Thread: veil fans with split ends?

so i ordered some veil fans from someone on ebay and they arrived today with raggedy split ends..they didnt bother to trim the loose threads off. i suppose it's extra to hem them

is this the norm? this is the first pair i've bought (i bought white to see if i can dye them while attached to the staves..it will end up coloring the staves but thats no biggie

They don't have hems because it affects the float - a lot more than with normal veils. I trim the loose threads off mine fairly regularly, I guess eventually they will just disappear!
I'm looking forward to see how your fans turn out, do you plan to steam them as well?

Originally Posted by jesennia

so i ordered some veil fans from someone on ebay and they arrived today with raggedy split ends..they didnt bother to trim the loose threads off. i suppose it's extra to hem them

is this the norm? this is the first pair i've bought (i bought white to see if i can dye them while attached to the staves..it will end up coloring the staves but thats no biggie

They don't usually arrive that way, but they can get that way with a lot of use. Part of it depends on the supplier as well - I have fans from different suppliers and some of them are a much looser weave of silk. Those get threads after every flip of the fan. The higher quality silk ones don't tend to fray as much, but after a few performances you may have to trim the edge if you see any threads. (and if you see any threads always trim them - if they get caught on a costume, it can ruin the fan and probably be a weird thing to try to perform through)

Some dancers do use a product called fraycheck or fraystop on the edge, but I haven't yet as my main performance sets don't seem to fray as much. My white fans do seem to fray a little more than my dyed fans, so there may be something in the dye process that makes them hold a little better.

Have fun!!

Hmm, based on the title I thought maybe you were talking about a new style of fan veils with a split, making each fan veil "double" or something. Or a triangle cut out to make two points on the end. Could be interesting...

OH DAMN - Akai veil fans. That's bad news. Bad, bad news. Don't anybody tell my husband ...

Can I get on the waiting list for Hummingbird and Sunrise Merkaba? ;-)

Originally Posted by steffib

OH DAMN - Akai veil fans. That's bad news. Bad, bad news.

..l;,..l;,..l;, i had that exact same thought --- "uh oh..."
been wanting fans for a while, the only things holding me back was 1) poor color choices and 2) i kept wishing the wood was the same color as the veil...

yeah i've seen the color choices and havent been too excited about any of them ..the ones i ordered seem short to me but maybe that's how they are? i guess any longer and they would get tangled.

and if the norm is to make them and advise dancers to trim the edges then so be it :)

does anyone care if the staves are dyed too? i'd much prefer to order them already attached to the staves as i can't imagine sitting still long enough to glue them on (shudders)

what is the average price point for what's on the market right now?

probably wont be doing any until after the holidays since my wisdoms will be removed in jan:)

oh and the staves dont stay open..is that normal too?

thanks dancers, must research! :)

1. I am OK with staves au naturel. In case of unbearable pain on the eyes, I have a sharpie ;-) Sure, it would be cooler to have tastefully colored staves and ceteris paribus, it would be a sales argument, but I care a lot more for the color of the silk.

2. I enjoy dancing with the relatively short fans. That may be me, but it allows for playing with them without entaglement. (I should add - I didn't have any instruction, so what I am doing is very unacademic.)

3. I paid $25 for a lonely, last-of-its-kind multi-colored single at Pennsic and $50 for a navy blue set on sale from Sherazade imports at Rakkasah. I felt both were good buys.

4. I would probably prefer the option of getting singles, not just pairs. I like dancing with one, using it more like a fan.

5. Very soft floaty silk is good with veil fans. (In contrast, very light regular veils and I do not get along - the fan construction makes a difference.)

Originally Posted by jesennia

yeah i've seen the color choices and havent been too excited about any of them ..the ones i ordered seem short to me but maybe that's how they are? i guess any longer and they would get tangled.

and if the norm is to make them and advise dancers to trim the edges then so be it :)

does anyone care if the staves are dyed too? i'd much prefer to order them already attached to the staves as i can't imagine sitting still long enough to glue them on (shudders)

what is the average price point for what's on the market right now?

probably wont be doing any until after the holidays since my wisdoms will be removed in jan:)

They come in a few different lengths, most common is 1.5 meters and 3 meters. I dance a lot with the 3m/10' versions.

