Hand-made Thread Winders

Extra Information

I mill the hard maple wood for the winders myself, so several passes through the planer to start with. I then hand-cut each one to shape and sand, before painting each one in the early 19th century style commonly referred to as ‘School Girl Style’.  Early in the 19th century, first quarter mainly, girls were taught this style of art~ painting on wooden furniture ~ tables and boxes and such, as part of their schooling. The design is HAND drawn on to each with India ink, using a quill or steel nib dip pen. This must cure for at least 24 hours, or it will just wipe right off when I go to paint them. The design is then painted with watercolours.  One of the unique aspects of painting with watercolours is that they are translucent, allowing the beautiful grain of the wood to show through the paint. Each coat is quite thin, and care must be taken with subsequent coats that the previous layer of paint is not brushed off, so a lot of skill is needed to tell how much water will allow the paint to flow, but also be dry enough to not lift the previous coats. These winders have between 8-10 coats of paint to get the depth I like.  Coats must be fully dry before painting, so this adds a lot of time. Once finished, I let them cure for at least 48 hours before finishing. Finishing must be vaporised, as brushing on a varnish or lacquer will wipe the paint right off, literally. They get at least 3 coats of lacquer, with sanding in between to achieve the finished effect.