I love some bling in a project
I am so EXCITED to talk about adding fancy fibers to your art work! It’s fun to add some sparkle to a project! It just makes me happy 🙂 There is something about seeing a bit of shine when the light hits it. Adding fancy fibers to your art work is easy. Especially if you are using Angelina Fibers.
Angelina Fibers-The basics
There are two types of Angelina fibers; heat bondable and those that are not. I use the heat bondable kind in all of my projects. The fibers feel like angel hair. As they are polyester fibers they are washable, dryable and dry cleanable!. There is also a film version Great for using in wearable projects. It really is magical!!!
Hot Fix Fibers
The heat bondable Angelina fibers are called “Hot Fix”. They will only bond to themselves. Which makes it great because if some stray fibers get on your ironing board you don’t have to worry about a sticky mess!!!
To make a sheet of “fabric” lay a thin layer of fibers on a paper towel. Put another paper towel over the top. Set the iron to silk setting and no steam. Lay the iron on paper towel for about 5-6 seconds. Check to see if the fibers have bonded. If not touch it up again. The hotter the iron and the longer you heat the fibers will change the colors and sometimes dull them.
Here is video demonstrating this process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7eVFxaUafU
How to use Angelina Fibers
After the fabric has been made, it can be cut into any shape with scissors or your rotary cutter. You end up with a finished raw edge. It can then be glued, stitched or fused into any project. For extra fun use an accuquilt cutter to cut out butterflies and other shapes. An adhesive product, Misty Fuse, can be applied to the cutout and fused to another fabric.
Adding fancy fibers to your art work can also be as simple as blending Angelina in with wool fibers. They can finger blend or use hand carders to mix up the fibers. This adds just a little bit of sparkle to your work. Blend some green in with grass or white in with a blue sky for greater depth and texture to your wool painting.
When asked to demo these fibers at a quilt guild meeting, I created this piece 2 hours before the meeting. It doesn’t have to be complicated! Some fibers were to cut shapes and stitched on a piece of felted wool.
A sheet of fabric can be turned into beads for jewelry. Start with a bonded sheet of fabric and roll up over a skewer. The fun part is you can trap yarns and other bits of fiber fun between layers of the Angelina. This makes for unusual beads!
Lay some fibers over a rubber stamp and press with an iron. It is a great way to create another shape that can be cut out and adhered to something else!
Projects
The possibilities are endless when it come to adding Angelina Fibers to your art work! How about some angel wings for dolls and people young and old!
I hope I have inspired you to try this great medium. A little goes a long way. These fibers will be coming soon to my Etsy Store. Also check out my youtube channel for upcoming tutorials on using Angeline Fibers!
Happy Creating!
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