getting the gist of foreign books-tutorial

we all have beloved books in foreign languages that we wish to understand beyond the photos. mine are mostly in japanese and with this system as well as jim breem's invaluable resource page i can more or less get by.

this is a simple tutorial that helps  in getting the gist of things, especially if you are familiar with the topic.be ready for some hilarity though as automatic translations don't care for nuances or second meanings!

 what you are doing here is converting a text image to text and working from there. i cannot thank husband -san enough as he put me on this track for my trip to japan. my mobile equipped w. google translate saved my skin more that a couple of times when my reading skills were not enough.

i am using  adobe acrobat for ocr recognition, photoshop for the images and microsoft word for translating the text on a pc platform. i encourage mac users to add their knowledge here as mac is a foreign country to me.

1. scan your image, 150 dpt is enough.if you can adjust levels in your copier better. pump up whites and blacks and eliminate  in between  grays.
2. open in an image processing program  (i'm using ps here, but gimp, corel or similar can do it)  adjust levels-you want a sharp image- and save as pdf.
3. open your  pdf file in adobe acrobat.  edit>select all  or ctrl+A  the characters will be selected and the images ignored.
4.  go to documents>OCR recognition / click recognize text. you'll see a blue progress line at the bottom. when finished the text will deselect.
5. go back to edit> select all or ctrl+A copy or ctrl+X. this will put the image converted into text in the clipboard.
6. open your word processing program. here i'm using word document new >ok.> paste
7. with the cursor select the part/s that need to be translated, right click on them and click on translate from the pop up menu. select the document's language and the target language from the dialog.
8. once you have the translation you can select it from the translator, copy it and paste it below the original text. 
9. save the document. give it a name or the page number if there are more in the operation. it would be a good idea to create a folder for each book translated.good for mental sanity.
10. if you don't have a scanner available you can photograph the pages, put them through an image program and proceed from step 2 onward.

hope this is helpful.

neki desu

the missus

one of the kindest, funniest and talented people i've come across on the net. the incomparable 

purple  missus in a mini tute.

have a great weekend!

neki desu

a primer

material of a million uses.enjoy.

have a great weekend!

neki desu

 

ai painting tutorial

 what to do with the precious remains of a vat?the frugal dyer  tried grinding the pigment and using it and came up with a simple method.

here we go:

• discard the liquid taking care not to upset the sediment
• dry the sediment in the sun until cakey
• grind it  to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a dedicated food processor
•  make soy milk using about 50 beans
• sieve the milk, you don't want any particles
• add the milk to the powdered pigment

• paint it to fabric pre treated with soy milk
• you can use stencils, leaves or any other object
• you can also use to create color washes and shadings

if the pigment is too liquid for stenciling or stamping:

• mix unflavored gelatin  or agar-agar in hot water and let it gel
• add it to the liquid color

 soy milk is the traditional binder for color pigments. i would suggest curing the fabrics for at least a month and then rinsing. expect some color loss, but nothing dramatic. if using the fabric for an art piece there's no need to rinse. 

 neki desu

creating textures on fabric

a while ago i came across this product and curious as i am i set on a quest to get it and run some tests.
i lucked out when i discovered it was sold in madrid and last month when i was there i finally got it.
it also served as a good excuse to explore a neighborhood we were not familiar with and take one of our famous marathon walks. 2.6 kilometers each way!
when i opened the pack i became dubious about the sort of fabric, it was similar to a plastic tent, but taking a beep breath i realized that if it was going to shrink both ways hence creating texture it had to be plastic.

the steps:

• cut a piece larger than the finished size you want.
• pin it to the back of the material to be textured.  
• stitch, either hand or machine.
• place an iron over never on ,remember it's plastic, and steam.
•  edges will curl and  you may need to pin the fabric so that the steam gets to the center.
• it will stop shrinking when it's done.

by altering the spacing of the stitching  more or less dramatic texture can be achieved .

 according to their weights fabrics can give interesting textures, i even ran a test on a handwoven sample. the only caveat is that it feels stiff and the fabric won't be reversible.but i think it has possibilities for book covers and tapestries.

you can see samples on various  fabrics in the slide show.

have fun!

neki desu

cling film adventures

decompressing  and just for fun experimenting before tackling the sewing project.

playing with  Kim Thittichai's Hot Textiles book.what  else can you do with ready available materials, namely cling film, besides beads? Ok i'm cheating a bit, also using moulding mesh from crafty notions , but i already had it.:)

one experiment led to another and it was lots of fun. no earth shattering discoveries, but some interesting surfaces came out.

here's a short tute on creating surfaces with cling film:

materials:

