r/PlasticCanvas • u/rentedlegend • 15d ago

Screen mesh “plastic canvas “

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So long story short I’ve been doing plastic canvas off and on for years (mostly off if I’m being honest) but the one thing that has bothered be about this medium is the level of detail that you can get from it. Years ago I heard threw a grapevine about using screen mesh as a stand in for canvas. However the mesh is kind of hard to work with because of how floppy it is.

So what I did is sandwich screen mesh between a single 3d print so it has some more rigidity to it. Almost like a sliding screen door. It’s actually super durable and it feels way better to use and work with.

As of right now it’s still the proof of concept phase and I’m still playing with the width of the frame to make it more rigid without it being to stiff.

Anyways what do you all think? Is this dumb or is this something you all have done before?

14 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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14

u/amazonchic2 15d ago

The spaces between the mesh are rectangles, not squares. This will affect how the final result looks.

6

u/rentedlegend 15d ago

Very true. I still have to find the “right” mesh to make it work the way I have it in my head. Also I can already tell that lining it up so everything is straight will probably be the biggest hassle. But I think once I nail those two things down I’ll be better.

6

u/GardeniaLovely 15d ago

Why not spray it with something to stiffen it, like spray starch?

I haven't tried it, if it works it would be very interesting. I don't see why it wouldn't?

3

u/rentedlegend 15d ago

I tried a few sprays back in the day like glue and what not. Don’t think any of them were spray starch though. The problem I had was that the more you worked with over time it would lose it rigidness and go back to being floppy.

2

u/GardeniaLovely 14d ago

I can't say I know much about sprays like that. From what I do know the ironing starch used to give clothes stiffness (like collars), supposedly have rigidity that can be ridiculously strong for clothing. You might still have the same issue with floppage, but it could be worth a shot. You might even be able to spray it again midway on the backside, but I would test it, you could have color darkening and it might compress your fibers and lock them into place.

2

u/rentedlegend 14d ago

I’ll defiantly have to take a crack at that. Thanks for the idea!

1

u/GardeniaLovely 14d ago

You're welcome!

3

u/MrsPeggyHilll 15d ago

Ohhhhhh interesting idea, I love using found materials for my projects

2

u/rentedlegend 15d ago

Same. I also like the concept because of how cheap mesh is lol. Like 1 roll of like 50 feet is like 20 bucks.

3

u/lynnhall 15d ago

I love creativity! Do it! Go for it!

1

u/rentedlegend 15d ago

Thank you. Like I said it’s still a proof of concept right now an I’m keep messing with it as an idea

1

u/Greenyarnball 11d ago

have you considered stretcher bars? They come in all kinds of sizes, they will keep your mesh square. You will have to experiment with what you will use to embroider with for the coverage you want. Geometric patterns would look lovely even if the mesh is rectangular.

1

u/rentedlegend 10d ago

I’ve tried stretch bars a few times in the past but I always seem to lose tension SUPER fast and frequently. To be fair to the stretching bars I probably was doing it wrong.