FORT KENT, Maine — I have never considered myself a crafty person.
Perhaps I was in my youth when I pretty much peaked — somewhere between fingerpaints and anything involving glitter-covered pasta art.
So I was a bit hesitant when my friend Julie suggested we try a crafty do-it-yourself project here on Rusty Metal Farm that involved — of all things — rusty metal.
Truth be told, she had me at rust.
Julie is a fan of the social media site Pinterest — think a Martha Stewart-esque version of Facebook — where people share various arts and crafts ideas from cake decorating to floral design to brewing the perfect cup of coffee.
The idea, near as I can tell, is people post things they have done, seen, like or want to do as “pins,” which other people can then view, attempt, “like” or “not like.”
Among Julie’s favorite “pins” are anything to do with textiles and sewing, and while staying here on Rusty Metal Farm, she’s also kept an eye out for any rusty pins.
A few weeks ago, she struck gold. Rusty gold, to be more specific.
Several people out there in Pinterest-land have developed a method using rusty items to create amazing tie-dye effects on fabrics.
After looking at numerous photographs documenting the rust-to-riches projects, Julie and I decided we needed to give it a try.
For our fabrics she ordered three white silk scarves from Dharma Trading. For our rust, I threw open the doors to the Rusty Metal Shop, where we quickly filled a box with everything from old bolts and screws to fasteners and small, mysterious tractor parts.
From there, the process is relatively simple, if a bit messy.
The first step was to soak the scarves in white vinegar, which in addition to hastening the rusting process made the entire house smell like a pickle factory.
We then wrung the pieces of silk out and, amid much careful thought and consideration, wrapped the rusty items in the fabric, securing each with dental floss and twine.
The idea behind the dental floss, according to Julie, was it allowed us to wrap the fabric around the rusty items as tightly as possible, thus allowing silk and metal to come into greater contact with each other to produce more detailed designs.
Eyes watering and breathing through our mouths in a haze of vinegar, we wrapped, tied and wrapped some more, before placing the two bundles of rust and fabric into plastic bags and adding more vinegar and sealing them up.
For the third scarf, we spread it out flat on a cookie sheet and placed larger rusty things on it before folding it and sliding it into a large plastic bag.
In theory, the rust from the metal would transfer onto and stain the fabric, creating unique, abstract designs.
After waiting the recommended 24 hours, we unwrapped the fabrics to see what all rust had wrought.
But first we had to get to it.
Remember all that dental floss? Good idea in theory, but, wow, was it ever hard to remove.
Once we finally got everything unwound, untied and untangled, we spread our pieces of silk out and were seriously underwhelmed.
All of that vinegar we had poured over the bundles before bagging them had turned into a pungent, rusty soup that stained everything a uniform dingy brown. There were very few actual rusty-object created patterns.
Disappointed, we turned to the fabric that had lain flat and were far more encouraged as the rusty items had stained it with all manner of interesting patterns.
Assessing the three pieces of silk, we decided to give it another try by laying all three pieces out flat and layering them with rusty items between folds, hold the rusty-vinegar soup and dental floss.
Into a large plastic bag they went for another 24 hours.
I’ll confess to being a bit skeptical the second time we unwrapped our fabric, given the unimpressive results the first time around.
Julie shared my doubts and was already planning the posts she was going to make to “Pinterest fails,” an online site documenting Pinterest projects ending in disaster.
Turns out, Pinterest fails is going to have to wait for another day.
After spending 24 hours with rusty items laying on top of them, each of the three scarves had become something wonderful with their own unique patterns and whimsical designs.
Rustomized, if you will.
We quickly doused each in a saltwater solution to stop the rusting process and then hand washed them in a gentle bath of shampoo and conditioner.
The final step was ironing each one, which got rid of any wrinkles and quickly dried them.
We then spent the next hour or so modeling our new rusty metal creations to each other, Corky-the-Shusky and the Rusty Metal chickens.
While Corky and the chickens were largely unimpressed, Julie and I were over the moon with our new scarves, each looking very much like a sort of rusty Rorschach test.
We were so happy, in fact, we already are planning bigger and better projects using bigger and better rusty metal.
Given the amount of rusty things here on the farm, there really is no limit to where our creativity can take us.
I wonder if Dharma Trading makes fabric big enough to cover a rusty tractor?
Julia Bayly of Fort Kent is an award winning writer and photographer, who writes part time for Bangor Daily News. Her column appears here every other Friday. She can be reached by email at jbayly@bangordailynews.com.
