Clueless with Angelina fiber?
June 29th, 2008 by Alice
If you were like me (until recently), you’d likely have no idea what to do with the ultrafine fiber called Angelina. Much less know the difference between crimped cut and straight, hot fix or not!
I thought it was about time to find out more about this fun fiber and took a crash course on how to use Angelina.
First a couple of basics:
- Crimped cut is as it sounds, crinkled, and it’s shinier than straight cut
- A tiny bit of Angelina goes a long way
- 1/2 oz will create a 36″ square sheet of Angelina (when bound with heat)
- It only bonds to itself (not your iron, you, fabric, etc)
- Originally invented for NASA
- Marketed for spinning and weaving, but the quilting group got in on it too!
- Needs combination of heat and pressure to bond
- Only the Angelina labeled “Hot Fix” is bondable
What can be done with Angelina?
- Great for art quilting, collage projects
- Create bonded pieces of shimmery Angelina, combining colors, ribbons, yarn and bits of fabric
- Glue Angelina bonded pieces to cards and postcards
- Sew or fuse bonded pieces to clothing, bags and home accessories
- Add shimmer to your yarn projects by incorporating strands of Angelina
- Press over soft rubber stamps for great bonded Angelina images
A few tips and tricks:
- Lay your Angelina fibers between paper towels to press
- Try using a doily for texture (it won’t bond to it)
- Bond no longer than 3 seconds - Use silk iron setting
- A hotter iron will create a duller Angelina project and change the color more (may be desirable at times)
- Polyester base - is washable, dryable, dry cleanable
- Straight cut is great to incorporate in needlefelting, but not crimped cut
- To incorporate decorative threads in Angelina, first bond a base piece, then layer threads and add top fine layer of Angelina to seal project
- To imprint from rubber stamps - choose very soft, inexpensive stamps (they work best) - layer Angelina and press hard for 3 seconds.
- It’s also fun to ink your rubber pad, then layer with Angelina
- Try the Bo-Nash 007 bonding crystals to fuse your finished pieces to projects.
The most important idea that I brought away from class was to have fun, play and let your own creativity guide you to endless uses for embellishing with Angelina.
Posted in Free Quilting Tips and Tricks, Needle Arts Product Information