How to Slice Polymer Clay Canes For Making Fimo Beads and Jewelry

Some canes are made "unfinished" or without backgrounds which can pose difficulties when slicing them:

Q: "How to slice an unfinished cane such as a flower that has not had the final filler canes put around the edges. Should I be using fimo classic? I don't like it because it's so hard to condition. All the canes I make with polyclay seem to be easily distorted." ~Sue Neundorfer

A: The reason a cane most often has a background is to keep it from distorting when you reduce it and when it is being sliced. Without the background it becomes quite tricky to work with.

Often to make the cane appear as though it doesn't have a back ground, a translucent clay is used instead of an opaque one. However, there are cases when you want the shape of the bead or slice to be the same shape as the cane, and you don't want a background.

In that case, your hunch to use a firm clay like Fimo Classic is a good one. The firmer the clay the less it will distort. If you have trouble conditioning it, try using a food processor to mix it for you.

Read this article on Conditioning Polymer Clay with a Food Processor for more info.

Putting your cane into the fridge to cool and harden will help make the slicing process easier too. As will a sharp tissue blade and a light touch.

Another way to avoid distortion all together with these unfinished canes is to bake them first and then cut them after. This limits the use of the cane but it works well if you are making cane slice beads, charms or scrapbook embellishments which can be drilled after baking.

For more info on slicing baked canes you can go to this article:
Slicing Fimo Nail Art Canes

Today's Polymer Clay Q+A article focused on how to slice polymer clay canes for making fimo beads and jewelry. Specifically I talked about working with unfinished canes. Thanks again Sue for your great question! If anyone has follow-up questions about this topic, please use the comments section below.