• cling film
• cello foil 
• moulding mesh( can be substituted for light  plastic screening-experiment)
• parchment paper 
• assorted heat resistant threads and yarns
• iron

process:

• lay parchment on ironing board
• lay a piece of cling film
• add threads, yarns 
• cut up pieces of cello foil and add
• cut up moulding mesh and add
• cover with another piece of cling film
• cover with parchment to protect iron sole
• iron on wool setting
•  wait until cool and peel off

SAFETY

wear a respirator mask with vapor cartridges

work in a well ventilated room if working outside is not possible.

i mean all windows opened

 things to consider:

• not all cling film is created equal-experiment

• neither are irons - experiment with your settings 

• different settings give different effects; however the hotter the less film will remain

• if unavailable, moulding mesh can be substituted for plastic screening-experiment 

• try laying the film on a textured surface (covered with parchment)  and then iron

•  texturize your parchment ( crumple, fold, etc- experiment) lay the cling film sandwich on and then iron

• consider using a mix of metallic and heat resistant yarns and threads of different grists, the metallics will melt  and add interest

• play with negative and positive space-experiment

note that the operative word here is experiment, this is just a rough guide, so keep notes.

let me know how it goes . if there's quorum will post another tute covering other ideas.

 have fun!!

neki desu

view CCLicense

autodenter

Warp already reeded, now some minor adjustments and it will be a weaving Easter.
This gizmo is an autodenter, a very high tech sounding name for a mechanical tool :) and it came from here.
It does make denting easier once you've tamed the beast, which tends to fall apart in the beginning as it comes with a built- in learning curve. It should also come with tranquilizers, but no such luck.
In spite of all the above once you master it it's easy to use and efficient.
Some recommendations:

• i've noticed it works better( imo) with denser reeds, 10-15 ends x cm. and thin yarns. Actually, for thicker yarns and wider spaced reeds there is no need for one.
• You have to control the side push or else you'll skip dents. Yes, that happens!
• i'd start with 20-30 threads tied to the back of the loom and practice till you get the swing of it as it can generate some stress in the beginning. Then when you feel confident move on to using it fully.

This is just a visual presentation of the tool. go here for a vid on how to use it.




neki desu

loom controlled shibori-show and tell

Here you can see the process involved in the dyeing part of loom controlled shibori.
Some of the messages i got prompted me to show the dyeing part more clearly than what i had explained in the previous posts. The weaving here was very straightforward plain weave on 24 shafts and the supplemental weft was a twill.
The photo tute is pretty self explanatory and i will just add a few things :

• the fabric is silk and was dyed using Procion dyes and acetic acid
• stamping was made using pigments and Golden GAC900 and soft gel medium semi gloss; fabric hand did not change significantly
• as pigments do not dye they can be used to create an extra layer of color
• some more stamping was done using thickened Procion dyes

Something unusual happened here as the cotton supplemental thread took the dye very well.
Taking the slow cloth approach and instead of cutting the knots on both selvages i undid the knots and slowly pulled out the thread. i was gratified with an ikat like perle cotton thread that will be good as weft in another project. Two for the same effort. This is called energy saving and maximizing your resources :)


neki desu

kanoko shibori -untie magic

If you've had thoughts of how horrid it would be to untie all those small tied dots the promised tutorial is here. The system works like a charm.

• hold the fabric with both hands
• put your index finger under a tied bundle give it an upward push
• tug the fabric with both hands and the tie will pop undone. Voila!
• move to the next tie keeping hold of the fabric and repeat the operation
  

It really pays off to do the tying with a continuous thread.
BTW the fabric was dyed with my one and only successful indigo vat.
It isn't dark dark blue, but it's a pretty good blue. Getting there!


neki desu

fawn spots-kanoko shibori

Here's a short basic tutorial on how to work kanoko shibori.

• Make a dot network template in a half drop, square or any other sequence. This will help in creating the overall pattern. Mark it on the cloth with a fugitive ink pen.
• Fasten the needle to the stand.
• Pick a small bunch of fabric with the tip of the needle (the fabric will stay on the needle by gravity) and without letting it go from the needle hold the cloth between your thumb and index finger.
• Take the bobbin on your right hand and wrap the thread around the fabric and holding the thread with your left heart finger pass the bobbin through the loop and pull the thread taut . Get your finger out of the way. Pull tightly.
• Move on to the next dot and repeat the operation. This will make continuous bound dots which will be easy to untie later on.
• Once the cloth is all tied dye and dry it.
• Untie
• Fabric can be pressed flat or left with the texture created by the binds.

This is the kind of work that is easier to do than to explain. It is also one of those activities in which practice makes perfect or at least makes such activity effortless.
The regimental needle attachment makes work extremely easy.
This is the kanoko shibori needle. Some people use it pointing down i find i can work better if it is pointing up.

