Evolon cuff bracelet. Part 1: The design

I've been wanting to use Evolon® in my artwork since I first heard of it years ago. Unfortunately, it hasn't been easily available in the United States, so I jumped when I had the chance to participate in the C&T Publishing Creative Troupe Call-out to create a project with it. 

First, what in the world is Evolon? The manufacturer, Freudenberg Nonwovens, describes it as "a unique microfilament fabric combining very good textile and mechanical properties. Like traditional microfiber, it is soft, drapable and light, but it is also at the same time very strong."

It comes in two weights: Regular and Soft. For the call-out I got a 20 by 36 inch sheet of the Regular. It feels divine, with a rich, soft suede-like texture. Like Lutradur, it doesn't tear or fray, making it much easier to use for many art and craft projects than paper or woven fabric.

I wanted to make something that took advantage of the strengths of Evolon, and I love making jewelry with unusual surfaces, so I decided to try my hand at creating an Evolon cuff bracelet. I designed the cuff by making a blended digital collage with my photograph of a Julia Butterfly and my photos of the face of an old stopwatch and a fragment of an old metal measuring device. You can see the attached photos of the butterfly image, which will be the focal point of the design, and the two other images.

I started out by opening a 3 by 8 inch blank canvas on Photoshop Elements. I dragged the butterfly image onto the blank canvas and resized it to show most of the wings. I then dragged the other two photos onto the canvas and adjusted their placement and opacity. You can see the separate layers on the palette at the bottom right of the first screenshot.

I erased some portions of the watch layer, including the hands, because I thought they interfered with the design. See the screenshot with the watch. And I also attached a screenshot of the layer of the fragment of the old measuring device. It's a very small portion of the collage, but I liked the symmetry of the numerals with the numbers on the watch.

I'm printing a letter-sized sheet of Evolon, so I opened a new blank canvas and placed the finished collage onto it. I also duplicated and flipped the collage so I could make two cuffs, and added a smaller version at the bottom to fill the sheet. I attached the file so you could see the entire design.

In my next blog post I'll tell you about printing, assembling, and sewing the bracelet.

Oh, okay - George thinks I shouldn't make you wait to see the finished cuff bracelet, so I also attached a photo of it!

Have you ever heard of Evolon? Have you ever used it? I'd love to hear what you're doing with it, if so. In the US the only place I've found to buy it without paying international shipping charges is through Meinke Toy's website. They also sell Lutradur and other wonderful fiber art supplies, and are very helpful.

Click here to see the original post on my blog. And click here to see my artwork and photographs on my website.