Free Lace Scarf (Ribbons on Backing)

Free Lace Scarf (Ribbons on Backing) Originally uploaded by randubnick

I am taking a fiber arts class at Red Brick, something new for me, which is exciting but always a little scary. (Back in college, one of my all-time favorite painting teachers once said, "Randi, you are just not three-dimensional" and I fear he was right! But I managed to get through a required sculpture course with my sewing machine.) Anyway, the list of processes covered in the fiber arts class looked interesting, so I signed up. Last night we learned to make free lace, and I decided to make a lace scarf. The first step is to create a design with ribbons and yarn on extremely sticky paper. I used red and multicolored ribbons and yarn to make a geometric design, and the photo shows the design after I had stuck down all the ribbons. After that, the next step is to cover the whole thing with a piece of clear material that looks and behaves like Saran Wrap. This is NOT the sort of thing I am good at, and at this point, I felt like Lucille Ball doing fiber arts, but I managed to get the piece of film on straight. Then a grid is stitched over the whole piece, which the instructor did for us last night with a portable sewing machine. Once the sewing is finished, the whole thing goes into a tray of water. The clear material on top and the paper backing on the bottom are made of some kind of starch, and they dissolve in the water, leaving the lace! Tomorrow I will post a photo of the result. . . .