Craft Articles

Marquetry is the craft of forming decorative patterns by covering a structure with veneer. Veneer is thin slices of wood; typically smaller than 1/8 inch in thickness. Marquetry evolved out of a much older craft known as inlay, where parts of a material are cut out and the space filled with sections cut out from a different material. Even though these two crafts differ quite a lot from each other, professional marquetry-makers were often referred to as inlayers during the 18th century. Marquetry designs that consist of a simple geometric pattern are often referred to as parquetry, since they resemble the pattern of parquet flooring.

The marquetry technique developed among Flemish cabinet-makers during the early part of the 17th century. It was based on Florentine inlaying methods known as opere di commessi were solid marble slabs were combined with fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This form of inlaying was known as pietra dura in England. The newly invented marquetry technique grew popular and rapidly spread from Antwerp and other Flemish towns to France where Versailles and other prominent royal residences were decorated by marquetry makers. Jean Henri Riesener is one of the most celebrated marquetry makers ever and has created such impressive pieces of furniture as the 1769 Bureau du Roi for the new Cabinet du Roi at the Palace of Versailles. Other notable marquetry makers are Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle.

Most marquetry makers use wood veneer, but ivory, mother-of-pearl and turtle-shell have also been highly popular. Today, the use of ivory and turtle-shell is limited since elephants and turtles are endangered animals. Fine metals can also be included, as well as pewter and brass. During the 18th century, the use of coloured straw was quite popular, and several spa resorts gained a reputation for their straw based marquetry.

The most basic form of marquetry makes use of no more than two sheets of veneer. The sheets are temporarily glued together and the marquetry maker will then cut them into pieces using a fine saw. This creates two panels identical in shape but contrasting in colour. In French, this technique is referred to as partie et contre-partie (part and counterpart).

Most hobby marquetry makers use a knife to create their marquetry. If you want to try marquetry, it is a good idea to obtain a good and suitable knife since this will make the work much easier. In addition to the knife, most hobby marquetry makers use clear adhesive tape, glue and sand-paper/wire wool. It is actually better to purchase cheap low-quality tape since this sort of tape tends to be less sticky than high-quality tape. Sealing the work using French polish or normal varnish is popular.

There are two major knitting techniques: weft knitting and warp knitting. Most craft knitters use the first technique and thereby create a fabric made up by horizontal parallel courses.

Warp knitting on the other hand create vertical parallel wales. Another important difference between the two techniques is that weft knitting requires only one yarn, while warp knitting requires one yarn for each stitch in the row. Warn knitting is often used for tricot garments and similar and is typically made by a machine. 

When you knit something, e.g. a pair of socks, you make the yarn follow a loopy path along its row. The loops of one row are always pulled through the loops of another row. If you would create a woven fabric instead, the strands would run straight horizontally and vertically. A hand knitting person usually starts by creating a base series of twisted loops on a knitting needle. This is known as “cast on”.

There exists several different methods for doing this, including knitting on, cable cast-on, single cast-on/simple cast-on, double cast-on, tubular cast-on and invisible cast-on. During the actual process of hand knitting, a second knitting needle is used to reach into each loop and retrieve a piece of yarn. The yarn is pulled back through the loop and thereby secured.
Knitted Egyptian and European fabrics are known from the 14th century, but the tradition may very well be much older than this. In 1527, the first knitting trade guild was formed in France and during this period of history professional knitting was a craft performed mostly by males. One advantage compared to woven fabrics is that a knitted fabric is stretchy in all directions. This has to do with the fact that there is no single straight line of yarn to be found anywhere in a knitted fabric. Knitted stockings grew highly popular during the 17th century since they would stretch around the leg and foot in a way that a woven piece of garment could not. Britain began to mass-produce stockings and by the end of the 17th century over a million pairs of stockings was exported from Britain each year. Later on, elastic synthetic materials would be created and these inventions made it possible to create woven fabrics that were just as stretchy as the knitted ones.
When the knitting machines were invented, the use for professional hand knitters decreased rapidly. Today, knitting by hand is performed as a relaxing and creative craft and a majority of the knitters are female. Knitting can be a highly social activity since it is possible to create hand knitted fabrics while chatting, watching over children etcetera. During the 21st century, hand knitting has enjoyed a revival in modern societies and a lot of urban, young professionals of both sexes are rediscovering the joys of hand knitting. Knitting by hand has become a way of expressing a creative side while relaxing your mind and relieving mental stress.

Model Earth

Planet Earth consists of four different layers. There is an inner core, an outer core, a mantel and a crust. By following the recipe below, you can make your own edible model of our planet. Before you start making your own little Earth, it is important to learn how deep each layer should be in comparison to the other layers. The earth’s crust is only 20 miles deep while the mantle is over 4,000 miles deep! The outer core is 2,200 miles deep and the inner core is 800 miles deep.  

You will need:
One clear glass bowl with a 10 inch diameter
4 bowls to mix your ingredients in
A plastic bag
Utensils to stir things with

8 oz. pkg. black cherry gelatine dessert
4 oz. pkg. raspberry gelatine dessert
4 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
Water according to the manufacturers instructions
(Some companies sell vanilla pudding that should be mixed with milk; in that case you will of course need milk too.)

12 graham crackers
½ cup of melted margarine
¼ granulated sugar

How to make an edible Earth desert:

1. Prepare black cherry gelatine and raspberry gelatine desert; each in their own bowl. Always follow the instructions from the manufacturer, since the exact instructions can vary somewhat between different companies. You may need to boil some of the water.
2. Prepare the vanilla pudding following the instructions from the manufacturer.
3. Place the three desert bowls in the refrigerator to set. This will take roughly 2 hours.
4. Place the graham crackers in the plastic bag and crush them into fine crumbs.
5. Melt the margarine and measure it to make sure that you have ½ a cup of melted margarine. 
6. Mix crushed graham crackers, melted margarine and granulated sugar in a bowl.
7. Press the graham mixture onto the bottom and along the sides of the 10” glass bowl to create the Earths’ crust. 
8. Take out the deserts from the refrigerator and spoon the black cherry desert into the graham cracker crust. Leave a pocket in the middle of the bowl. The black cherry desert will symbolise the 4000 mile deep mantle.  
9. Spoon vanilla pudding into the hole, but leave small hole in the middle. The vanilla pudding symbolises the 2,200 mile deep outer core.
10. Spoon the raspberry gelatine dessert into the small hole. The raspberry gelatine dessert symbolises the 800 mile deep inner core.