container. I bought some affordable oil paints (100mL) but the container caps break easily, now I cover them with plastic bag and rubber band, it is messy. To purchase aluminum tube is not an option for me since they can't be purchased locally and importing them will cost more than than my paints.

The problem with bottles
Oil paint doesn't really "dry", it hardens through a chemical reaction that turns the oil in the paint into a kind of plastic.  The oil reacts with oxygen in the air and polymerizes.
If the paint is stored in a container with no air (like a squeezable tube), it can't start the hardening process until it's dispensed and exposed to air.  If it's stored in a jar or bottle that isn't filled right to the top, the container will contain some air, and the oxygen will react with the paint.  There may not be enough air for all the paint to harden initially, but it will harden as a cumulative process.  The surface can skin over (which would need to be removed and discarded), and some of the paint below that could become partially polymerized, which will change its characteristics.
Every time you open the container, you exchange the air inside with fresh air, and more oxygen to react with the paint.  Even if you open the container only briefly to take out some paint for use, you leave the container with fresh oxygen when you reseal it, which will react with the paint while it's in storage.
A container of just linseed oil can eventually do the same thing, but it's less susceptible.  Without the paint pigment, the oil is better able to mix when you handle the container, so it has more tendency to become slightly polymerized throughout instead of the surface hardening.
Solutions
I can think of a few kinds of "adjustable" containers that would allow you to store the paint without air pockets:

Empty plastic lotion tubes designed for people who make their own cosmetics or want to repackage lotions for travel size.  They're widely available (Google "empty lotion tubes").

Large plastic syringes (no needle, just a fairly large "nozzle").  It's easy to plug the nozzle hole to seal it when not in use.  These are available on Amazon and other retailers.  They're typically made of polyethylene and can be cleaned and reused, and 100 ml is a standard size.

Small, very heavy-duty resealable plastic bags/pouches that open on the narrow end.  You can buy squeezable plastic pouches that are long zip-lock tubes designed to fill with juice and freeze to make popsicles, like these.
They also sell refillable plastic "flask" pouches with a capped nozzle designed to hold and drink beverages like this.  These tend to be bigger than your paint quantities, but you just squeeze out any air.  Or keep the empty portion flattened as you fill the pouch so all the paint is at the open end and there is no air in the unfilled portion of the pouch.

Very heavy-duty plastic bags plus an accessory resealable dispenser cap.  You can find these caps at places like Amazon or at big grocery stores in the gadget section.  They are typically a spout with a snap-close lid plus a clamp that seals the bag around the spout.  When you use up the contents, you can clean and reuse the cap.  They go by various terms, but "plastic bag spout" as a search term brought up a bunch of examples on Amazon.
You can also make your own.  Cut the top off a plastic bottle that has a cap and neck with deep, continuous threads (more likely to find on a juice bottle than a soda or water bottle).  Unscrew the cap and feed the opening of a very heavy-duty plastic bag through the bottle neck from the bottle side.  Fold it over the threads of the neck.  Then screw the cap on over the bag.
A variation is to use the top of a plastic bottle that has a flip-top cap or other closure mechanism (like a bottle from shampoo or liquid dish detergent).  The bottle should have some kind of indentation between the threaded neck and the rest of the bottle (so you can secure the bag without it pulling off).  Wrap the opening of a very heavy-duty plastic bag around the indentation and use a zip tie to make a tight seal.  Then you can use the cap's built-in dispenser.

Use a bag similar to an icing piping bag that is completely air tight (not rolled from a sheet), and that has a good sealing clip on the back and a nozzle with a sealable cap.

If you don't want to go that route and want to stick with a bottle or jar that will contain an air space, you can slow down paint hardening by displacing the air so there is no oxygen in the sealed container.  Before you recap the container, squirt in a burst of "canned air" from a duster (like "Dust-Off").  The gas is propellant and an "inert" gas.  Aim the nozzle at the wall of the container so the gas creates a vortex.  Then immediately cap the container.  This will displace most of the room air.
Another way to do this if you have access to dry ice is to drop a few very small chips of dry ice on top of the paint and lay the lid on loosely.  Give the dry ice a few minutes to sublimate and displace the air, then tighten the lid.  Use just a few small chips of dry ice so you don't freeze the paint.  They will mostly float on a layer of carbon dioxide and sublimate quickly, and it doesn't take much to produce enough carbon dioxide to fill the top of the container.


