how do you carve LACE...any suggestions?

[Thomp]

I have the need to carve a dance hall gal, with a lacy gurdle ect..
thinking if it wasent to hard to carve lace around top and bottom of her outfit i would try it.

as it is the gal is smooth skinned and could be nakid, or the clothing could be painted on.
and the lace might be worked like puff paint or something.??

the sexy pose, hands under hair, is different.

guess she will be barefoot, wearing flip flops wont work, ill have to carve them off.

ive carved the ruffled collar on small clowns with good results. but this lace or a simulairity will be a trick...

[rick-in-seattle]

As odd as this may sound, I spent several weeks last year in an effort to perfect lace carving. While several methods showed promise, none were completely successful.

Some of my best results came from using impression methods; this was my first style of carving many years ago. Another method was wood removal with tiny rotary burs; not nearly as clean or accurate. Probably the most consistent of all was a chip-carved method; using a very fine chip knife and very small chips and a magnifier.

Either way, you must design the lace, and that design must be consistent to give the proper effect. Also, the positive aspect of the lace must be fine while the negative may be quite coarse; this becomes clear when the finish is applied.

From my experience,
Keep the design simple.
Keep it shallow, especially if you go with a chip carved technique.
Woodburning is not a good choice; (poor results applying a finish to such a small burnt design).
Make the lace flow before cutting in any design; flat is flat.

Good luck

[Lynn O. Doughty]

I'm assuming those are her elbows???

Haven't done any lace before so can't help you. From the looks of the carving there is not much wood left for any clothing. Looks like you used a pattern where the girl was taking a shower or drying off. If so I would leave it at that. A dance hall girl would either be dancing with her hands holding her skirt up.....doing the Can Can or hanging off the bar.

[Thomp]

Naw no pattern, but did work hard on proportions, but i just scrawled her on a block of 2x2x6" basswood and scrolled out a blank... dont know how she came out that good. guess i quit soon enough...

Yep them are her elbows but i did have you looking though hAHA! shes got her hands under her hair... fixing to do a hair flip.
but she started out really busty now evidently not.

i was thinking painted on clothes.. maybe just putting on clothe? or puff paint.
but she has been put away in a cigar box till i can figure out what to do with her...

[Goody]

To piant it on find a piece of lace with a small pattern and use it as a stencil. You can either use a dry brush sponge or airbrush. I have used the airbrush method on motorcycle tanks.
Goody

[Thomp]

my thoughts were like this thing, i found on a dollhouse site in adult section...
but i could do a stencil if i could find something fine enough........

[rick-in-seattle]

Okay,
If you need a suggestion for clothing, why not a one-piece swimsuit?

That would fit with everything you have carved so far; I believe.

[Thomp]

as you can see lots of hair in back.. Aint that a mop!!!

but a paint on clothing might be the way to settel it once and for all..

thanks for the suggestions..

she was my first girlie to carve now i got that over its time to makle more it was funnnnn
i learned from this one lots of things,
1. you dont use a 1/4" gouge to open up the area between the legs of a women

[Marci MN]

For lace, how about buying some smaller 1/4 inch lace, dab a paint brush with your choice of color on the lace.. then press the lace to your gal? Like stamping?

Or maybe carve a design on a pencil eraser and press on your lace design? I say pencil eraser beacause its round..and could be like the lace above on that outfit. Each press is a scallop of that lace.

[Thomp]

I just used my v tool and made a bow, then a wigth like a wedding ring around her leg, then used the knife and removed a slight amount of leg surface then used v tool and cut across the ring, at verying wigths, it looks like accordian folds and should represent ok when painted with a light wash,,