How to > pleat and fold the leaf is the most useful part along with > pointing out > pitfalls which are obvious when you think about them - but we > don't always > think do we? > > Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK
OK, I have a question, probably dumb, that has puzzled me for years. **Why** go to all the bother of pleating and folding the fan at all? I've done perhaps half a dozen fans, none have I bothered with this step (since I couldn't figure out why, I didn't). All but one of the fans are displayed in frames,and they are open. So they will probably not ever be closed. But prior to framing, when I closed the fans, the fan leaf just folded up neatly into folds along the sticks. The single fan that hasn't been framed is intended for use at weddings by the females in our family, and that folds very neatly when necessary. So, why bother? I can see the good sense of reinforcing the lace (especially in the case of the large wedding fan), as Treena Ruffner suggested in her IOLI Bulletin article. Someday, that reinforcing may save the lace from tearing. Another question: one set of fan sticks came with single holes,perhaps two inches apart, along the sticks. How am I supposed to use that to mount the fan leaf? I just can't picture it, unless I am supposed to be happy with two inch long lengths of thread running along the beautiful backs of the sticks (and they are beautiful, covered with abalone as they are, and meant to be viewed). > Shows how to mount > a leaf using tacky glue and wallpaper paste (Jeri calm down!) > using plastic > sticks and wooden sticks. She also mentioned stitching in > passing. I have had a whole evolution regarding the mounting glue. Now I use very pure Japanese wheat paste (cooked) purchased from Talas in New York. It is relatively weak (which I like since the glue will let loose before the threads tear), but has less chance of impurities staining the lace over time. I have heard that at least one prominent teacher recommends the use of cooking flour to make the paste -- now that seems surprising advice, given the likelihood of future problems. Why do some people take all those hours to make lace, and then refuse to spend a little extra money/time to safeguard their investment? Regards, Carolyn Carolyn Hastings Stow, MA USA > - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
