How to use Loosie Fibers?

By: A Thousand Little Things

Loosie Fibers are the finest Mylar fibers manufactured. Use them loose or heat-bond them to create unique embellishments.

 

it’s Fringe-able!

 

Plain, un-altered Loosie Fiber can be used to create a soft, feathered, halo effect around your project. For best results, use a high tack tape adhesive like our Sticky Situations tape. Lightly touch the Loosie Fibers to the adhesive and pull away from the edge of the tape creating a soft fringe. Start with a small amount of Loosie, then add more as required.

 

it’s Fusible!

 

Use a Hot Mama non-stick sheet to fuse Loosie Fibers together to form a thin sheet of fiber. The result is similar to Gossamer or Mulberry paper.

 

Note: Some colors can be heat bonded together to form fabulous sheets of ‘fabric’ and some cannot. The following colors of Loosie Fiber can be heat bonded:

 

Butterfly Blue, Beauty School Drop-Out, Sky Blue, Peacock Green, Purple Flash, Lipstick Pink, Aurora Borealis and Mother of Pearl. Brown Flash, Red and Steel will not fuse.

 

The temperature required for effective bonding depends on several variables including how long heat is applied and applied pressure. Increasing time, pressure and heat may result in color changes in the fiber. For example, additional time and heat will make Peacock Green change to a lovely Copper-like patina.

 

Approximately bonding temperature is 225F (usually the silk, 2 or 3
setting on most irons). Since temperature gauges vary widely, it is best to test a small amount to determine your correct bonding temperature.

 

How to Fuse:

 

Place a small amount of fiber between two Hot Mama non-stick sheets. Preheat a dry iron to a ‘silk’ temperature setting. Do not use steam! Gently, with very little pressure, move the iron back and forth, checking the bonding process frequently. Caution: too much heat, time or pressure can cause color shifting in the fibers.

 

it’s Stampable!

 

Create interesting textured effects using a rubberstamp pressed into fused fibers. Ink a stamp with permanent ink, or leave the stamp uninked for a textural effect. For a crisp, dark image, use Staz-On; for a muted look use a permanent dye or hybrid ink instead. Position the stamp face up on a firm surface and place Loosie Fibers on the stamp image, cover with a Hot Mama non-stick sheet and iron as previously mentioned. The stamped image will be visible through the Hot Mama sheet once the fibers have fused. Cool the stamped fibers and cut out image to create an appliqué. If the finished inked
image is not dark enough, use a permanent marker or Slick Writer to fill in the image lines.

 

it’s Creatable!

 

Create custom colors by pre-mixing Loosie Fibers. Generally, fused Loosie Fiber will only adhere to itself; however, if non-fusible fibers
are mixed in with Loosie Fiber prior to fusing, they can become incorporated into the final fused ‘fabric’.