George Weil Blog & FAQs
Welcome to the George Weil Blog FAQs which includes information about the art and craft products sold on this website. There are project ideas, photographs of items created by our customers, product reviews, and step-by-step instructions. See also our USEFUL LINKS page which includes a listing of websites offering information about the products sold on our website, training resources and Guilds.
If there is anything you would like to see included here or if you would like to contribute an item, please email graphics@georgeweil.com
Polymer Clay Tree Ornaments
The malleable polymer clay can be shaped or moulded using a number of methods. A simple way to create consistent shapes is to use a cutter and rolling strips (or CD cases as in the example below). The polymer clay...
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Iron Age Tools at The British Museum
Evidence that wool has been used for clothing exists at The British Museum as far back as the Iron Age (800 BC – AD 50). There are a selection of combs carved from animal bone probably used to prepare the...
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Using an Extruder with Polymer Clay
The ability to create long lengths of uniform shapes from polymer clay helps with the cane making process. A simple chequered cane can be accomplished from the square shaped disc. Using 2 in black and 2 in white, the square...
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Prepared for Dyeing?
When buying fabric you may occasionally come across the term Prepared for Dyeing or PFD. This means that no starches, sizing or finishes have been used on the fabric. These treatments, including optical whiteners, will interfere with the absorption and...
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Cubic Zirconia
Cubic Zirconia (CZ) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide, an inorganic metal oxide mainly used in ceramic materials. Diamond vs CZ The CZ gemstone has more light dispersion (fire) and is heavier than a diamond. Although a real...
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Butterfly Painted on Silk
We thought you may like to see how the gutta outliner butterfly turned out. The clear outliner, which acts as a barrier, was applied by following the lines traced with the autofade pen (now the Hemline Vanishing Fabric Marker). The...
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Prepare Design for Silk Painting
You don’t need to be good at drawing to paint designs onto silk fabric. Here we show a neat trick for utilising designs found around the house including printed fabrics, wrapping paper, wall paper and even from colouring books! Look...
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The Fabulous Autofade Pen
This post is for those of you who haven’t yet discovered the magical autofade pen. It is a fibre tipped pen which can be used to trace or sketch out designs on fabric and paper. The violet coloured ink magically...
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Measuring up for a New Reed
When ordering a new reed, check the overall length of the reed you are replacing. This includes the end caps which add about 2.5-4cm to the total length. The reed height is normally defined by the size of the opening...
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The Tixor Malam Wax Melting Pot
Planning to do a lot of Batik or Encaustic Art? A thermostatically controlled wax melting pot is an essential addition to your tool kit. This wax melting pot is mains operated through a British 3 pin plug. Temperature Control The melting...
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Book Spotlight: Natural Dyes
Natural Dyes by Dominique Cardon is the definitive book on the subject of natural dyes and their use. The hardback book includes 778 pages with 560 illustrations, covering the world wide sources and dyeing traditions, along with details of dyeing...
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Space Dyeing in the Microwave with Acid Dyes
Here we include a recipe for space dyeing yarns, fibres or fabrics. This technique is also known as low water immersion dyeing. The randomness of this microwave method is so satisfying – there’s no need to fret about precise colour...
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Felt Artist, Sarah Brooker
Sarah Brooker‘s skilfully crafted and vibrantly coloured felt artwork has been created using Fibrecrafts dyed Merino wool tops. One of Sarah’s early works was used on the 1996 Fibrecrafts catalogue cover. The original was bought by Ian Bowers (our Managing...
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Jacquard Procion MX dyes
The Jacquard Procion MX dyes have been formulated for use on cellulose fabrics such as cotton and linen, although they also produce reasonable colours on silk and wool. These fibre reactive dyes become locked into the fabric when combined with...
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Merino Wool Tops for Felt Making
Felt making is most effective using wool fibres. The best to use is wool that has been cleaned and combed. The treated wool is known as wool tops, or wool roving. Fibre with a Bradford count of 60 or higher...
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Hand Papermaking
You can make paper out of a number of materials using either a prepared pulp, cotton linters or from recycled papers. You can also make paper from plant fibres which need first to be soaked in water for up to...
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The Jacquard Tie Dye Kit
The Jacquard Tie Dye Kit has been designed for children, and is especially fun while enjoying the Summer weather (this activity is guaranteed to pry them away from the Xbox!). Children over 8 (and adults too) will enjoy making their...
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Book Spotlight: Off the Deckle Edge
Neeta Premchand was born in India but spent her adult years living in London and Germany. Her papermaking began as a hobby but developed into a passion which she writes about in her book ‘Off the Deckle Edge‘. This, her...
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What is Batik?
Batik is a method of patterning fabric or paper using melted wax. This creates a barrier, or resist, to prevent dye from colouring the waxed areas. Wax Melting Pot The safest and easiest way to melt the wax is with...
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Ashford Wide Drum Carder
The Ashford Wide Drum Carder has arrived in stock, and is a great investment for production spinning and blending fibres for felt making. Specification The drum carder has an extra wide 29cm drum which can produce batts of up to...
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