Can you turn a normal mirror into a one way mirror? I got my hands on 2 normal mirrors and would like to build a magic mirror.
Even after extensive googling I couldn't find an answer.

I know normal mirrors have some reflective (metal?) and paint coating on them and was wondering if one could partially strip the coatings to create a one way mirror?

Another idea I had was to strip the coatings in very thin stripes with coating between them, think Scan Line Interleave but instead of a second image it's coating removed, not removed alternating. But I imagine one would need some serious kit to pull it off as DIY project because of the very small spaces between the lines.

I would love to hear your thoughts if it's feasible/practical or if I should just buy a glass (maybe acrylic) plate and put one way mirror foil on it.

You're likely going to run into some issues with the coatings that protect the metal layer. There are several types of glass mirrors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror#Types_of_glass_mirrors

Typically the layer that reflects the image is silver or aluminum. They are made by taking a sheet of glass, applying a layer of metal, then protecting that metal with additional layers of paint or protective materials. As such first the protective layer would need to be removed, it would depend on what the layer was made of to determine what would be used to remove it. After which some of the metal layer would need to be removed, probably by dissolving. What would dissolve it would depend on what it was made of. After this, a protective coating should be reapplied, or the lightest scratch will take off the mirror material.

It would be simpler to work with a fresh piece of glass and apply silver nitrate directly (as in photo making). Or even easier apply some two way film. Which is tint film that makes any glass a two way mirror.


What are some non-cracking air dry clay brands? I have Darwi and Ponart clays, I tried the Ponart one which is not very cheap, and not too light/too soft, but still cracks a lot! So, I stopped doing clay works, because rather than working on the figure, I spend lots of time for the cracks or other fixes.

I don't know about different brands of clay, but cracks often occur when the clay dries too fast. If you keep your project in a mostly airtight container (I use an upsidedown bucket) it should dry slow enough to avoid much cracking. Be careful you don't keep it wet too long, because eventually clay grows mold.


Interlocking cuts for a truncated cone I have a simple lampshade design, on the picture is made out of paper:

It's a basic truncated cone from a single sheet of paper.

I want to join sides of paper with interlocking cuts, like this:

Or like in IQ lamp:

How do I go about designing a cut for this single-curvature shape?

From the image of the white lamp shade i think the tabs are not interlocking, but rather interlaced and glued.
Proper interlocking would not need gluing .. for instance if the tabs where cut as trapezoids and the two edges joined by a series of folding actions to hook the wider ends into narrower inner edges of each tab.

In the other images i suspect they are also interlaced and glued, but that is not clear to me.


Is it possible to buy 'ethical fur'? I enjoy crafting leather armour. As part of an Orc design I am going for, I would like to buy some animal fur to complete the brutish/primal look. I have bought several faux furs off ebay, but they either look incredibly cheap, or they "shed" a lot of hair. So I turned to authentic animal furs, which definitely look much better.

I decided to google around and see whether some furs are the byproduct of keeping an animal for other purposes such as consumption- i.e. I am trying not to support any farms that hold animals just for pelts. A lot of the furs on ebay are rabbit fur. In some of the item descriptions, the sellers explain what the rabbits are kept for and it seems harmless to buy some.

But I remain unsure of the practice of selling fur and whether it might be unfairly demonised (and is actually not that bad), or whether there is no such thing as "ethical fur". So I relay that question to other crafts(wo)men that may have used fur in the past or have some more experience with it.

Rework an antique fur coat!

My grandmother keeps encouraging me to take hers, which I really don't want -- but the point is there may be many other such coats that used to be valued and sought after, but are now of very little interest to most potential wearers. Asking around thrift stores or estate sale agents may give some leads; even if they would typically discard such items due to probable disinterest, letting them know you're interested means they could inform you next time an old coat is available.

If it's significantly damaged (moths, mold, just old age), all the better: it is unlikely to have any further use as a coat, but could readily be repurposed into accents on a costume. This is perhaps the most ethical use of all: you're not resulting in any new animals dying (even if humanely raised and slaughtered), but instead salvaging something that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

(But like anything ethical, it's sort of down to your personal perspective and comfort level. There's also an argument to be made that if it wasn't humane and ethical in the first place, it isn't now just because decades passed between the animal's demise and your use of its pelt.)


Can these tree trunks be used for a small table? The other day I found these two sections of a tree trunk in the street. So I'm wondering, can they be prepared to be used as some type of rustic stump table?

