Monday, October 5, 2009

Floral message board

I know Verel is a dirty word to many rughookers, but I thought it would have some practical applications, so have made a few tote bags with small hooked motif and a message board with a hooked padula floral border.

The pushpins are a serendipitous dollar store find. There are loads of interesting options now available, at various price points.

Verel has been used for office dividers and the like before, and while it is a synthetic fabric and not suitable for rugs or mats on the floor, it works fine for smaller decorative items and wallhangings. The 'board' part of the floral message board is 3/8" styrofoam and 1/4" cork, so that the pushpins will stay and not degrade the styrofoam. I hooked the edges, leaving the corners unhooked so I could 'mitre' it and reduce bulk at the corners. The padulas [fantasy flowers in the rughooking world] are done with hit-or-miss like colours, as are the stems and leaves, in various greens.

Once I sewed the verel around the backing material, I connected the opposing sides along their length to make it taut, then lined it and affixed a label with name, date etc.

I haven't 'road tested' the willow tree tote bag, but I am fairly certain it will hold up - the question is not if the Verel will last, but whether, over time, it will abrade the wool strips. I have used a light fabric 'lining', adhered with fabric adhesive over the hooked area only. The other thing I like about Verel is that it comes in several colours, not to mention being economical.

While the weave is rather tight, I find it easy, with a large-shafted hook, to hook up to an 8-cut wool strip, in primitive style. It will take a wider cut, but does buckle a bit. The close weave makes it suitable for a tote bag. Knitting needles would likely pierce the fabric, but they will do that to most textiles.

My other plan for the message board is to make one to display our grandson Ruben's latest art project. He's just coming up to two, and is enjoying daycare in Toronto [too far from New Brunswick, but that's life--thank goodness for webcams!]. I haven't settled on a border pattern to hook, but maybe will use a variation on the Noah's Ark rug I made him.
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1 comment:

Momz Wool Rug Hooking Studio said...

I think the idea of Verel is great, keep up the good work.