1. Sticks and steam it in hot water and allowed to stand 10-20 minutes until the stems are soft. Time soak the straw in hot water depends, as mentioned above, the limitations of the material storage and from grain. Longer soaking require rye and wheat. Barley and oat straws, especially made at the beginning of summer softens very quickly: it can be sprinkled with water, wrap in a damp cloth and give a little lie down. The master should control the degree of readiness of the material.
2. A straw tube is split with a knife or scalpel along the fibers (figure 3.1).
3. A straw unfold in the fingers and carried to the inside of the knife edge from the middle to one side 10-15 times, then to another (figure 3.2). Hold the straw pinched between thumb and knife edge. The decorative layer is in contact with the finger.
There are a few signs of willingness straw ribbon. Ready straw tape is not curled into a tube. It's free curls in a ring with a diameter of 7-12 cm
Get a straw tape and in other ways. Spread the straw route between the knife blade and a piece of wood. First tape the decorative layer is placed on the bar. The knife is held at an angle of about 30 °, blade to yourself. The hand holding the tape moving, and the hand with the knife. Movement, as in the first case, starts from the middle of the length of the straws first in one direction, then turning the straw on the bar — in the other direction (figure 3.3). The tape is smooth, this procedure should be done several times on the reverse side and complete the alignment from the front side. Instead of a knife you can use the rounded handle of the scissors.
The easiest way of getting a straw tape is proglazhivanie is not very hot iron. However, in this case not always it turns smooth tape surface, as the layer that touches the iron, quickly dry out and can crack. Very often these defects appear on the rye straw from the lower parts of the stem due to the large thickness of the walls.
It is possible to avoid soaking the straws in the preparation of straw ribbons. Before splitting the straw, blow through it in a few seconds, first one end, then the other. After this laminate along a straw and flatten one of the above ways. Despite the fact that during leveling will be the straw crackled, the ribbon work is very good quality.
If straw tape has a greater thickness, the items made from it, will noticeably protrude from the surface look rough and General view of the composition deteriorates. Therefore, when it is necessary to use a thick straw, with tape it is best to partially cut the internal overly thick layer of phloem (figure 3.4). Prepared the tape is laid on a solid, level surface decorative layer down. A scalpel or a knife at an acute angle, almost parallel to the surface of the tape, begin to cut thin shavings of the inner bark, the part of the layer remains on the tape, the part is removed. If you remove all the phloem, the tape becomes translucent and through it will Shine background, and this may significantly deteriorate the color balance of the composition.
In geometric appliques set of compositions is a large number of equal-sized elements. All the elements were equal to the required sizes, ribbon gauge in one width. For producing strips of equal width, with dub on a wooden bar with a knife or a needle. The tape is pierced with the tool approximately in the middle length, from the decorative layer, and a sharp movement to stretch it to the edge along the grain. Then repeat the movement to the other end of the straw tape. Calibration can be made very simple tool by: the tube at a desired distance from each other to secure the two needles, the ends of which are put on one level. Straw tape, in its Central part, placed between the needles and stretch first to one edge then back to the middle, to the other. To get the ribbon into several thin strips of equal width, the tube can be mounted, not two, but a greater number of needles at a desired interval from one another. In this case, get multiple calibrated straw ribbons.