Hey does anyone know how to make or where I can learn to make a Devil's Napkin? It's a hankerchief used to make objects vanish when you put them inside it. Thanks

A N T I N O
+ President of The House of Flying Cards magician troupe + +
http://www.freewebs.com/hofc

Have you checked the Tarbell or the Rice books?

They are difficult to make unless you are adept at sewing . The sewing work needs to be precise so that the cloth will "hang" correctly to conceal what it needs to conceal.

Sorry, I hope this doesn't go too far off-topic, but honestly, I would say it's probably more trouble to make it up yourself than to just order one from a magic shop , unless of course you need it made up in a very specific fabric design and you don't like the ones that are available from magic dealers.

I have one from Bazar De Magia made in a nice blue fabric.

http://www.magia.com.ar/index.php?w=show......mId=1789

Magic Depot has a Devil's Hank at a very good price (I think it's probably the same Bazar De Magia version, but ask first) :

http://www.magic.org/store/product_info.php?products_id=103

Some feel that a busy patterned fabric is desireable because it hides bulky items better. I haven't found it to be a problem , but I'm only using the Devil's Napkin to vanish a card (for Harry Anderson's Torn & Restored Card from his book "Wise Guy").

One of the nicest looking patterned fabric Devil's Napkins I've seen is the one made by Viking Magic. It's a nice pattern , but not gaudy or too busy .

http://www.vikingmagiccompany.com/?nd=full&key=194

Depending on what you want to do with it , there's a different , "improved" version of the Devil's Napkin invented by Stewart James called "The Go-Go Vanisher" which is an alternative to the Devil's Hank/Napkin.

Elmwood Magic has the Stewart James Go-Go Vanisher :

http://www.elmwoodmagic.com/?nd=full&key=1692

Mikame makes a version called "Gone!" available from Steven's Magic:


http://www.stevensmagic.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=933

Duane Laflin makes another one simply called "The Vanish Cloth" :

http://www.lockfamilymagic.com/public/Vi......prID=396

The one from Elmwood is the least expensive and it works fine.

That's quite a bit of info there! All valid thoughts and good resources!

Possible reasons why he might want to make his own:

1) He has a specific "look" in mind (as noted above).

2) He needs a specific size.

3) He wants a certain type of fabric (weight, texture, etc.).

4) He's a DIY kind of guy like me, who finds perverse pleasure in mastering the techniques of spending eight times what it would cost to go buy one, just so you can say you made it yourself.

Few of these can be denied. I have made many for myself over the years for all of the above reasons, and also for specialty pockets inside of varying widths and depths, double pockets, locking closure pockets, waterproof pockets, fireproof pockets, etc. (I rarely believe in one size fits all!)

Antino, if you don't know how one is constructed, buy a cheap one to use as a model to work from (don't forget to check Ebay), unless of course, it works as is. In that case, problem solved.

~michael

Oh, and BTW... VERY COOL WEB SITE!!!

Wow haha dang you guys have a lot of knowledge, really appreciate it. I actually don't use the devil's napkin, I was just trying to help one of the magicians in my troupe out because he wanted to know how to make one for a stage routine he is working on. thanks a lot tho, Ill let him kno what Ive learned

A N T I N O
+ President of The House of Flying Cards + +
http://www.freewebs.com/hofc

Antino,
Just a brief addendum to the previous input...you can make your own if you want..I just made one from two bandanas in order to fit the theme of the act. It actually was used to vanish a 3 foot length of rope. Consequently it didn't have a lot of strain from its task.
I avoided the sewing issue by using "stitch witch"...a roll of white fabric tape that actually melts into a fabric seam bond/glue when a hot iron is applied through the fabirc you wish to stick together. This is very easy, fast and handy...it will not, however, take a lot of strain. Hope that helps.

Ok, so I am trying to learn how to make one of these as well...I think I know the concept, I already have the fabric I want to use....can someone PM me with the concept of how this physically looks?