Zeelon Poppies for Remembrance Day
A few years ago, one of our valued customers, Vivienne Challans, decided to make these beautiful poppies in support of Remembrance Day. She chose Zeelon (a lovely lightweight sheer fabric) for the petals, which she coloured using heat transfer dye. Zeelon gives exceptionally good results when coloured using this method, as can be seen by the rich vibrant red of the poppies.By holding the petals with a pair of silicone tongs, Vivienne then gently distressed the edges using the heat from a candle (being careful to be in a well ventilated room). Alternatively, a heat gun or soldering iron, could be […]
Lutradur & Zeelon Halloween Skull Lantern
Here’s another idea for a Halloween lantern – skulls with illuminated eyes! The finished effect is quite dramatic – sadly, our photographs don’t do it justice! To begin, we downloaded an image of a skull from the internet to use as a template. To create a darker effect, each skull was cut from a double layer of Lutradur 70gsm Black, fixed together using Bondaweb. The skulls were then secured to a piece of Lutradur 130gsm, wide enough to wrap around a clear plastic bottle. We used a hot iron to colour a piece of Zeelon Medium with Lime Green […]
Lutradur & Zeelon Halloween Lantern
Well, it’s that time of year again, when witches and ghosts make their annual appearance! This year we’re marking the event with an easy to make lantern to create an eerie atmosphere . . . We used a combination of Lutradur and Zeelon to make our lantern. As both fabrics are semi-transparent, they are an ideal choice for all sorts of imaginative projects involving light. We began with an A4 piece of Lutradur 130gsm for the main structure. (130gsm is rigid enough to support itself, yet still has the flexibility to be rolled into a cylindrical shape). The images […]
Poem by Robert Burns (printed on Zeelon Heavy)
To celebrate Burns Night on 25th January, we thought it would be a great idea to print one of his poems on to a piece of Zeelon Heavy (as pictured below). As an alternative to Zeelon Heavy, it is also possible to print on the heavier weights of Lutradur (for instance 70gms), as both provide a much more durable and hard wearing option, than simply using paper or card. On this occasion, we used a standard inkjet printer, but please be aware we would not recommend the use of a laser printer, as the heat used in the laser printing […]
Zeelon Ghosts for Halloween
These ghostly apparitions were made using Zeelon Light – an ideal fabric for this type of project as it is translucent and beautifully sheer. We began by dipping strips of Zeelon Light in a diluted solution of PVA glue, before draping them over a proforma, made up of a plastic bottle, a small ball for the head and garden wire arms. To give extra height to our ghost, we stood the model on a couple of paint tins. We applied the Zeelon strips all over the proforma until it was completely covered and left the glue to dry. To achieve […]
Zeelon Beads
This week (bearing in mind it’s Mothers’ Day on Sunday) we’ve been making beads, by rolling up strips of transfer painted Zeelon Medium . . . We made a large selection of plain coloured straight beads (approximately 3cms wide), with a view to cutting them up into smaller beads to suit a particular design or colour way. To make bevelled beads (shown above) we cut 10 to 12 long thin triangles out of a sheet of A4 Zeelon Medium, which we had previously coloured using lemon transfer paint, before adding wine red spots for decoration.We then applied some clear drying Tacky Glue all the way […]
How to Colour Lutradur, Evolon (or Zeelon) using Transfer Paints
You can colour Lutradur, Evolon or Zeelon using transfer paints and a hot iron. Our short video demonstrates how easy it is to create vibrant colours. This method of painting is a great technique for transferring single colours, designs or images from paper on to any of our fabrics. Paint a piece of paper with transfer paint directly from the pot. (Use one colour per sheet, as colours can be blended at the ironing stage). Allow the paint to dry thoroughly and don’t worry if the paper curls, as it will unfurl when ironed. Place the paper, paint side down on to the Lutradur, […]
Zeelon Ribbons for Ukraine by Vivienne Challans
One of our loyal customers and contributors to our blog, Vivienne Challans, has sent us this image of ribbons she’s made in support of the people of Ukraine. Vivienne used Zeelon Heavy which she coloured with blue and yellow acrylic paint. The two strips were then folded and sewn together to form a simple bow. (Zeelon was an ideal choice for this project as it is easy to colour and sew. It also holds its shape and does not fray, so can be cut without hemming) Let’s hope and pray peace is restored in the very near future.
Lutradur, Evolon & Zeelon Halloween Puppet Theatre
We had a lot of fun putting this Halloween scene together and think it is possibly the first project where we have used all three of our materials, i.e. Lutradur, Evolon and Zeelon. Evolon provided the perfect screen, which we stapled as taut as possible to the sides of a large sturdy box. The clouds of cobwebs around the house and pumpkins were formed by teasing apart the fibres of some Zeelon Light. Everything else was made with Lutradur. We began by searching the internet for images of witches, spooky trees, haunted houses, bats etc. and then printed them to the desired size. Here’s […]
How to Colour Lutradur using Transfer Paints
You can colour any of the non woven fabrics we supply, namely Lutradur, Evolon or Zeelon using transfer paints and a hot iron. Our short video demonstrates how easy it is to create vibrant colours . . . If you would like to try working with our fabrics, please contact us for some free samples or visit our online shop.
Lutradur & Zeelon Capes – ‘Cloaked in Darkness’ – by Ruth Lee
Ruth Lee (born Coventry, UK) is a textile artist, print-maker and visual story teller, currently living in Central Portugal, having relocated from Cumbria in April 2013. She made these dramatic cloaks for a recent exhibition entitled ‘Roses in January?’ after being inspired by The Legend of the Miracle of the Roses. The story goes that Rainha Santa Isabel left her castle deep in the winter to distribute bread, concealed in her cloak, to the poor. Challenged by the King (who did not approve of her charitable work), she declared she was carrying only roses. Suspicious, the King exclaimed “Roses? In […]
Poppies by Vivienne Challans (using Zeelon)
Vivienne decided to make these beautiful poppies in support of Remembrance Day. She chose Zeelon (a lovely lightweight sheer fabric) for the petals, which she coloured using heat transfer dye. Zeelon gives exceptionally good results when coloured using this method, as can be seen by the rich vibrant red of the poppies.By holding the petals with a pair of silicone tongs, Vivienne then gently softened the edges using the heat from a candle (being careful to be in a well ventilated room).After putting a little fold in the petals and arranging them into a natural shape, she then completed […]