Explanation of Lace Techniques

BRAIDING:
A Braid (or Plait) is a complex structure formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material into a repeated pattern. A braid is usually long and narrow, with each component strand zigzagging forward through the overlapping mass of the others.

DEVORE ETCHING:
Devore is a French technique which creates ‘burnout’ areas on plant-derived
textiles when an etching acid is applied to the surface of the fibre in a pattern. The acid removes the fibres, creating a beautiful sheer area. The acid medium may be painted, stencilled or silk-screened onto the fabric.

DIE GRINDING:
A die grinder is a handheld power tool used to grind material such as metal, plastic or wood. They are either electrically or pneumatically powered. The cutting is done with a burr, bonded abrasive or coated abrasive. The name comes from their use in touching-up hardened steel dies.

DYE GRINDING:
A dye is either liquid or is soluble in its vehicle (such as water), resulting in a solution which binds to the substrate. The colour of a dye is called a pigment. Most of the pigments used before the Industrial Revolution were obtained from minerals such as yellow ochre, reds from various iron oxides, white from gypsum etc. The most expensive colours were blue and green, which were both obtained from precious stones (lapis lazuli and malachite). To release the colour for the dyer, the minerals were ground finely in a bronze or stone mortar, and then combined with liquid into which the textile to be dyed is immersed.

FORGED METAL:
Forging is the process by which metal is heated and shaped by applying a compressive force. Properties such as strength, ductility and toughness are much better in a forging than the base metal, and forgings are consistent from piece to piece. Forging also yields parts that have high strength to weight ratio.

JOOMCHI:
Joomchi is a paper felting process used to make extraordinary garments which can be worn, washed and worn again. They are traditionally produced in Jeonju, Korea .using a paper called Hanji, which is made from the bark of mulberry trees. As well as making garments from Hanji, the artists of Jeonju combine paper yarn with silk, linen or other natural fibres to make garments and innovative woven hangings and 3-D pieces.

KATAZOME:
Katazome is a form of paste resist surface design. Wherever the paste sticks to the cloth it prevents any colour from staining that spot. The paste is made from rice flour, and the patterns used are transferred by a traditional stencil made from mulberry paper treated with persimmon tannin and smoked to preserve it.

KATAGAMI:
Katagami is the traditional Japanese art of making paper stencils to use in Katazome printing. The resulting printed fabric is traditionally used in kimono making.

KIRIGAMI:
Kirigami is the ancient Japanese art of paper cutting. The designs are usually symmetrical, using patterns such as snowflakes or orchid blossoms. The three main rules of kirigami are fold, draw and cut; the kirigami artist keeps the image outline and cuts out the rest.

KIRYU ORI:
Kiryu ori is a traditional Japanese industrial art technique used for the production of textile items. Textiles woven in the traditional manner include:
Silk: High quality silk manufactured locally from the 10th C. includes silk crepe, horizontally and vertically woven brocade, raised pattern brocade, and gauze that is frequently used in layers for summer kimonos.
Wool: High quality close-weave woollen textile that is strong and soft.

LOST-WAX CASTING:
Lost-wax casting (cire perdu) is the process by which a metal sculpture is cast from an artist’s work. It is an ancient practice, used by the Ancient Greeks (Pliny mentions it), Romans, Indians, the Pre-Columbian civilizations, and in South East Asia.

OPEN SOURCE PROGRAMMING:
Open source programming is a language and environment for people who want to create images, animations and interactions. It is free to download and open source, uses 2D, 3D or PDF output, is suitable for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and windows and over 100 libraries extend the software into sound, video and computer vision.

OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING:
Oxy-acetylene welding is a type of welding that uses fuel gas and oxygen in two separate cylinders to weld metal. The use of gas and oxygen allows the flame to heat to around 3,500 degrees C. It is now used mainly in the production of Art metalwork, pipe and tube work and the glass industry.

PHOTO-ETCHING:
Photo-etching is a process to create line or tone in integrated circuits. The process is one in which patterns are formed using photoresist-covered substrates acted on by enzymes. The resulting photoresist is then exposed to ultra-violet light, and becomes a barrier that allows only the chosen part of the etched material to be etched. It requires precision tools as it involves a very intricate method of cutting and engraving metal.

PLASMA CUTTING:
Plasma cutting is the process that is used to cut steel and other metals of different thicknesses using a plasma torch. Inert gas is blown at high speed out of a nozzle, while at the same time an electrical arc is formed through that gas from the nozzle to the surface being cut, turning some of that gas to plasma. The plasma is sufficiently hot to melt the metal being cut, and moves fast enough to blow molten metal away from the cut.

POWDER COATING:
Powder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing dry powder. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to form a skin which is used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. It is mainly used for coating metals such as whiteware, and in the automobile industry.

SHIBORI:
Shibori is the Japanese term for several methods of dying cloth in which certain areas on the cloth are reserved from dying by various ways of binding or stitching. There are 6 main techniques:
Kanoko: commonly called ‘tie-dye’, where sections of the cloth are tightly bound with thread, creating a pattern of circles.
Miura: called ‘looped binding’: a thread is looped around each section twice and the resulting dyed cloth has a water-like design
Nui: called ‘stitched shibori’: a simple running stitch is used on the cloth then pulled tight to gather the cloth. A wooden dowel is used to pull the thread very tight.
Arashi: ‘Storm shibori’ where the cloth is wrapped on a diagonal around a pole, then very tightly bound by wrapping thread up and down the pole. Next the cloth is scrunched on the pole, resulting in a pleated cloth with a design on the diagonal.
Itajame: Shape-resist technique, where the cloth is sandwiched between two pieces of wood.
Kumo: ‘Spider web shibori’ is pleated and bound very finely and evenly. This is the most difficult and valued shibori.

THERMO MOULDING:
Thermo moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermo-plastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed and forced into a mould cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the mould cavity. Injection moulding s the most common method of production with some commonly made items including bottle caps.

TURRET PUNCHING:
Turret punching is a process that produces shapes by selectively removing material from sheet metal. These sheets are clamped into a machine that is programmed to move within a specific location within the matrix of the machine, the correct punch shape and size is selected at the turret, and the machine produces the required hole.