Fake Bow Tie Tutorial

Hi there! In this post I am going to show you how to make a fake bow tie.
First, cut out two rectangles of fabric and backing. One 36x15cm and one 10x6cm.

Iron the backing to the back of the fabric. While you are at it, fold the big rectangle lengthwise with the back outside. Iron it flat. Fold the small rectangle lengthwise with the right side out. Then fold the two "wings" again lengthwise. Iron it flat and sew along the edge.

Sew along the edge of the folded large rectangle with 1cm allowance. Leave one of the sides open.

Cut away the allowance on two sides.

Turn i inside out and iron it.

Turn the fabric on the open side to form a "lip".

Sew it shut close to the edge.

Fold the piece into a "Z".

Lay it flat

Fold it lengthwise and sew a bout 1cm away from the fold about 1 cm length.

Fold the two long sides towards the middle and hold it like this:

Looks like a bow tie already... Secure it in place with a little stitching in the middle.

Now, take the small long rectangle you prepared earlier and hold its end against the back of thew bow. Wrap it around the middle, cut the overstanding part off (or fold it in) and sew it to form a ring.

Now you can put an elastic band through the ring to put the bow tie on. Or use a clip. Or sew a nicer ribbon with the same fabric.

3D printed Banjolele / Banjo-Ukulele armrest

Resting my arm on the rim of the banjolele head while playing, I was hurting myself on the tension hooks. I made an armrest that is held in place by the same clamps. No additional hardware required. Fits the rim of an 8 inch banjo head.

The file is available on Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:737310).

Mount plywood panels for painting

I started giving painting a real try. After painting in acrylics on cardboard I decided to go bigger, using 80x40cm 5mm thick plywood panels. The problem I encountered was that the panels were warped, I could not get any totally flat panels.

You can see on the bottom edge how the panel is bend.

So I decided to mount the panels on a frame. Having only a few tools on hand, I glued 40x28mm wood slats to the edge of the panel.

Laying the panel on a flat surface I connectes the four slats with metal plates.

The panel came out pretty flat. The added depth makes it look good when hung on a wall.

Happy Holidays!

The Figaflors i Braves HQ wishes you Happy Holidays! Be safe! See you in 2015.

 

Convert a camera tripod to a painting easel.

I wanted to buy an easel for my ongoing painting practice, but I realized that I could easily make one using my camera tripod. With two 12mm diameter aluminium tubes and a few nuts and bolts at hand I designed a few parts and printed them on my 3D printer. The two tubes are spaced by two end caps clamped together with three clamps. One clamp connects to the tripod. Here you can see the square connection piece, which is the same as on the platform you would screw your camera on. 

The other two clamps are used to hold your painting in place. The three clamps can be arranged as desired, depending on your preferences. Here is a view of the whole construct:

This is it mounted on the tripod:

And here we have a painting clamped in it...

Crochet Granny Square Baby Blanket

This is a basic baby blanket I made. It is a big granny square, about 80x80cm.

Yarn and Nail Art - An Eye

This is a little art project I made. On a 29,5 x 60 x 1 cm MDF board, I sketched an eye and nailed in a bunch of nails. After taking of the paper I sketched on, I then connected the nails with yarn.

 The finished art piece: