I’ve very regretfully decided not to continue with the gilded fish project. It was going very well and I’d done several nice silver and gold fish. But the problem was that after the gilding was applied to the fish, the edges of the foil began to break up into tiny metallic flakes. This didn’t affect the appearance of the fish, and at first it was just a nuisance, as I began to find little metallic flakes all over the house. But then I began to wonder if the little bits of foil might find their way into my machine, and that was a worrying thought. They were only tiny flakes, but all the same you don’t want bits of metal, no matter how small, getting caught up in the delicate mechanism of these machines
So I’ve had to call a halt to the project. However Cherri is sending me some samples of Mylar, which might be a substitute for the metallic gilt. I haven’t a clue what Mylar is, although I think it's a plastic film of some kind, and I haven’t been able to find a UK supplier. It won't be the same as gilt, so the project won’t look the same. However it may be different in a good way - we’ll just have to see
Meanwhile, here’s the way the gilded fish developed.
First, the fins are stitched and the body of the fish is appliqueed onto a background fabric
Second, the foil is glued onto the body of the fish
And third, the finishing details are added
But look at all those little gold flakes round the finished stitchout. They were broken off the loose edges of the foil by the vibration of the embroidery machine. Could those maybe end up in the mechanism of the machine? I don’t want to take the chance
Comments