I took a class taught by Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn (aka Double Trouble) a few months ago. I also had the pleasure of taking the class with my sister quilters, Aleeda Crawley and Dindga McCannon. We learned how to make our own fabric using water-soluble film and various fibers/yarns. We made small samples in class and then continued to experiment at home. I have to admit our samples were fierce! LOL
My Me, Myself and I art quilt was my first "real" experiment using their techniques. I first sandwiched sari yarn between a layer of Aquabond water-soluble film (bottom layer) and then covered with Solvay water-soluble film. Aquabond has an adhesive on one side so it was easy to lay the grid down. Once I had my sari yarn sandwich, I then proceeded to sew vertically along the grid which allowed me to connect the yarn. I then dipped this grid in water to dissolve the film.
After this was done, I took the sewn grid and layed it over a piece of felt I had covered with copper foil. I cut up some silk snippets and spinkled them over the top of the grid and machine quilted like crazy using metallic thread. The final touches included adding some scrap pieces of dupioni silk, 3 mask and a lot of beadwork.
Beaney and Littlejohn have written numerous booklets on surface design (including painting, bonding, distressing fabric, etc.) and embroidery techniques that are a must-read for quilters who want to create their own unique fabric.
(http://www.doubletrouble-ent.com./)
(http://www.quiltingartsllc.com/)