Next week i will blog another tutorial on how to untie kanoko shibori.
If you find these tutorials useful please link back.


neki desu

flour resists

Lately i have been experimenting with different flour resists, started out by using Complex Cloth's mashed potatoes resist recipe, then went on my own. i have experimented with a mixture of cornmeal and cornstarch paste and rice flour paste to get a crackle textured background. As it was experimental i kept it simple by using fabric paints instead of thickened dyes and used scrunch dyed cotton fabric dyed with procion MX.

My personal conclusions:

• The mashed potatoes recipe gives a very flexible paste, good for stamping, not too good crackle.
• The rice flour paste if very thin gives an interesting veiny crackle.
• i used a rice flour layer, sponged paint on it , let it dry, re covered with more paste and re painted it with another color. This gives depth in the crackle.
• Cornmeal and cornstarch paste gives an interesting granular crackle- my favorite.

Tips:

• rub the paint to create splotches within the crackled surface.
• use two different colors for more visual texture.
• use metallic paints for extra zing.
• work in layers- interesting results can be obtained.
• different crackle effects can be obtained if the fabric is dried stretched or flat.
• a bit of tugging on the bias when the fabric is dry improves the crackle. Ditto fro crumpling.
• if you get an amazing crackle scan it and digitalize it so you can print it on fabric and use it again!

i want to get cassava flour and experiment with it. Most of the batik cloth from Africa uses it as a resist. And while on the African topic check this site out.
Let me know of your experiments.


neki desu

this tutorial goes for weavers

Celebrating that today is the first day in 3 months that i don't get up and rush to the books to study i wanted to do something creative,fun and useful. Not bad for someone who feels lobotomized after yesterday's test.

Here we go.
How do you visualize surface design techniques on your weavings? This is how i do it.

My drawing skills are not very good plus it is not easy to get an accurate rendering of a project just by drawing. At least not for me. Then again what are computers good for but to make life easier?
We'll assume that we want to simulate printing or discharging on the weaving.

• using an exacto knife cut your stencil on freezer paper
• take a shot of the stencil with your digicam
• open your image editing program and open the stencil image
• adjust the threshold level until you get a black and white high contrast image
• if simulating discharge skip the next 2 steps, use normal mode and adjust opacity, or experiment with exclusion or soft light
• go to apply image and select the a color if needed
• use flood fill and color the negative parts

• now go to your weaving program, open the weaving and make a screenshot.
• paste the screen shot in your image editing program
• cut all the unnecessary information, just leave the weaving image
• create a new layer and paste the high contrast image
• change the merge mode and opacity until you get to your goal as a finished piece
• create as many layers as needed
• merge layers and save.
• you have now an accurate idea of how the project will look

Notes:

Because you'll be using the same stencil for the fabric the rendering will be accurate.(O.k.,o.k. there is still room for serendipity, you're dealing with handmade not industrial processes)

Merge modes that work well are either burn or underexpose because you only want to see the negative spaces. however do experiment with opacity and different merge modes until you get a simulation as exact as you want.

If your weaving has a color progression you can imitate or accentuate it by using flood fill and gradients on the weaving image layer.
Questions?

Now, isn't this a brilliant excuse for not getting away from the computer in days?



neki desu

gum arabic resist tutorial

i've been experimenting with gum arabic as a resist and there are some advantages that i've found.

• safe
• not messy
• easy to remove-no dry cleaner or laundry
• easy to use
• it works really well on silk
• it won't coagulate with acid dyes

First take the fabric and stretch it very well. If not the resist will pool and touch your table.
Mix your gum arabic with equal parts of tepid water and mix until dissolved. It won't thicken as alginate, but it will become less runny in around 20 minutes.
Use a brush for painting large areas or you cn also use a tjanting as you would with liquid wax. Paint a light even coat heavier for cotton. You can add on coats and layers as required by your design

Wash brushes while the resist dries. You know when it's dry because it becomes transparent and brittle on the fabric. Handle the fabric carefully because as the resist is brittle it can tear lightweight fabrics.

Paint or stamp your fabric. You can also screen print it.
Avoid however immersing the fabric in water or any liquid since this, as with any other water soluble resist, will dissolve it .

Rinse the fabric in tepid water until the resist is eliminated. You may have to rub it off lightly depending on the fabric or leave it in water for a while.
So far i've stamped Pebeo fabric paints , airbrushed Dekasilk and printed with thickened Procion MX.
Do not eat, drink or -heavens no!- smoke while carrying on the process. If you do it's at your own risk!!! And of course do not ingest.Leave that to the soft drinks and food industry as they are major consummers of the substance.
Experiment with this resist and let me know how it goes.

neki desu