In a message dated 9/6/05 5:15:41 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Although Japanese wheat paste is (obviously) "flour", it differs from flour > that you buy in the grocery store. I think it is really starch, very fine > and pure. > Yes, Carolyn! Anyone who has mastered Japanese silk embroidery will recognize this. It is described in Suji Tamura's book "The Techniques of Japanese Embroidery", page 54. Metal threads are usually not stitched, but couched on top with silk thread. The ends are poked or pulled to the back and trimmed to a short length. Some of these embroidered pieces are various types of fans, and they are covered with fabric on the back so you do not see how they have been stabilized. When you think about it - with many silk and metal threads loose on back of fine embroidered fabric, you do not want the appearance of lumps made by weaving in ends showing on the top surface. The best way to secure the "tails" and not tear silk is with the wheat starch, cooked into a jelly. Very little is used - it must not soak through to the top (right) side. The instructions are to put a very small amount of starch jelly in the palm of your hand, add a little water, if necessary, and work it into a very thin film. Rub this onto the back of the embroidered areas with your fingertip in the direction of the stitches and be careful to stay within the embroidered area so as not to stain the fabric. This has been done for centuries. And, I have bought old Chinese embroideries with something that looks similar on the back. It seems a good solution to a difficult problem, since it has withstood the test of time. Very often, silk areas that do not have embroidery will shred and fall apart. The embroidered areas remain intact, and I think that is due to the application of wheat starch. All threads are vulnerable to expansion and contraction when kept in a changing temperature/humidity climate, and that is probably why the unstarched silk areas fall apart - from the wear that comes from this action that the human eye does not see. The starch is powerful in that it prevents movement of the fibers in the embroidered areas. I urge you to store your lace fans in a climate where there are few changes in temperature/humidity. No attic storage, please! And no basement storage, either! In many climates, you should hang framed fans on an inside wall. Even though you are indoors, the outer wall temperatures fluctuate from day to night, and that is not a good thing. Observe how air conditioned air and heated air is circulating in the room. Do not spotlight, or place framed fans near natural or artificial light or over a source of heat. All this makes sense to most of us, but you would not believe what some interior decorators (even famous ones) do with textile art. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace & Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
