Gourdshave been used worldwide for centuries . They can be turn in any temperate mood and have been used to dribble water supply and food , store seeds , and create musical instruments and religious object . Gourds continue to be useful today and are beautiful object of art .
The voiceless - shell gourd ( Lagenaria siceraria ) is a night - bloom , white - efflorescence annual . The characteristic chummy eggshell is determined by growing shape . The longer and hotter the season , the thicker the shell will be . The gourd I used for this projection was raise in the desert of Southern California , giving it a much thinner shell than the received Midwestern gourds , but it ’s still useful . Working with gourds will involve mold and dust . outwear gloves , safety glasses and a dust masquerade party while cleaning the exterior and cutting and pick the interior .
Tools
Materials
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Step 1 : pawn the gourd in warm urine for 1 hour . ( Cover with an old towel to hold it under water . ) Scrub off the moulding with a copper pot scrubbing brush . Rinse well , and dry overnight .
notice the circuit of the calabash about 1/3 of the means down to make an open bowl : forge a small nail in the stem oddment , tie a spell of twine to it , and loop a pencil in the other end . ladder the pencil around the gourd to describe an even line .
Drill two holes in the gourd above the pencil argumentation , and cut down to the cable with a keyhole saw . The holes give you a place to start out the cut without interpose with the brim . burn around the gourd vine on the line with the saw .
Step 2 : start the gourd , and clean out the pith and seed with a pottery dick , spoon or tongue . If the bowl will be in direct contact with food , fill it with salinity water ( 1 tablespoon salt to 1 congius lovesome water ) and soak overnight . Repeat as necessary until the water no longer taste blistering . Allow the bowl to dry soundly , two to three solar day .
sandpaper the rim and insides to smoothen the control surface .
If you want the bowl to be watertight , warm up it in a 200 - degree - F oven for a few minutes . Pour melted beeswax into the bowl , and use a paintbrush to surface the inside .
Step 3 : Make five or six Indian corn - straw braids ( bet on length of husks and circuit of gourd ) using three husk for each braid . marry the end with waxed linen yarn , leave about 1 inch unbraided on each end .
cut off 10 to 12 lengths of hemp thread about 10 inches long .
Lay a corn - husk braid on the rim of the calabash to specify where to attach it . Drill hole out about 1/2 inch from the top of the bowl , and bind the braids to the flange using the hemp thread . Abutt the next braid to the one previous , and attach it in the same manner . It will force the end to project out , forming a clavus - husk “ blossom . ” Continue around the gourd vine .
Lay one corn husk on top of another , and splice them in the middle with mount linen paper thread . Pinch together and reduce to form a larger flower , break the husks in several place to spring thin flower petal . Attach to the goal of one of the braid with hemp thread .
This article originally appeared in the July / August 2012 issue ofHobby Farm Home .
