Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Messy wire lace
- 29 November 2011
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I call this lace because I use pins to guide the wire sections together- almost like you do when making lace.
Draw the Christmas stocking shape on a large sheet of paper.
Tape the drawing of the stocking on to a sheet of Polystyrene
Press pins securely into the outline shape.
Tie the fishing line between the pins and secure with double knots
Continue stringing the line and knotting all the cross sections in a messy lace pattern
Add sections of wire with curled tendrils to the stocking lace. This will help the stocking keep its shape.
Unpin the shape and secure any loose ends with wire and make another shape in mirror image
Connect the two shapes with sections of wire
First tie the back, then the sole and lastly the toe and up the front of the stocking
The wire frame for the stocking is ready to decorate. It is surprisingly sturdy.
Remove the growth medium (or wooden chips) and condition the Phalaenopsis orchid roots. For my design I used 3 plants. Start to weave in the roots making sure each section is secure.
The roots add dimension to the design and keep the puffed out shape of the stocking to fill.
Glue in tiny ice pellet beads to add sparkle (and frost) on the orchid roots
Lastly, as always, I add tiny glass tubes to fill with water for my frost green cymbidium orchids
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Tutorials
How to condition Orchids to use as plants in an arrangement without placing the roots in a growth medium
Curl the wire at irregular intervals to create a natural wire tendril similar to that of a passion fruit plant
Related Designs
I used wire, fishing line (mono-filament) and Phalaenopsis orchid roots to make a messy lace Christmas stocking and dressed the stocking with frost green Cymbidium orchids
My bag was woven from re-purposed wire and recycled fishing line and tiny stems of growing sweet pea plants and orchids
Glue the most delicate twig table top Christmas tree
A wire Christmas star with a secret plan to hide the twinkle
Celebrating my book launch by knotting floral mittens using the design Tutorial from my book and the template from the free gift template booklet.
An almost Christmas... Christmas wreath featured in the winter edition of Flora Magazine.