THE GUEST OASIS
The story is told of a man and woman who had been married for over 60 years. They kept no secrets from each other except for a box the old woman kept on the top of her closet, which she had cautioned her husband never to open. One day, when she was dying she agreed that it was time he should know what it contained. In it, he found two crocheted doilies and a small fortune in bank notes. His wife explained: ‘When we were to be married my grandmother told me the secret to a happy marriage was never to argue, and that if I became angry with you I should keep quiet and crochet a doily.’
Her husband fought back his tears: ‘Only two precious doilies!’ He thought she had only been angry with him twice in all those years. ‘That explains the doilies, but what about the money?’ he asked.
‘Oh,’ she replied, ‘that’s the money I made from selling the doilies.’
This little tale reminds me how everything we reuse has a story to tell. I have extended the purpose of each doily/piece of lace I’ve used and each one is unique.
WIRE-AND-LACE BOWL
RECYCLED ITEMS:
- 1 piece (30 × 30 cm) 13-mm hexagonal galvanised chicken wire
- 30 × 30 cm vintage lace or mesh fabric
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- round stainless steel bowl (as a mould)
- clingfilm
- heavy-duty gardening gloves
- bottle or jar (as a prop)
- wallpaper glue
- blunt knife
- wire cutter
- fabric scissors
- candle and matches
- water-based varnish
- Using the ageing technique on page 10, burn the chicken wire over an open fire, leave to cool and wash.
- Cover the bowl with two layers of clingfilm then place it, base-down, in the centre of the chicken wire. Wearing gloves, bend the wire around the outside of the bowl. (There is no need to fold it over the rim or neaten it at this stage.) Place the bowl, upside-down, on top of the bottle, to lift it from your work surface (A).
- Dip the lace in the glue and stretch it over the wire; paste on more glue with your fingers if required (B).
- Leave to dry for eight to ten hours.
- Apply another ten layers of glue, ensuring that each layer dries thoroughly before you apply the next.
- Remove the wire bowl from the mould, using a blunt knife to gently prise it off if necessary.
- Neaten the edges by trimming the wire with a wire cutter, and the lace with fabric scissors (C).
- The border of your lace bowl can be finished to your taste (D). I burned the edge of my bowl over a candle to accentuate the vintage look.
- Finally, seal the bowl with varnish. (Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using the varnish.)
LACE SHELL
RECYCLED ITEM:
- 30 × 30 cm lace (any type)
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- round bowl (as a mould)
- clingfilm
- cup (as a prop)
- wallpaper glue
- fabric scissors
- Cover the outside of the bowl with clingfilm and place it upside-down over a cup in order to raise it above your work surface.
- Dip the lace into the glue and stretch it over the bowl. Use your fingers to add more glue if necessary, but also to remove any excess glue. To remove air bubbles, press the lace against the bowl from the centre towards the outer edge. Check that the lace is properly attached to the edge of the bowl (A).
- Leave to dry for six to eight hours.
- Apply eight to ten layers of glue, ensuring that each layer is completely dry before you apply the next.
- Once you have completed all the layers of glue and the lace is completely dry, cut away any excess lace from the rim of the bowl with fabric scissors (B).
- Remove the new lace bowl from the mould bowl by pulling the clingfilm away from the mould. The lace may stick to the clingfilm; don’t panic. Once removed from the mould you can separate them (C).
- The lace bowl will be very soft and flimsy, and, unsupported, it will curl to resemble a beautiful shell (D).
RECYCLED FIBRE BOWL
Making these bowls is a fun project for the entire family. Not much can go wrong, and even if it does, your bowls will still have a lovely shape.
RECYCLED ITEM:
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- round bowl, any size (as a mould)
- clingfilm
- bottle (as a prop)
- wallpaper glue
- old plate for glue
- blunt knife
- sponge brush
- water-based varnish
- Cover the outside of the bowl with clingfilm, then turn it upside-down over a bottle in order to raise it above your work surface.
- Tear the recycled board fibre into small pieces. By tearing the fibre rather than cutting it, seams will be less visible when glued together.
- Pour some glue into a plate and dip the fibre pieces into the glue. Stick them to your clingfilm-covered bowl until the entire outer surface is covered (A).
- Leave to dry for four to six hours, then gently prise the fibre bowl from the mould with a blunt knife.
- Using a sponge brush, seal and strengthen the bowl with another two to three layers of glue on the inside. Allow each layer to dry thoroughly before applying the next.
- Seal the bowl with varnish (B). (Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.)
DOILY BOWLS OR DOMES
These doily domes and bowls surpassed all my expectations. At first I struggled to make the lace bowls rigid enough; then I discovered the highly versatile, water-based hardener Powertex. It is compatible with paper, textile, leather, cardboard, fibreglass, wood and sand. These bowls are so hard that they feel like stiff plastic!
RECYCLED ITEMS:
- lace doilies of different sizes and shapes
- cast-off lid for handle
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- glass or stainless steel bowls (as moulds)
- clingfilm
- bottles (as props)
- an old bowl
- Powertex (see Supplier List on page 176)
- blunt knife
- Prepare the moulds by covering them with clingfilm and resting them, upside-down, over bottles to raise them above your work surface (A).
- Working with one doily at a time, place the doily in the bowl and cover it with Powertex. Make sure the whole doily is saturated, using your fingers to submerge it if necessary (B).
- Drape the doily evenly over the mould surface, gently stretching, smoothing and removing air bubbles and excess glue from it with your fingers (C).
- Leave to dry for eight to ten hours.
- The doily must be completely dry before removing it from the mould, otherwise it will reshape. Gently prise it from the mould with a blunt knife.
- If you prefer to use the doily as a dome rather than a bowl, glue a cast-off lid at the top of it with some Powertex.
Caution: When you work with Powertex, be sure to have running water close at hand, and protect your work surface.