Yes, you can - Absolutely! As @Henry Taylor suggests: it would be a good idea to kill off parasites, termites, etc.

If you cut or sand-down the ends, be sure they are level so the top of your table is not at an angle.
You can choose to coat the top with a urethane coating, or just lay a piece of glass, plexiglass, or polycarbonate over the top so you have a smooth top.
If you wish, they also make great planters. You can carve or gouge a hole in the top; drill a hole for water to drain from, and either put a pot in it with flowers or just fill it with dirt and directly plant something in it.
Also, if you plan to use it for a bedside, or end-table next to a couch or bench, you can use something like a brass, or copper tube and wire-up a built-in lamp.

Best of luck @rbhat!


How can I fan out my magazine tree more evenly? There was a Martha Stewart catalogue in my office that I made into a "tree" over the course of several lunch breaks. My co-workers have turned it into the local menu holder.

I know that these things need a large number of pages to be successful and mine was just under 300 pages if I recall correctly.
The problem is that the back end of the tree, where the first and last pages of the magazine would meet, has less uniform pages distribution.

Sure I would have to glue or tape the first and last page together but that would not fix the issue. The spine of the book pulls the pages back. If I break it I would expect the tree to fall apart.
Any suggestions on what to do with this if I intend for the whole tree to be seen? I am not looking for perfection just something better then what I have pictured. It is possible that I would need more pages or just picked a bad magazine for this. It's my first day.

How I made mine
I created this from visually from looking at one in a display. I did find some images to help with the explanation. It is basically folding each page twice. First grab the top right corner to the inside and crease.

Fold again from the outside so that the fold you created in the previous step comes to the inside making a triangle.

Images from RD.com
A small triangle section will stick out from the bottom. That can be optionally folded up (I chose to in mine for a flat bottom tree). You basically just need to repeat those steps for every page.
I have seen mention of removing the front and back cover pages. Doing so would not have changed my issue here.

If you are willing to do the whole tree one more set of folds, you can fold the pages into narrower triangles which will each be thicker and as such will fill out the tree more.
It might be best not to do all pages but skip three and do it a second time for the middle of the three left if more work is needed.

This will alter the look of your tree, making it narrower, or making it less even all over.

An alternative that does not change the part of the tree you see is to add a trianglar block in the back, to fill the hole.


Why are the top layers of my oil painting cracking when it starts to dry? As I'm painting with oils, I often layer new colors over older parts of the canvas. This generally works fine, but sometimes the upper layer can crack as it starts to dry. Why is this and what can I do to prevent it?

So the golden rule when layering oil paint is to work lean to fat (or fat over lean).

What does this actually mean? Lean paint is paint that is diluted with white-spirit or turpentine. It is 'watery', and dries quickly. Typically underpaintings are done in this way, as it's quick and easy to correct mistakes. As you then build up subsequent layers, use less spirits and more medium (typically linseed oil) - the oil being the 'fat'. These layers dry more slowly as a result.

Doing this ensures that the lower layers dry more quickly than the upper layers. Cracking happens when the top layers dry first, then the lower layers.

Some other considerations: cheaper paint will have more varied drying time between different colours. If you notice some particular colours cracking this may be the cause. Information about drying times is usually available on the manufacturer's website.


What type of printer should I use for cardstock? I am going to be printing my own greeting cards in high volumes. I am looking to buy a printer that can handle the high volume and colors.

What type of printer do I need for this, an ink-jet or laser style?

If both styles are acceptable what are the pros and cons to each? What should I be looking for in a printer to meet my needs.

Your question is somewhat broad-ranging and is usually discouraged on Stack Exchange forums. Your last question certainly fits that bill. Those answers can be found by searching for reviews of possible candidate printers within your budget.

More specifically, you would be seeking a printer with a relatively flat paper path, to prevent jams caused by thicker paper as is typical of greeting card stock. Both ink-jet and laser printers will be found in this form.

Ink-jet printers will be more expensive for ink (consumables) and have lower throughput ratings than a laser printer. Look for duty cycle information and compare across your budget selection.

Ink-jet printers are usually recognized as having cost-per-page in the range of $0.05 to $0.15 while laser printers can run below $0.05 per page. I would add a reference to this, but the search for that reference generated thousands of links, all of them rather voluminous.

If you do not need photograph reproduction of images, a color laser will give you higher production rates due to the page per minute rating of this type o printer. A toner cartridge (four in a color laser) will last much longer than an ink cartridge.

