Last year I conducted tests for ways in which to make scales using gold chocolate foil and thin card. While I was pleased with the outcome of these tests, upon further consideration it has occurred to me that this technique would result in a rather stiff puppet, unless individual 'scales' could be attached to a more flexible material beneath. This would be incredibly fiddly and time consuming. On the more flexible and mobile areas, there might also be the risk of the overlapping scales catching on one another.
So I began to think of other ways in which I could create golden scales. As I had already intended on using knitting for the soft underbelly of the dragon I began to consider whether knitting might not be a suitable option for the whole puppet. After all, there are an infinite variety of stitches which produce so many textures there were bound to be some which could create the impression of scales. Also, as the story is aimed at children, and the dragon a comforting and amiable character (rather than dangerous or intimidating), the knitting may bring a necessary softness to the puppet.
The best knitting stitch which I was aware of is a berry stitch, which incorporates rows and rows of small bobbles. However, it seemed a shame to abandon the idea of using the god foil entirely. I had the idea of placing the foil beneath a piece of lace knitting, which has a delicate pattern of loops and holes, hopefully letting through glimpses of the gold beneath. The samples which I created were perhaps knitted on too small needles, meaning the holes are too small for foil to show through. I will need to experiment with thicker needles. Yet the idea of creating the dragon from a variety of lace, berry, moss and cable stitching has grown on me. I believe it could produce a charming (and flexible) result.
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