Friday, May 6, 2011

Pistachio Nut Shell Hair Falls

If you'll recall last post when I mentioned making something with my dyed pistachio shells, I finally have some pics of what we did with some of them.



I made a pair of hair falls for my tribal bellydance outfits. Granted this pair doesn't really contain many colorful ones, I do plan to make some with more of them. I just wanted to experiment first. Daughter is still planning a bracelet, but we haven't got to it, yet.



The general construction for these falls was inspired by a great tutorial by bellygoddess. The same tute is also available here. The main body of the fall with all the shells is "macrame'd" in square knots while the top and inbetween portions are braided in a 4-strand round plait. I used some beads and scraps of yarn I've kept.



In a close-ups you can better see the orange-ish dyed shells I sewed on as an after thought. I wrapped the transitions with a rose colored embroidery floss.



The tassels are just extra yarn bits. Yes, I keep all the tiny bits of yarn even. They come in handy for this stuff. :) And, those tassel caps are from an old jacket's pull strings. :)



I also managed to finish a pop tab fall I'd started probably last year. It's kind of a sampler to see how I should weave the tabs in. You can see more about this one and future tabistry hair falls on my other blog devoted solely to tabs at tabistry.blogspot.com.

7 comments:

The Cardboard Crafter said...

What kind of tool do you use to put holes in the pistachio shells so you can lace your yarn through them?

mieljolie said...

Oh geez, TCC, I overlooked that part. :) Sorry 'bout that.

On the first few shells I just used a skinny round file (about the size of the average awl) to bore out the hole mostly to get the placement right. However, I'm lucky enough to have a small drill press attachment for my dremel tool. So, I resorted to using it to drill most of them. Not sure the exact size, but it's definitely smaller than an 1/8th of an inch. Used the same file, or a toothpick, to poke two strands of worsted weight yarn through.

Mieljolie

AJ Blanton said...

That is so beautiful. And what a fabulous way to use the shells.
AJ

mieljolie said...

Thanks, Lilac! I like how they turned out. Can't wait to wear them. I'll try to get some action shots.

Have a Great Mother's Day Weekend!

Mieljolie

Ladybarronmore said...

Came from DIY tribe.

I love love love these. I may just have to try it myself now... lol once I finish the project I bought the tabistry file from you for.

mieljolie said...

Hi, LadyB! Do try these! They were fun and not too terribly hard to complete. Just a wee bit of a time consumer, but sitting in front of a good movie helps. How is the tabistry going, anyway? I'm usually available to help, if needed. Hope you'll share you results with us.

Like I've mentioned, I have a set of pop tab hair falls almost completed. I've got one all strung/braided. Just have to finish a matching one and get some finishing touches done.

Mieljolie

Ladybarronmore said...

I've finally managed to collect enough tabs and now I just have to decide what type/color of ribbon I want to use. I'm thinking of starting with a tribal fusion belt. Nice straight lines. :)