A Little More Plastic Play

I borrowed the bag idea and made a tiny one to match the shoes in my previous post.


I lined the plastic fabric with the sparkly dress fabric I used to make a gown for my daughter's doll -- the same way I did the slippers.

I'm not crazy about the jewel on the front and I'm not sure how to make an elegant closure on such a small scale.  I'm thinking I'll just sew on a snap and cover the thread on the front with the jewel.  Unless someone has a better suggestion...

Button, button, who has the button?

Do you remember that game from when you were young?  I doubt than anyone under 50 remembers it now.  But since I was thinking about buttons, I thought  of the game.

First I read the post by Kit who said the melted plastic was so thick that no needle would ever go through it.  Then I read Lin's Arty Blog about making buttons.  The two ideas came together and I thought, why not make buttons?

 First, here is my wonderful husband washing the dishes while I am melting plastic and trying to turn them into buttons.  Aren't I a lucky woman!

Okay, on to my fun.  I saved my plastic shopping bag from Barnes and Nobles.

 I cut off one of the decorative sides, wrapped it in plastic wrap, folded it into 4ths, and proceeded to melt it with the iron.

 

I then cut the plastic with a pair of heavy-duty scissors into squarish and roundish shapes.  I could have made them neater but I then I like things with character.  I melted holes for the thread by holding a nail with pliers  over the stove burner till it was hot then poking holes in the button.   While I would think twice about using the buttons on clothing that would get washed frequently and go into the dryer, they are stiff enough to serve as reliable closures.

Playing with plastic

I played with this technique over the weekend; using grocery/store bags, dry cleaner wrapping, thickened plastic wadding and bubble wrap. 

Mostly, I just melted stuff together. :)

I was interested in the types of textures I could get with the different weights of plastic; but because the dry cleaning plastic would have been excessively boring, I first put two squares as a base,  mixed up some craft paint on top, put another two squares of plastic on that and melted away, 

Four layers wasn't enough (paint ALL over my iron), but 8 was, and I got some really nice results that were highly coloured, very pliant, and easy to quilt. 

I also tried it with some white grocery bags for a less vibrantly coloured result and in my finished piece, layered the different kinds of plastics and some of the colours together. 

I also tried putting "stuff' in between the layers: sequins, tiny beads, bits of fabric, plastic mesh and the like - with varied results - I may use those bits and bobs in other pieces in the future:

But often, the result was such a hard mass of plastic, I couldn't imagine using it in any way except possibly, sculpture!

It's not clear from the pic above - but this turned out be a lump of hard plastic that no needle could ever get through!

In the end, I took some pinks and greens and whites, cut them up, layered them and put them together in a little wall hanging. BSP (Beloved Spouse) *LOVES* it and thinks I should work with melted plastic all the time.  

It was fun - but that's enough for me. :)

Kit

Playing With Plastic - Karen

 I have been saving the bags I get in the produce department for a while -- they're great for picking up after my dog.  So I grabbed a few of them and ironed them together.  They looked kind of blah, so I borrowed some glitter from my daughter and sprinkled it on the ironed bag-fabric, then covered it with a sheet of plastic wrap from the kitchen.

I really like the look, but the wrap shrunk up at a different rate than the bags and I got all this cool texture.

 But the texture was too much for the project I had in mind (that first piece will go on my "little gems" pile.)  So I laid out three bags (I cut off the handles and bottoms so they would lie flat) and sprinkled on some more glitter then covered it with another bag.  I ironed it flat between two sheets of parchment paper.

 Here is a close up of the glitter trapped between the not-quite-opaque bags.

 I used big paper clips to hold the pattern on it for cutting.  --I keep a bag of these in my studio in all different sizes -- it's amazing how useful they are.

And the finished product -- little fairy slippers for my daughter's doll.  The plastic fabric is just clear enough to allow the yellow fabric to show through.

I think I would like to try this with tiny snips of fabric sandwiched between the layers of plastic.  And, of course, with paint.  

December Technique--Plastic Fabric

The technique for the month of December is making and using plastic fabric. I had tried this quite awhile ago but wanted to experiment a bit more with it. It is easy to make and (hopefully) will get your creative juices going.

The "recipe" for making "fabric" from plastic bags is very simple.  

1.  Gather your plastic bags. (I like to use the thin ones that grocery stores use, but you can use others.)

2. Cut the bags open down one side and cut the handles and bottom off the bags. You want a fairly smooth surface of bags to work with.

3. Layer 4-6 bags (one on top of the other) between pieces of parchment paper to get a larger piece of "fabric." You can fold one bag to get the number of layers you need to make smaller pieces. (I found that if you mix the type of bags some of them melt faster than others. This may cause a bit more shrinkage and more ripples/bubbles in the "fabric." Personally, I like the texture that gives me.)

You can find Parchment Paper at the grocery store. If you don't have parchment paper, you can also use the paper backing that comes with some fusibles. I think that those non-stick applique sheets would work too.

Here, there are six bags layered one on top of the other.

4. In a well ventilated area, fuse the bags (layered between some type of non-stick material like parchment paper) together by ironing. Start out with a temperature setting of rayon, but keep in mind that you may need to increase the temperature. (I increased the temperature to the highest wool setting.) Keep the iron moving. (Some bags produce more fumes than others. I put my ironing board right next to a window and cracked the window.) It helps to iron the bags from both sides, especially if you are ironing six layers--turn the parchment paper "sandwich" over and iron the back too. Check to see if the bags are fused by lifting up the corner of your parchment paper. 

These bags are fused. You can see in the upper left-hand corner where the "fabric" has bubbled a bit. I got a bit impatient and increased the heat of my iron a little too high. I found, though, that I liked the texture this gave the "fabric."

Once the bags have been fused, you can use the bags like regular fabric. (Keep in mind, though, that pinning will create holes in the plastic fabric. You might want to use paper clips to hold the "fabric" instead.) Before using your plastic fabric you will probably want to paint and embellish it. I used acrylic paints and a Sharpie pen to decorate this green fabric.

When you are finished with your "fabric," it can be sewn and stitched. You can use it for purses, iPad/iPod cases, journal covers, etc. You could cut it apart and embellish a quilt with it. There are lots and lots of things you can do with it. I'm anxious to see what creative things you can come up with.

I decided to make a clutch purse out of my green "fabric." I liked the ruffled edge, so I decided to keep it. I am using a magnet (glued with E6000) to close it. I haven't yet decided which decorative closure to use. These are some of my choices--I may not have found the right one yet. Do you like any of these?

Here are some websites that will give you more information.

Tutorial for fused plastic fabric

http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/2007/05/long-overdue-fusing-plastic-bag.html

Video

http://craftingagreenworld.com/2010/05/18/fab-fabrics-fused-plastic-bags-with-video/

How to make an iPad case with plastic fabric and general instructions

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Fuse-Plastic-Bags-into-a-Laptop-Case/?ALLSTEPS