George Weil Blog & FAQs

Thank you to everyone who joined us for coffee and cake on Friday. We managed to raise £90 for Macmillan Cancer Support and got to meet some very nice people and eat lots of lovely goodies while doing it! Cake certainly does taste better together. We hope to arrange this event again next year and look forward to meeting more of our customers - you

These exciting soluble indigo natural dyes are derived from fermented natural indigo and alkanet. The Turquoise Blue natural dye gives a good blue and at lower concentrations provides a fine teal green. The Forest Green, which also contains fermented pomegranate, produces a deep green. Just 10g will dye 100g of materials to the full colour achieva

Need something fun to do in the sun? Make the most of the bright sunshine to create detailed prints without a camera! Jacquard Solar Fast dyes are used to create photograms, continuous tone photographs, shadow prints, and ombrès on fabric and paper. They develop their colour and become permanent upon exposure to UV light, most easily sourced from

Double dyeing devore fabric involves using two distinct and different colours in one dye bath, and a fabric made from two different fibre types which take up the two dyes independently. The image below shows how the silk net on the devore cushion cover has taken the silk/wool colour while the pile has taken the viscose/cotton colour. The fibres (f

An Art Clay Silver project by Sue Heaser Art Clay Silver clay is made of pure silver powder, water and binder. It can be modelled like modelling clay or polymer clay and is easily fired at home using a gas hob or a blow torch. Here is a beginners’ Art Clay Silver project by Sue Heaser to get you started; These little frames can be displayed in a

Polymer clay is an ideal medium for doll making. The smooth finish and ease of working means you can create lifelike dolls of all kinds - from baby dolls and full size dolls to fairies and miniature dolls. Beginners find polymer clay easy to use because it does not dry out as you work so you can take your time to develop your skills. Polymer clay

Disperse dye can be used with various techniques and will readily colour synthetics such as polyester, nylon, cellulose acetate, vilene, viscose, synthetic velvets and PVC. They can also be used to colour plastic buttons and fastenings. Their effect is less potent on polyester, due to the molecular structure, allowing only pastel through to medium

Prepared Wool Fibres Wool fibres that have been washed and carded into a roving are commonly known as Wool Tops. The fibres are prepared so that the wool tops are consistent in their staple length and count. The Bradford count of fibre fineness is sometimes used in the UK to define a wool top: the higher the count, the finer the top. The staple len

What is Wax-Out! Wax-Out! offers an alternative solution to removing wax from finished Batik items. It is a mix of products which, individually, are already in commercial use in the textile industry for removing oils and waxes from fibres, yarn and fabrics. These contaminants arise both as from the original raw materials, wax in cotton and lanolin

Understanding Weaving Loom Shed The shed is the space between raised and lowered warp threads in which the weft passes through. Floor looms have a range of mechanisms for creating the shed; each has its benefits and disadvantages. The shed shown in the image right demonstrates how the warp is lifted and separated. This small loom creates a shed usi

The best way to paint fabric or apply Batik wax, is to suspend the fabric on a stretcher frame. The fine weave of the silk fabric makes it ideal for painting, and silk paints or dyes give vibrant results leaving the silk with a soft handle. Silk paints can also be used on cotton fabric, although the results are not as bright as on the light transmi

by Allison Holland These effective beads were made using FIMO Soft polymer clays. The white coloured clay is FIMO Soft Translucent and the photo does not show its full ice-like effect. Combined with the Peppermint colour and the Opal Green. I created a rough cane by laying logs rolled from the three colours (divide a 56g block into 6 and use one pi

with Sue Heaser This project shows you how to decorate a round bead with slices from a spiral cane made with polymer clay. The technique works equally well with slices from a millefiori cane. You will need a spiral cane, polymer clay in a contrasting or matching colour, and a tool, such as a darning needle, to pierce the bead once it is made. The b

Susan Litton shows us how to prepare a silk hanky ready for spinning. A silk hanky is produced from a silk cocoon and is made up of one continuous gossamer thread. The sericin (the glue that keeps the cocoon together) is removed from the cocoon by simmering it for 30 - 45 minutes in a solution of water, soda ash and synthapol. When the cocoon has

The range of Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Inks and Speedball Permanent Acrylic Screen Printing Inks, plus screen printing mediums are all available to order from the Sceen Printing section of this website, along with the popular Diazo Photo Emulsion system. The Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Inks are for use on cotton, polyester, blends, line

Silkpaint!®Resist can be used for a number of applications and is a worthwhile addition to any painter's studio. You can dilute Silkpaint!® Resist with water (adjust to your desired consistency), or it can be diluted or coloured with a small amount of paint or dye. These flowers have been painted by Jenny Lacey using a gutta outliner and adding t

Thanks to the wondrous invention of the world wide web, George Weil receive orders for craft tools and materials from all over the world. One of the furthest delivery destinations is the Falkland Islands. Although it is more than 8,000 miles away, there has never been a lost parcel yet! Our sales manager Jo has built up quite a 'close' relationship

Acid dyes produce bright, intense colours and are ideal for silk painting. The simplest method is to use pre-mixed liquid silk colours such as Dupont Steam Fix Dyes or Jacquard Silk Colours, as silk painters can rely on the consistency of colour results. The most cost effective however, and with more opportunities to develop your own palette, is to

Silk papermaking (or silk fusion) is similar to Papier-mâché. The fibres are sandwiched between two pieces of mesh netting and then stuck together using an adhesive, such as CMC paste. Other items can be included with the silk fibres, such as dried petals and skeleton leaves, or the silk papermaking process can be applied to any absorbent, natura

These stunning silver balls have been made using cork clay as a core. The cork clay can be moulded to any shape, allowed to dry and then used as a former or core for the Art Clay Silver clay. The best way to work with the cork clay core is to push a cocktail stick or toothpick into it to use as a handle. This can then be stuck in a small blob of un