Tools of the Trade

Day Fourteen: Awl and Corkboard

There’s a number of ways to mark the hole placement on a laceplate, and my first inclination was always to use a Sharpie. I was then shown how to do it with an awl, and I’ve been doing it that way ever since. It’s easier to get a precision mark with an awl. And once I’ve marked the holes on one side of the laceplate, I can fold it in half and quickly mark the holes on the other side by pushing the awl all the way through the material. I figured I’d need some cork or something to back the material with when I did this, but had a hard time finding a piece of of cork thick enough for the job. Then it struck me that we used to have a candle in a jar that had a large cork lid, so I searched around on Amazon and sure enough, you can buy replacement cork lids there! I use one of my dad’s old wine corks to protect the point of the awl when I store it.

Tools of the Trade

Day Thirteen: Brayer

Here’s a tool that’s not really essential, but that I enjoy using. I use various methods to get my patterns onto my vinyl to cut out the plates for my masks. One of the methods involves printing out the pattern, reversed, and then using spray adhesive to adhere it to the back of the vinyl or leather before cutting it out with my art knife. I briefly flirted with block printing as a hobby years ago, so I had one of these Speedball brayers laying around. I use it to roll over the paper patterns and make sure they’re adhering well to my material.

Tools of the Trade

Day Twelve: Silicone Finger Sleeves

I’m getting a really late start today, so today’s article is short but sweet. Have you ever been nyxing your mask fabric (ie using spray adhesive to glue the outer layer of your mask fabric to the lining) and accidentally wrinkled the fabric or flipped it over on itself, and the adhesive made the whole thing a tangled mess? And have you then tried to pull it apart and smooth it out? It can be nearly impossible, as the glue sticks to the fabric and to your fingers and you end up with a bigger mess than you started with. This happened to me more often than I’d care to admit, so I was looking for a way to handle glue-coated fabric without the fabric sticking to my skin. I eventually found this set of silicone finger protectors (the red items,) and they worked a treat. They fit tightly over your fingers and thumb, and you can handle the sticky fabric and untangle it without it getting stuck to your fingers. Later on I found the pink items in the picture, which are little caps that slide over your fingertips. They’re designed for soaking nail varnish off your fingers, but since they’re made of silicone, they also can help when handling sticky fabric. I found these at my local dollar store; you can’t beat that price!

As a bonus, either of these items are also helpful to wear if you’re ironing something small, as the silicone will help protect your fingers from the heat. I’ve also sometimes used them while gluing small items so that any stray glue won’t get on my fingers.

We’ll go through these left to right, top down. That first item is just a standard tailor’s chalk. Underneath is a tailor’s wax crayon. Both of these are great for quick outlining. They transfer their marks quite easily, so they can work nicely on stretchy fabric like spandex. The blue and yellow sticks next to them are Clover Chaco Liners. They’re full of a fine chalk powder, and a tiny grooved wheel in the tip lays down a thin line of chalk as you run it across the fabric. These are great because you’re not dragging a tip along a stretchy fabric; it rolls along it, so you can get a more precise line. I drew a little arrow on the tip to remind me which direction it should travel. It comes in a number of colours. Next are white, pink, and blue versions of the Sewline Click Chalk Pencil. They’re basically what they sound like, thin clickable pencils but with chalk instead of lead. (By the way, the price at that link is ridiculous; you should be able to find them much cheaper than that!)

I think I have five or six of these puppies. I just love them. I do a lot of pattern cutting at my computer, so I have one there, one on my cutting/gluing table, and another on my leather worktable. Since the gooseneck is magnetic, I also attach little notes to them with magnets. You can also get the lamp in a number of colours and configurations. For example, there’s a clip-on and a floor-based model. On my cutting/gluing table, I have the Nävlinge on one side, and the gorgeously retro Ikea Forså on the other side (except mine is a lovely mint colour.)

I was at an office supply store and saw these silicone bookcovers in the clearance section, marked down to almost nothing. I guess nobody bought them at back to school time! (I certainly wouldn’t have; can you imagine how weird your books would feel wrapped in these?) I saw another use for them though. They’re basically just thin sheets of silicone, so I cut them into a variety of sizes, and use them occasionally when I’m gluing things. Sometimes I lay them on top of the glued item before putting the cast iron weight on them, to prevent sticking. Sometimes I use them as a sort of nonstick dropcloth to mask off an area I don’t want to get glue on. They can also be used to wrap around an area where I want to use clips or clothespins to hold something in place as the glue dries.

Tools of the Trade

Day Eight: Big Iron Weight

When I’m gluing my plate stacks together (the layers of vinyl that make the applique designs on the mask), I like to make sure they lay flat so the glue can set nicely. I used to just use big books and whatnot, but then came up with the idea of using a heavy hamburger or steak press; it would be easy to move around and more convenient than a stack of books. I looked around, but everything I found had ridges on the bottom, to make those grill marks people like on their meat.