WEAVING PAPER VINE

Not often, but sometimes people ask me how to start doing this kind of weaving. What does it take when it’s time?
So in this article, I’m going to gather the material I need right at the very start. Perhaps it will help you decide to start or, if you have already decided, to start as prepared as possible.

So how do you start? Actually, it’s simple – take it and start. Right from the very beginning.

It’s really simple.

Admittedly, I wasn’t tormented by a question like that when I started. I made my first scarecrow box (there’s hardly a better word for my first job) the same night as I found out about the needlework. In the end, there were more joints than straws in it. That’s why I am so excited about people who know how to learn from the mistakes of fools. So I suggest you learn from mine, because as a fool I am very experienced, because I always learned only from my own mistakes.

So, what will it take at the very beginning?

  • the very first is desire. It sounds trivial, but it’s probably the most important point. If you don’t have desire, you shouldn’t take it, and vice versa, regardless of your initial skills, you can achieve incredible results with desire and perseverance.
  • The second is the most obvious. Paper. It is logical that for a paper vine you need a lot and a lot of paper. There are several variants here. You can take consumer paper in bundles or order it from paper roll printers. However, since we are talking about the start, I think simple newspapers are the best option. From the newspaper edge, you get clean tubes.
  • You also need a needle to twist the tubes. I suggest you look for a thin one and learn to twist it. Optimal diameter is 0.75 to 2 mm, but be guided by a needle with a diameter of 1 mm. It does not have to be a knitting needle. You can replace it with an umbrella or bicycle or floral wire needle.
  • The next item is PVA adhesive for gluing the twist on the tubes. The best variant of price-performance ratio is the PVA of the company “Luch” glues well, the tubes do not unwind after painting and is not expensive. If you decide to buy PVA in construction shops in large volumes, do not take for this purpose construction PVA, it is too liquid, choose carpentry PVA.
  • You also need the right surface to twist the tubes. It’s not slippery or crooked. For myself, the best option I have identified is plywood with a pronounced wooden texture. The basic meaning of “right surface” is that when twisting the tubes should not slip or, on the contrary, stick strongly to the surface. Experiment and find the right surface for your hands.
  • and perhaps the simplest point is scissors. Ideally sharp and with a handy handle, but for a start, absolutely anyone will do.
WEAVING PAPER VINE

That’s right, they were the easiest items, which do not necessarily involve material costs, because often all this can be found at home. But something still needs to be purchased.

  • the most important thing you have to buy and buy necessarily is varnish. The lacquer must be acrylic, water-based. You can’t achieve any good quality without varnish, so I don’t even consider working without varnish.
  • and you also need dyes for the strawberries. There are a lot of options for painting, and later I will tell you more about painting, but for the very first time it is worth considering only two. Construction primer plus coloring – this option will allow you to choose almost any color, but a can of primer, at least a small one will have to buy. Or option number two: mordant plus varnish. You can buy just a half-liter bottle of water mordant and get a fairly flat and almost always beautiful and rich color. The choice of mordants is quite large, but the colors are more like a natural vine. Having prepared all this, it will be possible to proceed to the most important thing – the practical part. In the next few parts, I’ll tell you about it. About how to twist the tubes, how to paint them, how to weave them, how to process products and much more.