I use them all the time, and they come in many sizes, which I am collecting as and when I need them.

A felting needle can be used to sculpt 3 dimensional shapes such as animals and flowers, and to add detail to faces.Of particular note is the first synthetic brush which was brought to the artists material market in 1975. expand title=”Continue reading…” trigclass=”my_special_class”] FIMO was first developed for a German doll maker in the late 1930s but was not found suitable for her doll factory so handed it to her daughter, Fifi. By 1837, under the founder’s son they had concentrated their activities on producing artists’ colours using their skills in selecting the best pigments and binders to the leading artists of the time. The Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner is non-flammable and leaves no residue, it is a safer solvent for oil painters than White Spirit and Turpentine.

Schmincke – Schmincke have been producing fine art materials for four generations and their products include a popular range of artists mediums including those featured here. There is an assortment of Selectasine binders which are used in combination with the pigments to create screen printing inks which are wash and light fast on fabric once heat cured. Jacquard Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments are fine glistening mica powders for use in viscose mediums such as resin, lacquer, varnish and binders, and Jacquard SolarFast dyes work with sunlight to produce “cyanotype” blue print effects – but in a range of different colours! To make your own rectangular or square shaped stretched canvases, we also include stretcher bar pairs in a choice of lengths. The brushes are also a useful tool for modellers, especially when using silver clay and air-dry clays.H Dupont – Steam-Set Dyes are chosen by artists for the rich colours which they bring to painting on silk fabric whilst the ‘hand’ and the texture and finish of the silk remain unchanged by the colour which has been applied. Speedball has developed two screen printing kits, the Diazo Fabric and the Paper Screen Printing Kit which includes all the essentials needed for the photo emulsion screen printing process which is one of the most exciting screen printing techniques. All of this requires a fineness of skill and technique that can only come through accumulated experience.

Sculpey Premo retains flexibility after baking ensuring the finished product remains strong and durable in use. The company now works with a number of spinning mills across Europe who are commissioned to spin yarn and with dye houses to dye the yarns in the Venne range of colours.The silk fabrics include the smooth, finely woven Pongee and Habotai which are ideal for silk painting and Shibori, the Gauze Chiffon which can be used when felting wool to make Nuno felted fabric, the Crepe de Chine which is woven from high twist silk yarns to create a flexible fabric with a soft drape, and the tactile Noil Poplin and Noil Gauze fabrics woven from the remaining fibres from silk cocoon carding. The Stretched Canvases are primed and ready for painting with oils, acrylics or alkyd and are available in both cotton and linen with the additional option of a deep edge. These Ergonomic Knitting Needles from Prym are designed tip to tip to be comfortable and easy to use. Jakar – Jakar International Ltd was formed in 1951 and has therefore long been established as a distributor of drawing and display supplies for artists and education.

Just like using them because they do not snag where the needle joins the cord, and they do not make my hands ache. For the experienced dyer George Weil supplies illuminating and dischargeable acid dyes which are combined with a discharge paste for printing multi-coloured patterned fabrics.expand title=”Continue reading…” trigclass=”my_special_class”] The range of Schacht designed spinning wheels extend from the Ladybug through the Sidekick to the Matchless. Continue reading… Transforming a fibre into a yarn is just the first step in producing your own knitted or woven garments and furnishings.