British Nick Thomas has come up with a way to form legs and feet using a tool we all have to hand in the kitchen, the common fork.
Some realistic larvae and nymph imitations call for adding a set of six legs somewhere along the body. You can tie in the legs individually and use a hot needle or cauterizer to form bends in the legs to imitate the feet of the little critter. It works if you have the patience and dexterity but get it wrong and a tiny foot or leg can disappear in a puff of smoke, literally.
I’ll admit I don’t do a lot of orthopaedic microsurgery at the vice. I think life is too short to spend hours developing finger cramps and a tension headache. So, I came up with a way to preform legs and feet using a tool we all have to hand in the kitchen, the common fork.
Organza ribbon is made from woven nylon threads which allows it to be set in shape by heating and cooling. Wrapping a narrow strip cut from the edge of the ribbon around the tines of a fork and dunking in hot water and then under a cold tap makes a set of legs and feet in no time at all.
Start by cutting the woven edge from a length of ribbon, tie one end around the outside tine of a fork, wind around the tines and tie off. Fill a mug from a boiling kettle and drop in the fork for a few minutes before quickly cooling under a running cold tap and then blotting dry. For different sized legs simply vary the size of the fork or wind the ribbon around more or less of the tines.
Slide the kinked ribbon off the fork and cut off the knotted sections at each end. Cut the ribbon into sections with a bend and a foot at each end. You are now ready for tying in your newly formed limbs.
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