FOILS & WIRES

Copper, brass, and aluminium foils and coloured metal wires have long been used in creative embroidery and textile art. Foils, when embossed with designs and coloured by heat or chemicals add  new textures to creative work, including card making.

Designs may be pressed into foils with an old ball point pen or embossing tool. When heated, copper foil goes through a range of exciting colours, and brass although not as colourful does become iridescent (don't heat aluminium as it will melt).

All the foils can be machine or hand stitched onto fabric, and the stitching holes themselves can be part of the design.

The foils may also be coloured with glass paints (the only way with aluminium).

Coloured copper and brass wires are useful in embroidery as they can be couched down on the surface of your work to add shine as well as colour.

Knitted copper wire tube has wonderful possibilities- especially in the field of wearable art as it can be streched and molded into fantastic shapes. Beads and other items can be included inside and outside the tube.

See the 'Applications' section below for some ideas