Jelly Roll Cane - Perfect for Polymer Clay Beginners

Tip #36: Making Polymer Clay Canes is a Fun Skill that All Beginners Should Learn Early:

You will probably spend as much time making canes, as you do with creating beads to apply your cane slices to. And the jelly roll cane design is a great place to start learning. They are very easy to make. Fun too.

This popular beginner cane is made by rolling together 2 flat sheets of polymer clay, using contrasting colors. I often combine black and white, but the choice is yours.

When selecting the clay for your cane, it's best to choose the same brand for each color. Also be sure to condition each of the layers to the same degree. If one is softer or harder than the other, you may run into problems with the separate layers not "playing nice" together.

Don't worry if your jelly roll ends up bigger than expected. Large diameter canes can be shrunk down to very small sizes by a process called cane reduction. But that discussion is going to have to wait for another day.

>> Jelly Roll Cane <<

"Make a Jelly Roll Cane" Video Description: The full version of this tutorial is available in my Beads and Beading Membership Club. Among other things, I demonstrate how to taper the ends of the separate color layers so that the jelly roll pattern doesn't get all blobbed up in the center. I also provide instructions for reducing the cane using my pinch, stretch and roll technique.