Stainless Steel for Modern Crafts

Above is a bud vase of glass and stainless steel screen.  The screen is so fine that it looks like gray silk.

Are there crafts for people who live in modern digs?  Yes.  Think steel.  Or specifically, stainless steel screen.  Having seen items made of this material in high-end shops, I wanted to try my hand at making them.  Tall Husband sourced a local company that would sell me small rolls of differing gauges of screen, which are usually used for industrial applications.

For the above bud vase I used:

• An inexpensive bud vase with waited bottom
  
• 38 gauge stainless steel screen
  
• Rubber gloves (working with steel screen is like working with fiber glass...it cuts your skin.)
  
• Jewelers shears for clean, straight cutting of the steel
  
• Metal ruler for measuring and making/pressing hem
  
• Pencil for marking cutting and folding lines

After marking with pencil, cut a square of stainless steel screen, while wearing gloves; then hem the edges by folding over a quarter of an inch; then fold that hem over again, as you do not want to leave any raw edges, for they are dangerous.  Next, make small diagonal pleats to the square...think Fortuny fabric.  Hem a steel strip for tying the pleated square onto the bud vase.  Finally, center the bud vase in the middle of the pleated steel square and gather and tie in place, as in photo above.