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Lace Cane Millefiori Beads Tutorial |
Lace canes are one of the easiest, most forgiving and stunning looking canes of them all and the perfect polymer clay millefiori bead project for beginners. No pasta machine? No problem! You can make these gorgeous beads with the minimum of tools. When choosing colours, be sure the light and the dark colours contrast (ie very dark with a very light colour) for the best effect. I always make big canes, usually using about half to make a big batch of beads and storing the rest. Canes can be stored for years and I love having a whole assortment of canes at the ready for spontaneous projects. Materials: 1 ½ pack (1 ½ x 56g) Premo in darkish colour of choice (I've mixed my own favorite plum colour) 2 pack (2 x 56g) Premo very light colour (I've used white) ½ pack (1/2 x 56g) very dark colour (I've used purple) Tools: Makins Ultimate Clay Machine or pasta maker (or two bamboo skewers and a piece of poly pipe for roller) Ceramic or glass tile (for working on) Fresh sharp blade (I use tissue blades, available online) Knitting needle (for smoothing) Needle tool or large sewing needle or toothpick (for drilling holes) Ruler Makins small square cutter CD cover or acrylic tile (for making bi-cone shaped beads) Shallow baking tray and quilt batting (or very thin knitting needle or wire) 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper |
Conditioning and preparing: Condition all three colours. Slice blocks in thin ½ cm thick sheets. If conditioning by hand, hold pieces in your hands to warm, then wriggle, knead and meld together till nice and pliable. If conditioning with pasta machine, roll each piece through on widest setting #1, lay two sheets together and roll till you have one sheet…then fold sheet and roll through, fold and roll, at least ten times till thoroughly conditioned. Remember to place clay fold first or fold sideways through the roller to prevent air bubbles. All sheets need to be about 2mm (1/8") thick. That is, #1 on the pasta machine or bamboo skewer thick if rolling sheets by hand. To roll sheets by hand, pop a skewer to the left and right of your clay and roll onto clay with your roller making sure the ends of the roller stay over each bamboo skewer so that you end up with an evenly thick sheet. |
Technique: Set your medium colour (plum in my case) aside Square up the smaller dark sheet. Setting aside ½ of the white sheet, roll the other ½ of the white sheet into a log the same length as the small dark sheet is wide. Neaten edges on small dark sheet with blade (fig 01) Double check the length is long enough to wrap around the white log by placing a registration mark on the white log and popping it beside the dark sheet, registration line at the edge of the dark sheet touching the table. Roll all the way around till the registration line meets the table again…if it rolled further than the other edge of the dark sheet you're a little short so you'll need to lengthen your sheet slightly by rolling it through the pasta machine on a #2 or thin it by hand just a teeny bit. Thinning the sheet will add length. Once you have the right length dark sheet, place the white log on the edge of the dark sheet and roll up like a swiss <jelly> roll. (fig 02) Remove any excess and neaten. You know have a bulleye cane. Add a white sheet around the perimeter and then the large remaining medium (plum) sheet around that. You know have a delux bullseye cane! Reducing: I generally squeeze the two ends of the cane FIRST to the size I want, to reduce scrap clay. Apply equal pressure on all sides of the edge, using index finger and thumb. (fig 04) ¼ turn it, apply equal pressure, ¼ turn, apply equal pressure…till about half the size it was in the beginning Now lengthen (ie reduce) this cane by rolling on tile with palms moving slightly outward towards each end (inward will shorten the cane, outward will lengthen the cane) till about 30cm. Trim off the scrap clay at each end of the cane, so that each end shows the pattern clearly. You might have to reduce a fraction more to lengthen it, depending on how much scrap clay there is…you want the cane to be a total of 28cm. Mark the cane every 4 cm (fig 05) Cut the bullseye cane where marked...you now have 7 pieces the same size. Using one for the middle, place the other six around it and gently press them together. (fig 06) Grasp the cane using your whole hand, squeezing gently to compress the cane, making sure to compress from all sides for even pressure (fig 07) Roll and reduce to a smooth round cane of about 32 cm, cut off scrappy ends. Cut a small piece off and set aside so that you can have some variation to bead patterns leaving 28 cm as before. (fig 08) |