GB2443106A - Craft kit - Google Patents

Abstract

A craft kit is provided in which a number of strips of material 14 such as fabric, ribbon or cord are attachable and arrangeable on a substrate 10 to create a picture with the strips simulating pen or brush strokes. The strips are retained in position by retaining elements 13 mounted on the substrate. The substrate may have a fabric or other material 11 applied to its surface. To produce a piece of artwork an image is superimposed on the substrate using a template 12, holes are drilled into the substrate at positions marked off by the template, retaining elements are mounted on the substrate in the holes and material strips are threaded through the retaining elements. The retaining elements may be rotated in their holes to enable changes to be made to the image being created, and allow relatively wide material strips to be used which add texture and three dimensional form to the image.

Description

Improvements in craft kits This invention relates to craft kits.

According to the invention there is provided a craft kit for producing artwork using one or more lengths of flexible material such as strips of fabric, comprising a plurality of retaining elements each of which is attachable at a point on a substrate and each of which is capable of holding a said material length at that point, the material lengths being threadable between selected ones of said retaining elements whereby to form a representation in which the material lengths appear imitative of pen or brush strokes.

By way of example, various embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures la to le illustrate the basic elements that make up a form of craft kit according to the invention, Figures 2a to 2h illustrate the various steps involved in producing a piece of artwork from the craft kit of Figure 1, and Figure 3 illustrates a modified form of the craft kit illustrated in Figure 1 A craft kit according to the invention comprises a number of elements, which are seen in Figures Ia to le. These elements include a substrate 10 made of wood, metal or other suitable material (Figure 1 a), onto which a fabric or other surface material 11 may be applied (Figure Ib). This front surface may be made of solid material, such as plastic, wood, metal, marble, glass or resin.

The substrate 10 may be fixed to a frame to form the base of a tray. A template 12 carries a representation of the picture to be produced (Figure ic).

This may be a physical template or a CAD file which clearly describes the image to be created. The template may include colours and show the position where a number of retaining elements 13 (Figure id) are to be mounted on the substrate 10 within the composition of the image. These retaining elements 12 may take a number of different forms, some of which are illustrated in the enlarged detail of Figure Id. Finally, there are a number of strips of material 14 such as fabric, ribbon, cord and the like (Figure le).

The purpose of the retaining elements 13 is to hold the material strips 14 in position on, against or adjacent to the substrate 10. They are also designed to enable the material strips 14 to be threaded between the various retaining elements 13 during the making of a piece of artwork, as will be described in more detail below. In their simplest form, the retaining elements 13 may be screw eyes, which are screwed into holes in the substrate 10.

Figures 2a to 2h shows the steps in the production of a piece of artwork using the craft kit of Figure 1. First, the image 12 to be created is superimposed (manually by a physical template or by Computer-Aided-Design) onto the surface material on the substrate 10 (Figure 2a). Then, holes are drilled into the substrate at positions marked off the template (manually or by machine), as seen in Figure 2b.

Once the holes have been drilled or marked, the template is removed from the surface to reveal a mass of drilled holes or marks in the pattern of the template image (Figure Ic). The relevant number of retaining elements are then mounted on the substrate in these holes (Figure 2d).

The material strips 14 of fabric, ribbon, cord or the like are then threaded through the retaining elements 13 to create individual linear shapes (Figures 2e and 20. The positioning, colour and correct weaving of the material strips 14 through the retaining elements 13 is continually checked by referring to the original template design (Figure lc) which clearly shows the pre-designed layout of the linear shapes and their individual colours within the composition of the image. It may be preferred that the template design (Figure lc) offers a basic guide from which the user may be able to deviate and interpret his or her own variations in the weaving and formations of the material strips around the retaining elements.

It will be noted that the retaining elements 13 allow the material strips 14 to be applied to the substrate 10 in a variety of different ways. For example, the strip 14 can be loosely draped between the retaining elements 13 or strung tightly between them, depending on what is required for that part of the image or how the user wishes to create the look. Also, the strips 14 may be passed through the retaining elements 13 a number of times or wrapped around them or knotted. The overall impression created by the strips of material 14 extending between the various retaining elements 13 is of an artists pen or brush strokes.

A further feature of the retaining elements 13 in this embodiment is their ability to be rotated in their holes in the substrate 10. This has the benefit of enabling subtle alterations or tweaks to be made to the image being created. In a portrait picture, for example, a retaining element 13 at the corner of a mouth could be oriented upwardly to give the face a smiling appearance or downwardly to create a more sombre countenance. This ability to subtly alter the shapes within the composition gives the craft kit great flexibility and aids the potential for accuracy in creating the desired image.

Knots 15 which are tied to secure a material strip 14 to a retaining element 13 at the end of a linear shape can be placed at a preferred position on the retaining element. For example, the knot 15 may be pushed to sit somewhat under the retaining element 13 or it may be positioned at its mid-point (Figure 2h), allowing the material strip 14 to remain visible at this point, whilst substantially concealing the retaining element.

It will be noted that the retaining elements 13 allow relatively wide material strips 14 to be used, which can then be contorted. Irregular forms can be formed into different configurations, such as by folding, twisting, bunching and so on. The material strips 14 are constricted by the retaining elements 13 as they pass through them. This has the benefit of adding physical texture and three dimensional form to the image and a deeper, concentrated colour of line, as well as enhancing the character and style of the image.

The retaining elements 13 may be designed to hold the material strips generally on or against the surface of the substrate 10 or spaced therefrom, not necessarily all by the same distance. It will be understood that the retaining elements 13 may take many different forms. They can comprise a closed loop, such as a screw eye, or have a more open configuration, in the manner of a forked or sprung clip. Also, as seen in Figure 3, the retaining elements 13 could be in the form of an eyelet mounted on a stem which simply push-fits into holes in the substrate.

Claims (6)

1. A craft kit for producing artwork using one or more lengths of flexible material such as strips of fabric, comprising a plurality of retaining elements each of which is attachable at a point on a substrate and each of which is capable of holding a said material length at that point, the material lengths being threadable between selected ones of said retaining elements whereby to form a representation in which the material lengths appear imitative of pen or brush strokes.

2. A craft kit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the retaining elements are attachable to said substrate such that their orientation is adjustable.

3. A craft kit as claimed in claim I or claim 2 wherein the retaining elements hold said material lengths at points spaced from the surface of said substrate.

4. A craft kit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each retaining element is capable of holding a plurality of material lengths (or a plurality of portions of a single material length).

5. A craft kit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the retaining elements are attachable to the substrate at selected points corresponding to the intended representation.

6. A craft kit substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.