fabric twine oh-so-pretty ~

and ~ today’s project is pretty sweet, too!

i was immediately drawn to the beautiful colors and texture of the pattern with this scrap-busting technique, “fabric twine” which i found via the My Poppet website… and you will want to check it out if this is something that appeals to your senses as well. she has really great pictorial tutorial, as well as a video one, too. {and i love her australian voice!}

so i got started right away… leftover binding strips and ends, and ripping older scrappy pieces too. i have to say it was a little hard on my fingers, wrists, and hands, to twist and twist… but like she says… take small breaks in between.  {i’m thinking a spinning wheel… or something like that would/must work a little easier?}  i love it enough that i’m going to have to do some experimenting.  but one thing, it’s a great little ‘to do’ when you’re watching tv.

i also had big ideas to turn my twine into a large placemat, rug, {like cintia did} or even a group of great little mug rugs… but i’m tellin’ ya, it was truly a nightmare to stitch through!  even though i switched to a bigger, {size 100} fresh, sharper needle… it mattered not!  and all i kept getting were skipped stitches… {ugh}

i’ve been trying to think of what went awry, and all i can come up with is that perhaps i’ve twisted it too tightly, and i also used batik fabric… which is more tightly woven. so this little mug rug is the result of my hard-fought stitching battle {which i lost!}  🙁   so i have to go back to the drawing board and troubleshoot that issue…

the my poppet website offered no tips about sewing it, although she made it sound as easy-breezy covergirl beautiful as those ads… !  but i’m not giving up… gonna have to give it a go again, as i’ve been making it now with a what i hope is a “looser weave/twist” and see if that makes a difference. and even will try a size 110 needle… we shall see! 

in the meantime… through the depths of my disappointment, came a ‘no-sew’ idea to use this beautiful fabric twine.  this time, “upcycling” a glass vase.  it begins with this type of glue:

oh yeah ~ it’s a little messy… but works like a charm!  this stuff is the way to go, forget the sewing {for now}!  i may have to try and make a rug using this glue… if i can get it in a bigger container, and cheaper.  the 2 fl oz you see here cost $5.99 at joann fabrics, and it took almost the whole bottle to do this vase, which is about 10-12 inches tall. anyway, to begin, i began by cleaning the outside perimeter of the vase, first.

then starting at the bottom of the vase, gluing the tails of the ends as seen below, i glued one row of fabric twine at a time, using my left hand inside the vase, to turn it as i glued:

i gradually worked my way up the vase, adding glue in a larger area towards the top, which helps it set up a little bit before the twine is set down on it:

wrapping, and wrapping, one line at a time…til i reached the top:

i loved the look of the spools on the poppet site, and so i  found some great old antique spools to wrap the twine on. practical and decorative!

my vase is all set for for some fresh flowers.  i have a couple more ideas… bet you can think of a couple too, can’t ya?