Help with my next project .. Making a Fan...

pauline

pauline

Registered Guest
Making a repro 1920 fan
This is my next project which is slightly ambitious but why not, i just bought this to try and copy it a original 1920 fan in very bad and worn condition.
I am not going to restore it but to make a copy as near to it as possible, I do also intend to date it somewhere with "made in 2007 or 08 so it will not ever be confused with a old one.
fan.jpg

My question are:-
a) how tall would the feathers have been when the fan was new ( the wood frame is 13" long)
b) I want it to go with a black sheer evening dress should i keep it pink / black ( slightly faded with age now) or go for another combination.

Thank you for reading this Paul
 
I think the feathers are about the right length now - the edges don't look like they have lost much.

Fan frames ( the sticks and guards) are quite difficult to make and get balanced. Have you condsidered making a new leaf wiht the feathers on an old frame? You can find fans with split and shattered leaves fairly easily.

Silk organza makes a nice leaf as well and can be handpainted and spangled.

Hollis
 
Fan making and lace making were artforms in their day... People trained under a professional to learn to make them....

I would probally spend researching the making of fans.... To get an idea of how they were made....Glue material ect were totally different back then....

Are you looking a totally acurate fan or something just to go with outfit?

-Chris
 
Oh, yeah, the detail work, hand painting on silk, bone, ivory...they are/were amazing forms of artistry.
I've seen some with short feathers, some with over the top ostrich feathers that would flap about, no doubt.

Good luck, should be a fun project to research and do.
 
Thank you all for your help, Fan making is a craft/skill I am certain that's what attracts me to try.

It needs a lot of research so it will not be done for a while .

This Fan is embroidered so I might give that a try also,
I do paint silk for the day job sometimes so that's OK.
My idea is to make a fan that will look authentic to the vast majority of people, but not try to pass it off as original,this might take several attempts who knows.
If it is easy it is not worth doing. I think so.
Thanks again.
Paul
 
That's the spirit, Paul!

How about posting a photo album of your progress? I'd love to see how it comes along.

Hollis
 
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