What would a newspaper be? Another garbage clogging mailboxes. We throw newspapers in a bucket, sometimes without even opening or reading them. And many do not realize that this is an invaluable resource for masters engaged in weaving. A box of newspaper tubes, woven with your own hands, will serve as an indispensable thing in the house, as well as the original decor of your interior. In this article, we will get to know this type of needlework, such as weaving, and consider a master class on creating boxes of newspaper tubes.
Weaving Basics
Newspaper weaving is very popular today. A newspaper is cheap material, and often free. Weaving from newspaper tubes is easy, especially since they can be increased indefinitely by connecting with each other. The main thing is to properly process the finished product so that it is durable and lasts for many years.
Materials for weaving
Material for weaving can be any print media: color and black and white newspapers, glossy magazines, old books, brochures, booklets, office paper. Dense sheets hold corners well in square or rectangular products.
In addition, glue, a knife for cutting strips and a knitting needle are used in the work. It is advisable to wind the tubes with a number 2 needle - the larger the number, the larger the tube. The choice of size depends on the future product. For beginners studying weaving boxes of newspaper tubes, we recommend using a small knitting needle.
How to twist the tubes
For weaving boxes, caskets, baskets and other products, newspaper sheets curl obliquely. To create flat objects, you can rotate the part parallel to its edge.
Before cutting strips, you need to take a newspaper and deploy it. Sheets are cut across into 4-6 strips with a width of 10 to 15 cm. The density of the tube depends on the width of the strip. The magazine sheet is cut lengthwise into two parts. In the future, continuing to engage in weaving, you will understand what size tubes you like, and choose your own way of cutting newspapers. From the extreme stripes you get white tubes due to the light strip around the perimeter of the publication, from the middle of the newspaper - colored.
In order to properly weave a box of newspaper tubes, the needle must be placed on the corner of the paper piece not parallel, but obliquely, observing a rotation of about 30 degrees. Having bent a corner under the knitting needle, we begin to gently wind the strip, holding the newspaper with your left hand. We twist the tube tightly, trying not to change its size. It is noticed that after creating the tube, one of its ends is slightly wider than the other. Convenience lies in the fact that when building, it is convenient to place the thin end of the next tube in the wide - previous one. If the parts are smooth, then in this case the end of the tube can be bent along and also inserted into the hole of the previous part.
The process of painting tubes with stain
A box of newspaper tubes will be more effective if they are first painted in natural colors similar to the color of the vine, tree or grass. For painting, you can use stain, color, green paint, hair dye, iodine or food coloring. Capacity and rubber gloves are also needed. Some craftsmen paint the tubes vertically, someone horizontally - depending on what you have in the house. A tray can be a long tray of flower pots, which are mainly located on balconies. It can be a 5-6-liter bottle, which is placed on a barrel and a share hole is cut, creating the shape of a boat. Or any vertical container in which you can put the tubes for staining. If you do not want to stain the tray, cover it with plastic wrap, and then proceed with staining.
Boxes of newspaper tubes, photos of which are shown below, are painted with a water stain. The desired color can be achieved by diluting it with water. Put on rubber gloves, pour a little stain into the pan and place the straws in it. Next, gently scroll and lightly crush them, immersing completely in the liquid. Do not hold the parts for long, otherwise they will get wet. After painting, remove the items and place them in a prepared place for drying.
Paint the tubes with paints
For staining tubes, you can use acrylic paints. Acrylic is colorful and gives the product a glossy shade. To achieve a certain shade, acrylic paint is diluted with water to obtain the desired consistency. Acrylic after application dries for at least half an hour.
From watercolors silver or bronze will look very impressive.
The gouache used is also diluted with water to a semi-liquid state. Before staining, the main colors can be mixed, achieving a certain shade. Orange is obtained by mixing red with yellow; violet - red with blue; pink - white with red. A brown tint will be obtained when black paint is added to the main colors. Adding white will give a gentle shade.
Paint on newspaper tubes can be applied with a wide brush or foam sponge.
How to strengthen the product
A finished box of newspaper tubes will be stronger if primed. The liquid penetrates deep into the product, forming a strong film. The primer increases the durability of the material and strengthens it from the inside. Thanks to it, the subsequent coat of paint lays well on the surface, reducing its consumption.
To obtain a primer, you need to mix acrylic paint and PVA glue in a ratio of 1: 1. The product should be primed several times with a break for drying each layer. If you used white acrylic, then after the primer the box can be painted in any desired color. And you can add a little color of the desired color during the dilution of the composition. The primer should be started with a wide brush, in hard-to-reach places - with a thinner tool. The primer will seal the product, and acrylic will fill the typographic font.
Types of weaving
There are many ways that a box of newspaper tubes and other products are weaved. Let's consider some of them.
- Simple weaving. When working, an odd number of braided tubes is used. The part, which braids the workpiece, alternately bends around the vertical tubes in front and behind, rising to the desired height. The tube grows in the process.
- Layer weaving. In this method, two more parts with a 45 degree slope are glued to the back of each base duct, which braid the adjacent right duct in front, the next back.
- Weaving with a rope. This method involves weaving with two tubes. The first is glued from the bottom of one rack, the second is from the bottom of an adjacent rack. The tube on the left is laid behind the third rack, the second tube is also laid behind the third from its rack. As a result, one is behind the counter, the other is in front of it.
The remaining methods are used by experienced masters.
Simple weaving boxes
A rectangular box of newspaper tubes is woven easily. By the method below, even a beginner can weave it. Cut out two small rectangles of the desired size from cardboard and prepare a couple of hundred newspaper tubes. Glue the twisted sticks to the cardboard at the same distance, starting from the corners. Cover with a second piece of cardboard, smeared with glue, giving the bottom a beautiful look. We will braid each side of the future box separately. Having fixed a new tube between the cardboards, we begin to lay it in a simple weaving way. Gradually build up the tube, braiding to the desired box height. After weaving, we cut the newspaper thread and hide between the rows. The ends of the main struts are bent inwards and also hidden in weaving. Repeat the procedure with the other parties.
After the sides of the box are woven, they need to be joined. To do this, take new newspaper tubes and connect them on the sides, passing a paper thread between the rows. A square box of newspaper tubes can be woven similarly.
Learning how to weave boxes in a simple way, you can move on to more complex and original products, decorating your home and emphasizing its individuality.