On the other hand, there are bottle-fed inkjet printers that have a flat paper path and low consumable costs. This is accomplished by designing the printer to use stationary high-capacity ink bottles mounted on the housing, feeding the print head with hoses/tubing.

There is no easy answer to your question.


What safety precautions should I take when working with 316L/A4 steel? I'm working with 316L/A4 steel and I was wondering which precautions I should take when heating it. I want to heat bend a 316L steel rod, so it will need to be heated up to arround 1000°C.

316 is a stainless steel alloy, which has the following composition (If I've understood correctly 316L should be the same but with lower carbon content):

             Min. %     Max %
Carbon         0         0.08
Silicon        0         1.00
Manganese      0         2.00
Nickel       10.00      14.00
Chromium     16.00      18.00
Molybdenum    2.00       3.00
Nitrogen       0         0.10
Phosphorous    0        0.045
Sulphur        0         0.03

[Source interlloy.com.au]

I'm worried I will inhale something toxic since the alloy contains nickel and molybdenum. I think chromium shouldn't be much of a problem since any CrO3 compounds will decompose when heated.

Thanks!

Main precaution ; Do not touch it while it is hot. No vapors will come off the steel . What does A4 mean ? Your heating would be about right for forging. But for bending , try room temperature. It will bend very well unless you paid a premium for strain hardened bar. If you bend it extensively at room temperature it will harden. If you need to bend it more ,then heat it. 316 has no particular temperature requirements. A low red heat of about 1200 F should soften it ,cool in water.Then bend it at room temperature. You may repeat as often as needed. Bending at room temperature will be substantially more convenient than hot bending. Heating will discolor it from straw, to blue, to black depending on temperature and time. Color may be removed by sanding-polishing , if necessary. You are correct on one thing , today 316 is the same as 316 L ,the only difference is that you have to pay more if you order L grade.


What size / length needles for beginner knitting? I'm a beginner knitter. I have a one pair of knitting needles, which are 4.5mm but seem quite short (30cm or less ish? I cannot see a printed measurement for length on them only the diameter). I went to my local craft shop, and they had a great range of needles of all diameters and lengths.

For a new project I need a pair of 4mm however - so what length should they be? Is longer better and just use less of the needle, or should I get two sets of certain diameters so that I can work small and larger projects?

It depends on what you are knitting, but you probably need needles that are 60 or 80 cm (24 or 32 inches).

The most commonly used sizes for circular knitting needles are 40, 60, and 80 cm (16, 24, or 32 inches), as measured from tip to tip.  If you buy needles in those lengths, it is likely that you will be able to re-use them for other projects in the future.

60cm and 80cm are very versatile (and commonly used) lengths for circular knitting needles, as they allow you to knit comfortably, both flat and in the round.  For knitting flat, these lengths are ideal because they are a manageable length that is not likely to tangle.  These sizes will also accommodate larger objects in the round (like sweaters), or you can use the magic loop method to knit smaller objects in the round (like hats).


Irreversible Origami Envelope In Patrick Rothfuss' novel The Wise Man's Fear, the main character briefly mentions that he has a way of folding a letter to be its own envelope in such a way that it is not possible to reopen the envelope/letter without tearing it, giving a method of secure communication without sealing wax or similar. Does such a folding method actually exist?

I've done some experimenting myself, and some searching online, but the closest I've found are envelope designs that don't need tape/glue to stay closed. Nothing I've found has the key property of being impossible (or at least very difficult) to unfold again without tearing.

While not impossible to open without tearing, and requiring cuts as well as folds (which disqualifies the method as origami to an origami purist), there is a form of letterlocking that involves cutting a thin strip from the blank margin of the letter, folding the letter, and then punching holes through the letter with an awl, and threading the strip through the holes in an interlocking knot-like pattern, which would make it very difficult to open the letter without tearing the thin delicate strip of paper.

See: https://vimeo.com/189348055

http://letterlocking.org/categories states that this blank margin method of letterlocking was "used by Queen Elizabeth I of England, Mary Queen of Scots, Catherine DeMedici, and many others."


I want to paint a shelf in White , and a mask in it like image attatched. Should i use oil based or acrilic? I want to paint a shelf in White , What should i use?

Ignoring the masking in of the mask design for now and answering original question.

