Basic Polymer Clay Millefiore Techniques

A guide for those who haven't got a clue what polymer clay is or what millefiore means.
Some tips about working with polymer clay for beginners.

Colors can be twisted together or mixed to create new colors for use in canes.

Polymer clay is a manmade clay that comes in a variety of colors.

It can be shaped like natural clay, but is very light weight unlike ceramic clay.

The colors can be mixed together to make new colors and shades.

Millefiore consists of making a roll of clay called a cane.

The canes are designed so that the pattern runs through the length of the cane, then slices are cut off to form the beads.

This technique is called millefiore "a thousand flowers" because the canes can be combined and reduced in size to make more complex designs. The jelly roll cane and the pieces below it; and the techniques used on the bull's eye cane illustrate this.

The polymer clay is then hardened by baking in an oven at low temperature, about 260 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

Basic bull's eye cane.

Simple checkerboard cane.

Bull's eye cane with stripes added.

Jelly roll cane.

Thin slices of bull's eye cane added to the surface of a round piece of clay to make a round bead.

Some tips about working with polymer clay.

• Condition the clay before using. This can be done by kneading and rolling the clay by hand or by using a pasta machine. A pasta machine makes this a lot easier and can be used to roll out sheets of clay for use in millefiore.

• Keep your clay cool. It will get mushy if it's too warm. Patterns may become blurry if clay is too soft. You can put the clay in the refrigerator for a bit if it gets too soft.

• Use a tissue blade to slice canes. This is a straight flat blade that can be purchased at most crafts stores.

• When slicing clay work on a sheet of graph paper, this helps you to cut straight lines. Just line up to tissue blade with the lines on the paper. It also helps measure the piece that you are cutting. 

• Different brands of polymer clay have different consistencies, try a few and see which works best for you.

• Polymer clay is sticky and hard to wash off your hands because it does not mix with water. You can wear thin latex gloves. If you don't want to wear gloves, put a dab of hand lotion and a dab of liquid soap on your hands and then wash them with both at the same time. It get's the clay off your hands and your skin stays moisturized. You can also use baby wipes which have lotion in them.

• Work on a cool surface. A one foot square plain white ceramic floor tile works well. You can purchase these at home improvement stores such as Home Depot or Lowe's

• Go to your local library and see what books are available. Some library's have instructional video tapes.

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