Peanut-bowl from Cloth

In this video, I use a technique that is for all I can tell ancient to make a peanut bowl – in the shape of a peanut! There are certainly other ways to do that, but few are as simple or as versatile than what I show you. Also, let’s not forget the elephant in the room. If you want more information, check out the Instructable that I wrote.

The technique behind the Peanut Bowl

The first time I encountered this technique referred to as linothorax was in the context of cosplay armor. That was probably before EVA foam gained popularity, but even with that on the scene, this method allows for smoother curves without having to cut and bend, or use hot air to carefully shape.

This is one of those ideas that are so obvious that you wonder why you did not think of them before. Based on the same principle, kids have encased lightbulbs with strips of newspaper and wallpaper glue for decades only to smash them. It is also the same principle behind plywood and bent laminations. You could even go as far as t0 compare it to reinforced concrete.

There are some limitations to what you can make, of course, and the main one is that your mold cannot have undercuts (although you might be able to get away with just a little because it can still bend slightly). As you saw in the video, you can work it with most tools suited for woodworking, meaning you can easily cut it into pieces or trim it to fit.

Upcycle!

Any kind of cloth works as long as it will bond with the wood glue. In my experience, that means anything that is not water resistant in any way should do. And that, in turn, means that you can now turn old t-shirts and even jeans into bowls, plates and, possibly, art. I would not recommend eating from such plates, but it should work fine for anything that is not hot or wet. And if you really wanted to eat from your old pants, look into food safe epoxy to coat the final product just to be on the safe side.

Made to fit!

One of the greatest advantages of this method is that you can make boxes and cases for specific items by using those very pieces as molds. Wrap them with a couple of layers of plastic wrap, and that might even save you using petroleum jelly. If you combine this with using placeholders, you could make sturdy cases for virtually anything. And if you do, make sure to send me pictures!

Thanks for checking out the peanut bowl! If you like what you see you can find more projects here. And if you are looking for something different, I can do different, too. Subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss anything, and remember to Be Inspired!

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