The choice of paint is up to you. As fixer1234 noted you are better off using oil based enamel paint as it gives a harder more permanent finish but latex will do if you want to avoid solvents and messy cleanup.

You would want to sand and prime the board first. Match the primer to the paint you plan to use. Sand after priming, maybe use two coats if the wood is extra thirsty or the old finish still shows through. Same goes for your finish coats.

To add a design, make a stencil or hand paint it after applying the base coat. Be sure if you are using a different color that it is the same type of paint (latex or oil enamel).  Then apply a clear coat to protect it, also of the same type of paint.

I am not going to go into paint brands or how to prep and clean brushes etc... that you can find out for yourself with a little basic research.


How to prevent Tunisian crochet from curling? When I tried to make a simple Tunisian crochet scarf using the "Tunisian Simple Stitch", the edges of my scarf kept curling.

Is there a way to prevent that while crocheting and is there a way to fix that on a finished product?

The main issue with Tunisian crochet is that, since you don't turn your work, all your tension will be distributed on the same side of your project, with nothing to "balance" it and prevent the curl. Apart from blocking, all the methods suggested to reduce the curl are actually methods to reduce the tension.

There are a lot of blog articles and videos dedicated to that topic, including this pretty useful review from Holly's Crafty Shoebox
. From what I've gathered, you should try to:

increase your crochet size
try to reduce your tension
work your fondation row into the back bumps of the foundation chain (as shown on the video)
add a double crochet row
add a few Tunisian purl stitch rows
wet blocking your work once finished (not so much efficient if you're working with acrylic yarn)

You might want to combine several of these tips for increased efficiency. The woman in the video by instance suggestes combining a bigger hook and working a few Tunisian purl stitch rows at the beginning and end of your project. Let us know if that worked for you!


Fine liners that don't wear out quickly? I've used fineliners (plastic felt tip I think) for calligraphy in order to achieve low line width (0.05 or 0.1 mm), but the tip tends to wear out very quickly, much faster than the ink is depleted. When the tip wears out, it becomes hard to write at an angle, and the ink becomes very uneven.

Are there fineliners that have very low line width (0.05 or 0.1 mm), but with a tip that doesn't wear out so quickly?

The smaller the tip, the faster it's going to wear out; 0.1 and 0.05 especially tend to wear out and break noticeably faster than wider tips, even with a light touch. There are only two solutions I personally have found for this issue:

1. Buy a cheaper pen and replace it when the tip breaks. There's some affordable brands of fineliners that do come in 0.1 (and sometimes smaller) that are easy enough to purchase in multiples and toss when the tip becomes too damaged to use, and you'll have more choices in brand. I believe some do not have sizes below 0.1 available, but you can also mix and match between brands to find the sizes you want.

2. Buy a more expensive pen and replace only the nib when the tip breaks. I currently use this variety, which is more expensive than the average disposable pen. The nibs are interchangeable and can be replaced fairly easily. Some brands available in small sizes (down to 0.03), but depending on where you live may be harder to find. Additionally, depending on what's available around you, the cost per nib may be equivalent to the cost per pen on a cheaper brand, or the cost for the pen itself far more than reasonable in exchange for disposing of cheaper pens.

You'll have to make the decision on what's the best option for you. I personally chose replaceable nibs due to frequently working away from home and looking for an option that used less space than carrying extra full pens; if you work close to home or a consistent location where you can store more equipment, you may wish to choose whichever option is most cost effective for you. You may also have preferences on the feel of the pen in your hand (my reusable liners have metal bodies, my single use liners are plastic, giving them a different weight and feel), or on the amount of work needed to maintain the pens (it's much easier to toss a pen and grab a new one).

You may also wish to consider a metal nib over plastic (these pens fall into the "replaceable nib" category), but they are less effective when held at an angle and require considerably more maintenance than plastic nibs; again, this is a case where you'll have to personally weigh the benefit (longer life) versus the cost (higher price and frequent cleaning).

For a concise guide to 14 different brands of pens covering a range of prices, nib sizes,  nib materials, and replacement options, JetPens has a review of liners with a quick comparison table at the end, as well as more detailed information on how to maintain the different types of pen available. Ultimately, you'll have to make the decision on what pen might work best for you, based on your own budget, ability/desire to perform any required maintenance, availability in your location, and less tangible preferences (i.e. how the pen feels in your hand or handles in use). I would recommend taking the information from the reviews, then going to a local seller and handling the pens in person (testing when testers are available) to help find the right pen for you.