Here are step-by-step instructions which will show you how to make your own enamel threads in any color and in a variety of sizes.   Your design options with the commercially available small broken pieces of primary colors are limited, but now you will be able to invent completely new ways to use threads in your work.  I will also make a simple pendant demonstrating one way to use the threads, just to get you started.

 

Making Threads 

 

The basic technique is to melt enamel in a small graphite crucible and use tweezers to draw out the thread which will immediately cool and harden.  To make a long thin thread, make a long backward arc with the hand holding the tweezers.  A shorter slower movement will produce a shorter thicker thread.  The crucible’s thick walls hold the heat just long enough for you to get one pull, then back into the kiln it goes for reheating.  If you wait too long after you bring the crucible out of the kiln, you will not be able to make a pull.  You must set up a system so you can quickly and safely pull a thread.

 

 

 

Here are the materials needed for making threads:

           

Graphite crucibles (item 93699-3VGA at Harborfreight.com)

(Note.  The crucibles need to be tempered before you begin the     project. Follow instructions that come with the package.)

Stainless steel mesh 12” x 12” (item 2515-2 at Enamelworksupply.com)

Cutters

Four-point trivet #4 (item 2551-4 at Enamelworksupply.com)

Tweezers

Kiln

Firing fork

Firing rack

 

To make the crucible holder, cut a piece of stainless mesh to measure 4 inches x 7 ½ inches.  (This will fit a trivit which has a 3 inch x 3 inch platform.)  Remove and discard a ½ inch x 2 ¼ inch piece from each corner as shown below.  Wrap side extensions under the base of the trivet. Shape the upper part of the mesh around the crucible so it will not tip over. 

            

Fill crucible about two-thirds full with enamel and put in the holder.  Put the holder on a firing rack and use the fork to put in the heated kiln.  Leave in several minutes until the enamel is melted and the crucible is glowing.  Bring out the assembly and set it next to the kiln.  Immediately try a pull with the tweezers.  If you cannot pull a thread, either the enamel did not heat long enough or you brought it out of the kiln too slowly.  If enamel has stuck to the tweezers, carefully break it off (remember it is glass) and put the scrap back in the crucible.  Reheat for the next pull.  As you practice you will get a

feel for how to make long thin and short fat threads.

 Because it takes a bit of setup to do this technique, I would suggest getting a number of crucibles and spending several hours pulling

threads in a collection of colors that you think you might use.  Use opaque colors, because transparents tend to disappear.  The crucibles can be reused later to draw threads of the same color; just reheat and add more enamel if needed.  You may also want to keep the
crucible holder intact and ready to go.

This photo shows the range of thread widths that I pulled in black.

 

 

 

 

 Putting Threads to Use

 

 

Materials needed to make the pendant:

 

Copper oval

Sifters, 80 mesh and 200 mesh

Opaque enamels

Glass brush

Kiln and firing equipment

Lily root powder (item 2523 Enamelworksupply.com)

Small paint brush, alcohol, small container

120 grit Diapad hand lap (item 2573-1 Enamelworksupply.com)

200 grit Diapad hand lap (item 2573-2 Enamelworksupply.com)

Diamond wheel (item 111.661 Ottofrei.com)

Silver, torch, and metalworking tools to make pendant and to dome the oval

I domed a copper oval and sifted and fired several soft blue, green, and white opaques to provide a mottled background.  I then chose a wide, tapered gray-green thread to start the design.  When I tried to place it on the dome it teetered precariously and I knew immediately it would never survive a trip to the kiln. 

 

I use lily root powder as a dependable glue in a situation like this.  It burns away completely leaving no sign that it was there and it holds very securely.  To prepare it, mix a teaspoon of powder with just enough alcohol to wet it, then add water to make glue consistency.  Store in a small container.  Because it is organic you may find mold on it when you open it later; just remove the mold from the top and use what is underneath.

 

To secure the large thread in the picture I used a small paintbrush to put just a touch of lily root glue on the back of the thread where it balanced on the dome.  That was all it took to keep it from rotating or tipping.  The heat from the kiln made the thread collapse onto the dome exactly where I wanted it.  (If I had been working on a flat surface I would have held a thread in my tweezers, dipped it in a 50:50 mix of Klyr-Fire and water, and placed it in position to be dried and fired.)

 

I then proceeded to add several more gray-green threads and some cream threads, firing three more times. 

Here are the results.

 

 

The basic design is complete.  Now I will refine it.  Working under water and wearing plastic gloves so I don’t shred my skin, I used 120 grit, then 200 grit Diapads to quickly smooth out the relief left by the threads.  I find that these sponges with a durable diamond grit surface work faster than alundum stones and they are not as likely to leave grooves on domed surfaces.  The results are shown in the photograph below. 

 

I then wanted the threads to be softened to look more painterly, so I used a diamond wheel (again with water) to interrupt the edges and ends of the lines.  The wheel is shown in the picture above.  I find I
have much more “drawing” control with the wheel than with straight pointed diamond tools.  When I finished with the diamond wheel I cleaned the surface well with a glass brush.

 I then presifted some of my background colors to 200 mesh so I could use them to cover the burnout on the edges.  The 200 mesh grains stick better than the larger 80 mesh grains, so it is worth the extra step.  I sifted them over some diluted Klyr-Fire and did the final firing.

 

Here is the completed piece in a silver pendant.  You can see how I used the diamond wheel to modify the lines. 

 

                                  

 

If you have questions, post them here and I will try to answer.  And if you have any tips to add be sure to contribute them.  And if you try the technique post the pictures here to let us know how it went.   Have fun,       vera

Since I wrote this, I have made two more pieces using my handy-dandy homemade threads...so here they are:

I loved making the homemade threads. Vera the article is great.

I've made threads by a slightly quicker and somewhat dodgier method. I use a scrap of firebrick into which I have carved a small recess. Into this recess I place a lump of enamel. I then heat it with a torch until it incandesces, then touch the surface of it with a glass rod (this may be the hardest part to get), and pull a long thread. The thread length and diameter is a bit harder to control, as the temperatures will not be uniform, but when the thread cools enough, you can break it into workable lengths. I have also made what I call "candy cane" threads by placing two opaque lumps adjacent to each other in the recess and then twisting the thread as I am pulling it out. This take a bit of experimentation and will effect the diameter and length that you can pull, as it cools a bit differently. This also works with transparent enamels.

Tina, I'm so glad you added this. Definitely quicker and good for when you're not looking for a whole bunch of threads. I actually have a glass rod...I got it at a place that also sells those great 3M Diapads and a good selection of diamond burs. And the candy cane threads sound cool. I hope anybody else who has a way to do threads will add to this...