A new tools for Vaucluse House: part 2 The spool/mould spinning machine works wonderfully, but an initial problem was that the motor smokes. The first sewing machine motor I bought was not strong enough. Thus I bought a another, and at more expense to replace it. However that smoked as well. Eventually, I was told of another guy […]
Weaving a twisted tassel fringe Twisted silk threads are woven around a board to create the skirt of the tassels. https://youtu.be/S6EeHT_DVkU
new tools for Vaucluse House When I got the go ahead to work on the new Vaucluse house renovations, the first thing we needed to do was to make some new tools. Part of making tassels incorporates wrapping beads which can either be wrapped horizontally or vertically. Wrapping vertically is done by hand, but horizontally it is virtually impossible to hand […]
revamping jute trimmings In the early 90’s I started my tassel career making trendy, contemporary jute trimmings, tassels braids fringes and cords. Then the fad faded, but not totally. This past year Passementeries has been approached to create new and exciting contemporary jute projects. In the process we’ve developed stunningly new creations. Natural fiber has […]
Myanmar basket weaving Basket weaving – Myanmar style Coming from Australia, I always thought my self as green and one that recycles, reuses and rehashes. But after travelling to Myanmar I realise how little we actually do in the West. One example is how they reuse everything. I met a man last week who makes flip-flops from […]
Lotus weaving in Myanmar Lotus weaving on Inle lake in Myanmar. Fabrics derived from lotus fibre are strong, soft and to put it succinctly, it takes a long long time to make one simple scarf. The fabric is a simple weave, either a plane or a twill weave. But it is the thread that is […]
Shopping in Bangkok Thank you Bangkok for the wonderful shopping items. Many things I can not get at home. Springs for my Jacquard loom were the highest on my list and with the spring shop I found I was able to cross all my spring requirements off my list. I spent two hours in […]
Gold leaf making in Myanmar Head to Mandalay for gold leaf making. Here, you will find numerous noisy, sweaty and glistening locations. Myanmar gold leaf is handmade in time-honored fashion from 24k gold. In one day a worker at this factory will painstakingly turn 32 grams of gold into about 750 layers of finished sheets of gold leaf. […]
designing a new braid Normally, when I weave a braid I bulk the weft up with a minimum of 4+ threads. But this time I wanted to see the results using two weft threads. So I warped up the trimming loom with a myriad of blue, lime green, russet red and a burnt orange. Look […]
building My Jacquard Loom While traveling to Lyon in July ’16, I was able to copy plans, and trace, a 19th century Jacquard loom. It has long been a dream of mine to make a Jacquard — arguably one of the world’s first mechanised computers — and now, finally, I can construct make a Jacquard loom. Ive […]