Impressing

With sequins, sprinkles and mica flakes

'Hot Fix' Angelina Fibre
Heat-bondable Iridescent Fibres.

20 Colours:
Cobalt Sparkle, Forest Blaze, Wisteria, Pink Tickle, Raspberry Sparkle, Peacock, Ultraviolet, Calypso Blue, Sugar Plum, Opal Haze, Key Lime, Cotton Candy, Watermelon, Citronella, Gold/Iris, Violette, Mint Sparkle, Lemon Sparkle and Snowdrops.

Flower stitch worked on Angelina.

Soft lustrous fibre that will bond to itself at relatively low temperatures to produce a non-woven type of fabric. Bonding occurs when the 'hot-fix' Angelina fibres soften and fuse together. Start by testing the procedure. Simply place a small amount of fibre between two sheets of baking parchment. Using an iron on the 'silk' setting (irons vary so start with this setting - it may be necessary to increase the temperature, but avoid using too hot a setting to start with as this will affect the overall result), gently move the iron back and forth over the surface of the tissue. The fibres will bond quickly, so check frequently to see the progress. Too much heat or pressure can change the original qualities of the fibre. Generally, at low temperatures 'Hot Fix' Angelina will only bond to itself not to other fibres or paper. The result will be a sheet of web-like non-woven sparkling fabric that is peeled off the baking parchment.

The fibres can be blended for shimmering multi-coloured effects. Quite solid, dense sheets of fabric can be produced simply by using a larger amount of fibre without spreading or thinning. In this case, it may be necessary to increase the temperature slightly while applying the heat for longer, and to turn the whole Angelina 'sandwich' over and iron on the reverse side.

Angelina piece.

'Standard' Angelina Fibre
Non-bondable Iridescent/Metallic Fibres.

Nine Colours:
Gold, Silver, Copper, Gunmetal, Red, Bronze, Fuschia, Emerald and Turquoise.

Due to the make-up of the 'Hot Fix' colours, they are not produced in metallic shades, but these non-bondable colours complement the 'Hot Fix' range. These fibres have a super-soft handle and can be spun, woven, included in papermaking etc just like the 'Hot Fix' fibres, but they will not bond to themselves at the low temperatures as used with 'Hot Fix'. 'Standard' Fibres can be combined with 'Hot Fix' to give an added metallic 'glitz'. The trick is to lay a quantity of 'Hot Fix' fibres down onto baking parchment, add a smaller quantity of the metallic 'Standard' fibre over making sure the fibres are spread and open (not in clumps) and add another layer of 'Hot Fix' over the top. Heat to bond the fibres in the normal way. The 'Standard' fibres are then trapped within the fabric and will remain stable unless so much 'Standard' fibre was used that it could not be successfully held by the 'Hot Fix'. In this case, the 'Standard' fibres will loosen out of the fabric.

Embellished blue velvet.

Ideas to try:
Prepare several sheets of fine 'Hot Fix'. Using one as a base, cut strips/shapes from the others and place onto the base. Heat again. The shapes will now be bonded onto the base sheet. Other layers can be added, but it may be necessary to increase the temperature and 'dwell' time for successful bonding
Increase the temperature of the iron and see the difference it makes to the 'Hot Fix' colours. The higher the temperature, and the longer the 'dwell' time the more matt the colours become.
In a sheet of mixed fibre ('Hot Fix' & 'Standard'), increasing the temperature of the iron will make the 'Hot Fix' colours more matte, but will not affect the 'Standard' colour and therefore make those metallic fibres more obvious.
Angelina is a polyester fibre and is therefore perfect for transfer paints. Apply Transfer Paints or Crayons onto paper, place face down onto the prepared fabric sheet of Angelina and iron. The image will be transferred to the Angelina fabric, giving a new dimension to the colours. Pleat or crimp the sheet of Angelina fabric.
To change and matt the colour in small areas, apply ChromaCoal which should be heat-set in the normal way.

Angelina flowers.

Apply metallic foil to a prepared sheet of Angelina fabric. Place foil over the sheet, following the foil instructions, protect with baking parchment and use the iron to transfer the foil colour onto the Angelina fabric sheet. Or, place foil over the Angelina sheet and with baking parchment in place, draw a pattern with the tip of the iron - the foil will be transferred to the sheet in that pattern.
Cut shapes from baking parchment and place over Angelina sheet. Place a protective sheet of baking parchment over the whole. Iron as before. Depending on heat/dwell time the areas that have had an extra layer of protection from the heat may show as slightly different colour or sparkle. Heat a sheet of Angelina with a heat gun - watch it shrink & distort, or cut through a sheet of Angelina with a soldering-iron.

To apply Angelina fibres to other surfaces, use PVA for scrap-booking and other paper-like collages or use fusible webbing for fabric surfaces.
If you are a spinner, Angelina fibres will add the WOW factor to your yarns by simply blending in with yoru unspun fibres.
Machine, or hand-stitch onto it - pleat it - crinkle it - just have fun!

For more ideas and techniques like embossing shapes and a whole lot more fantastic ways of working with Angelina, why not order your copy Sarah Lawrence's DVD 'Simply Fused'

All illustrations reproduced here are from this book,
available from The Thread Studio.
Details at Books 'Fibres' section.

Angelina Fibre is available from The Thread Studio.
Details at Experimentation, 'Papers/Films' section.
Fibres/Silk, 'Angelina/Nylon'

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