It’s the last day of holidays and as it is such, I will not have a lot of time to continue my DIY projects and post them up =[ so for my last project (for awhile) that I’ll be showing you guys is how to create a decoration more widely known as “Glass Floats” or “Fishing Floats”. Basically it’s a glass ball (sealed) with netting around it. In the olden days they were used to keep fishing nets floating but now everyone uses plastic buoys so they are no longer in production (apart from replicas). Old glass floats can be (on occasion) found along the beach where they have been washed up – but these days they’re a collector’s item with each glass float able to fetch $50 to over $500 depending on size, glass condition, colour, etc.
Because perfectly round sealed glass balls are hard to come by I’m replacing it with a fish bowl! [clear]
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Materials:
- Fish Bowl (any size)
- Hemp or Cotton rope (thickness will depend on the size of the bowl you’re using)
- Scissors
- Tape
Method:
- Measure the diameter (widest point) of the fish bowl.
- Cut eight lengths of rope five times the length of the diameter [toggle title=”eg:”] If the fish bowl measured 10cm at it’s widest point, I will need 8 pieces of (10×5)=50cm rope. So in total I will use 400cm of rope. A smaller fish bowl is faster to knot up and also requires less rope but a bigger one has a visual impact that only several small bowls together can accomplish.[/toggle]
- Cut another piece of rope and tie it into a circle (the length of the rope will vary depending on how big the bowl is. Larger the bowl, larger the circle)
- Fold one piece of rope in half, place the circle of rope on the loop created by folding the rope in half, take the ends of the rope and push them through the loop. Repeat with the remaining seven pieces of rope making sure to pull tight enough so that all eight pieces are secure
- Tape the circle to the base of the fish bowl once all eight pieces of rope have been attached – make sure they are at even intervals to each other. (The following gets a bit complicated so refer to the diagram)
This diagram indicates to use nylon rope so you can fuse the ends of the ropes together but it’s too fussy for me so i simplified it and just tied the piece of rope together with a double knot. Adapted from Japanese Glass Fishing Float Nets- Use the double knot to tie adjacent ropes together and work around the whole bowl in a circular motion. When you have completed one row, move on to the next row. [toggle title=”note”]It is helpful to place the bowl upside down while you’re working on the netting. Turn it the right side up again when you get close to the top.[/toggle]
- Each successive row should have larger diamonds so that the bowl will sit in the netting. Check your progress every now and then by gathering up the loose ends of the ropes and lifting the bowl up. If there are areas that are too tight, untie the knots and retie it – leaving more space for the bowl.
- Continue knotting until you’ve covered the bowl.
- To finish, remove the tape from the base, gather all the loose ends, create a loop and wind the loose ends around the base of the loop three or four times finishing by pushing the ends through the loop and pulling it tight. Shift the loops of rope around the base so that the coverage is even and you’re done!
- Hang it up somewhere or place it on a side table for decoration. You can also fill it with things like shells, sand, fairy lights – anything you want to display really!
I hope you all have fun making your fish bowl nets and displaying wherever tickles your fancy! Its definitely great for a nautical theme!
In other news, i finally bought a cooking torch – creme brulee here i come!
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