The price point is wildly variable as is the quality. You can buy the fans for as little as $10 for a pair of 1.5m or as high as $80. The quality ranges from "hey! this isn't silk and it fell apart when I opened it!" to "this is awesome and I'd love a veil like this."

I don't mind if the staves are dyed or not, but the glue used on a lot of the fans is water soluble, so be aware that the silk may fall off if it gets wet.

:)

Originally Posted by jesennia

oh and the staves dont stay open..is that normal too?

thanks dancers, must research! :)

You have the option of keeping them as open/close or switching them to open only by glue/staples, etc. They will not stay open (due to drag and weight from the silk) without the dancer actively holding them. Personally, I keep all of mine open/close available which means you have to get used to holding them open while dancing and switching from open to closed. It also helps a lot for transport. Some dancers prefer to lock them open - in general that is something that dancers do on their own after receiving the fans.

noted and thank you! Mahsati i cant wait to have an hour of alone time to watch your veil fans dvd

ok one more question how does everyone feel about attach your own staves? i can easily get my hands on some. but glueing them is nothing that excites me. selling the raw materials of staves and dyed silks would make their price more affordable but there would be a small amount of DIY's involved

(it would be much much much easier to dye the silk without the staves attached, i took a look at it a bit ago and having the staves already attached during the dye process will be a ***** unless i dip dye them but i dont like dip dyeing

Originally Posted by jesennia

noted and thank you! Mahsati i cant wait to have an hour of alone time to watch your veil fans dvd

ok one more question how does everyone feel about attach your own staves? i can easily get my hands on some. but glueing them is nothing that excites me. selling the raw materials of staves and dyed silks would make their price more affordable but there would be a small amount of DIY's involved

(it would be much much much easier to dye the silk without the staves attached, i took a look at it a bit ago and having the staves already attached during the dye process will be a ***** unless i dip dye them but i dont like dip dyeing

I would be willing to attach my own but would be worried that the glue might not work without messing up the dye. Do you have any thoughts on the best glues to use?

am happy to experiment..i need to go to the craft store tomorrow for a fabric pen so i'll see if they have fabric glues :)

I am fairly DIY, but I am not sure whether attaching the silk to the fans skeleton myself is the best idea. On mine, it seems as if there is more going on than just a piece of silk glued to the staves. There is some sort of backing/interfacing at the section that is attached to the staves.

Now, this is not because I am opposed to the idea per se: I am in fact planning to make my own dance fans (after a workshop with Onca from Asheville last weekend). For those, one can glue thicker fabric to the staves, which I can handle. I just have to wait for the neighborhood store to get big tai chi fans back in stock. That, btw, would be a fabulous project, too - heavy chameuse would be heavenly on those dance fans. (Just thinking aloud here.)

Anyways, it is the specific technique required for the fan veils with 5mm silk that scares me.

Hope my rambling makes sense ;-)

OK, I took "research towards future toys" as an excuse to go upstairs play with my fan veils a bit ;-)

I found - at the "fan" part, where the silk is attached to the staves, there seem to be two layers of silk that are glued together to form a more sturdy paper-like structure. One layer is fan shaped at the back, the other layer continues into the veil part and is at the front. The glue-together is very nice and smooth. I am very sure that duplicating this at home will not be easy, if not impossible.

As for "staying open", I want mine to be closable, so that I can close and open it for different effects when dancing. I would like to have my staves to be relatively sturdy, again, so that I can close and open.

Can't wait to see what comes out of this!!!

in my opinion,
having the staves dyed with the silk would be perfect, cos that's what i'd really want (having the staves blend into the silk). i find it so much prettier when the staves aren't that visible, when the wood color doesn't contrast with the silk color.

i'm quite a DIY gal but i don't like fiddling with delicate stuff much lol. also i like to practice before doing the 'final version' of whatever. so i probably wouldn't be too happy with trying to glue silk lol

oh, and i also want my veils to be closeable! it's part of the un of veils, being able to play with the different effects

alrighty i'm gonna fiddle and see if i can come up with an easier way to dye these suckers once they are already attached to the staves..maybe some kid will come over and glue them :) nah i should be able to order them already attached..the pair i received seem decent enough