Spread cloths? Argh!

[WolfyJames]

So far I only have one spread cloth. I use it when I use my decks anywhere but home, unless I know the person very well if it's someone's place. It's nothing too fancy I made with a Halloween design cloth that I glued on top of black felt. I find it practical on my side, with it I'm sure my decks will not get dirty.

 

[HearthCricket]

Once I bought my first one I got hooked. I love using them. But lately I have been frustrated with the ridges from folding. From now on I plan to iron them out and roll them up, holding them with a napkin ring.

 

[Morgane_49]

When I'm just doing a quick daily draw for myself, any clean surface will do.

But when I'm really trying to set the mood for a full on reading, I always use a spread cloth. I have two that I made.

One is bright colours, red silk with different coloured moons and stars on it. I use this one with all my decks except one!

The other is a black gauzy material (tulle, I think) and it has gold moons and stars on it...I actually went the whole nine yards with that one and sewed different coloured sequins all around the edge. This one belongs to the Deviant Moon deck!

I also made a large bag to hold my spread cloths, so they don't have to be folded up quite as much.

 

[Jaqueline]

Interesting thread - I'm a fiber artist & I do arts festivals/craft shows. I've always wondered if hand-painted silk would sell to be used for readings. My concern has always been that it would be kinda "busy", detract from the cards - I know what my fabric looks like - remember the word "psychadelic"?

At home I have a small table that is covered with an ornate cloth that belonged to my paternal grandmother. I really don't like the cards on a cold, hard surface.

 

[thorhammer]

I have a couple of spreadcloths that I made, but I rarely use them. I get so fed up with them always having cat hair on them! And I can't seem to get it off, or at least I get it off and then two minutes later it's back! Grr!

Also creasing drives me nuts. But faux suede does well here it's less likely to crease, and your cards kind of "stick" to it so they don't slide around so much.

I don't let silk anywhere near my cards unless it's any of the varieties of *vegan* silk. No boiled grubs' ghosts near my cards, thanks. Poor little grubs.

\m/ Kat

 

[Sulis]

I like plain cloths best because I think the cards really stand out well against a plain cloth.
I make double sided cloths in velvet / cotton, velvet / silk and I also do some patterned cotton ones but I make sure that one side is plain (usually black) to make the cards 'pop' .

 

[canid]

I don't let silk anywhere near my cards unless it's any of the varieties of *vegan* silk. No boiled grubs' ghosts near my cards, thanks. Poor little grubs.
\m/ Kat

No! Tell me it ain't so!

 

[thorhammer]

No! Tell me it ain't so!

Totally is.

If you google it, you'll find that "normal" silk is made by boiling the grubbies before they get 'emselves out, because when they get out they use a special secretion that basically slits the silk cocoon all the way down, ending up with a whole lot of short threads. If you kill the grubbie before it does that, you end up with one long, single thread, which gives the silk incredible strength and that gorgeous, living (ironically) sheen that it gets.

But tussah/vegan/peace silk uses the short fibres that are harvested after the grubs come out, and thus it has a slightly furrier texture and isn't quite as strong (but still much stronger than cotton, apparently). It's also got a kind of "halo" against the light, because of the many smaller fibres rather than one long one.

\m/ Kat

 

[canid]

Totally is.

If you google it, you'll find that "normal" silk is made by boiling the grubbies before they get 'emselves out, because when they get out they use a special secretion that basically slits the silk cocoon all the way down, ending up with a whole lot of short threads. If you kill the grubbie before it does that, you end up with one long, single thread, which gives the silk incredible strength and that gorgeous, living (ironically) sheen that it gets.

But tussah/vegan/peace silk uses the short fibres that are harvested after the grubs come out, and thus it has a slightly furrier texture and isn't quite as strong (but still much stronger than cotton, apparently). It's also got a kind of "halo" against the light, because of the many smaller fibres rather than one long one.

\m/ Kat

My God, am I naive or what? I just googled it before reading this. I always thought the little worms spun webs somehow & that's what was harvested, leaving the little guys to free-range happily ever after on the mulberry tree. I even considered getting some because we have mulberry trees. Well, just eff me.

 

[thorhammer]

My God, am I naive or what? I just googled it before reading this. I always thought the little worms spun webs somehow & that's what was harvested, leaving the little guys to free-range happily ever after on the mulberry tree. I even considered getting some because we have mulberry trees. Well, just eff me.

Nasty, huh?

You could still get 'em, though I don't think they're easy to keep, and if you plan on spinning you'll just have to use the discarded cocoons. Or you could boil 'em, if you wanted

\m/ Kat