Marquetry Patterns – 5 Great Ways To Find or Create Them (especially if you can’t draw!)
Ever had trouble finding marquetry patterns? If you’re anything like me you probably got into marquetry via one of the marquetry kits – the one’s that are a bit like painting by numbers but with a few sheets of veneer, a knife and glue. They’re a great introduction to the art but once you’ve completed your first one, where do you go?
I soon found a good marquetry supplier quite locally and there are many others around the country. If you can’t get marquetry veneers locally there are plenty of mail order and online companies who will provide materials and marquetry tools. The one thing I couldn’t find was marquetry patterns. I don’t have the drawing skills to do my own, and I don’t want to keep buying marquetry kits, so where could I find them? Bear in mind that I’m not expecting these things for free. If someone has gone to the trouble of producing the patterns I’m quite prepared to pay for them.
I did a bit of searching. Typing “marquetry patterns” or even “marquetry designs” into a search engine doesn’t get you very far, but there are alternatives if you think a bit laterally and this is what I came up with:
1. Scrollsaw Sites
I looked at several scrollsaw sites without much success because although you can use a scrollsaw to cut marquetry, the type of pattern offered doesn’t really suit because they’re not the “picture” style that most of us would be looking for. Then I discovered ScrollsawSegmentation.com whose work is much more like a marquetry pattern. They’re also very reasonably priced. Although segmentation is quite different, using raised and painted or stained pieces, you can easily see how the designs could be used to suit marquetry. You can also download them straight to your pc, so no waiting impatiently for the mail!
2. Intarsia Pattern Sites
Many of the patterns at Scrollsawsegmentation.com are actually modified intarsia plans from a site called IntarsiaDesigns.com who also offer instant downloads. Once again it’s easy to see how these translate to marquetry and there’s a range of different subjects to choose from.
3. Clip-Art Sites
There are many, many clip-art sites and whilst I couldn’t find complete “pictures” which suited what I wanted to do, you just need a little ingenuity to combine different elements into a picture form. Perhaps not the most naturalistic way to create marquetry patterns but good for caricature or cartoon type pieces, especially if your drawing ability is as limited as mine!
4. Software Programs
A friend of mine is a graphic artist who uses a software program called Adobe Photoshop which is absolutely brilliant for manipulating photos. I think it’s quite difficult to learn to use well, but if you have a version pre-installed on your computer then why not give it a go. Another program that started life as something for stained glass makers but is also very popular with intarsians and marquetarians is from ConnectedLines.com. In their own words, “The Connected Pattern Maker is the easy to learn and fun to use software program that lets you create unique line art patterns from digital photographs, scanned pictures, and clip art images”. I haven’t yet used it myself but it looks just the trick.
5. Good old tracing paper!
In these days of PCs and digital scanners it’s easy to forget good old fashioned tracing paper. Just take your picture and trace the different areas of color. If you don’t want to use the tracing paper itself as your marquetry pattern you can turn it upside down onto a sheet of plain paper and rub the back so that the pencil marks are transferred to a clean white sheet. This does take a bit of practice to get good at but you can start with simple pictures and move on to more complicated stuff as you get more confident. If you’re looking for photos to work from you can find more than you will ever need in books that you can borrow from your local library or online, and if you have a scanner you can use your pc to resize them if you need to. Just make sure they’re not protected by copyright.
Well there you have it. Five ways to make marquetry patterns ranging from buying them for a couple of dollars to going back to your school days! I hope one of them will provide you with all the supplies you need until hopefully someone will actually start a dedicated marquetry pattern site. Now there’s an idea… if only I could draw.
Ebonizing - a cheap alternative
Ebony is a beautiful wood but there are environmental issues concerning its harvesting and it’s very expensive. Here’s a popular alternative which is by no means perfect but far cheaper and a bit of fun too.
The idea of ebonizing is just like any other staining process in wood - really it’s nothing more than applying colour to wood and waiting until some of it soaks in! In order to make it as even as possible we usually use a rag, sponge or brush, although some people immerse their wood entirely (which is OK for small pieces) and then we wait until it dries.
If you use water-based stains you may have to lightly sand after staining because water-based stains tend to raise the grain a little. It depends on your final finish and, of course, your personal preferences.
Here we’re talking specifically about ebonizing - making the wood as near black as we can. There are commercial stains you can buy, and you can even use boot black (it’s a wax polish, after all, although it doesn’t soak in very well), but how about a stain you can make with things you almost certainly have lying around the house?
Here are those ingredients:
A jar (best if it has a plastic lid so it won’t rust, but not vital)
A piece of coarse steel wool or some old nails (not galvanized - it won’t work)
Some ordinary vinegar
That’s the lot! Put the steel wool or nails in the jar, add enough vinegar to cover them and close the lid. Now just leave it for the vinegar to do it’s work. Two or three days should be fine but you may want to experiment. Finally, strain the liquid through a cloth (or a coffee filter) so you don’t have any particles and apply to some wood using your method of choice.
As you can see, this isn’t rocket science, and varying the proportions of vinegar to metal will effect the stain as will the length of time it brews. The other thing to remember is that different woods will absorb the stain differently so you might need more than one application, and the colour will vary. Always follow the golden rule: test it on a scrap piece first. You’ll also probably find that the wood will continue to change colour for a day or two, possibly longer, after you have stopped applying the stain. There’s nothing you can do about this except be patient. There’s unlikely to be any change a week after application.
I’ve experimented with wax as a final finish over the top, and with poly, both without problems. I haven’t yet tried Danish or Tung oil, though I suspect they’ll be fine. If in doubt, back to the golden rule again!
Unfortunately ebonizing using this method is a bit inconsistent so you’ll find it very difficult to get two batches the same. Always make up enough for the job in hand in one go. If you want to be safe, go to the store and buy the stuff they’ve got there, but if you enjoy experimenting a bit this is great fun.
