Comments on: Reducing Polymer Canes | Fimo Clay Tips for Making Millefiori Beads

By: Cindy Lietz@How To Fill Polymer Cane Backgrounds

Cindy Lietz@How To Fill Polymer Cane Backgrounds — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:15:19 +0000

@Mikki: Thanks! I’m glad you like the site! I take it you want to use these canes for miniatures? If you reduce the sections to as small as you need before putting it together (for example reduce the points of the starfruit separately instead of in the star shape) than you will get them nice and tiny. Another way is to reduce using the PlayDough technique, which can find on YouTube, but it can be quite a hassle to get your tiny canes clean again after removing the temporary PlayDough background.

If you are using the canes for bead making you can just pack the background with translucent clay. Click the link by my name for more info on how to do that.

By: Mikki

Mikki — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:51:58 +0000

Hello, I have found your tips really helpful. I, myself have been having trouble with making heart and star fruit canes the stretching process atleast.. Their shape is complicated and I do not want to squish it. Do you have any advice or help that can solve this?

By: Cindy Lietz@Sculpey III Clay Color Recipes

Cindy Lietz@Sculpey III Clay Color Recipes — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:53:08 +0000

Hi Meg! Been there myself a few times so I can relate.

Usually, what I do is make sure the cane is stuck to a tile or a cutting board and then cupping both hands around the cane (like you were holding a warm cup of coffee, gently push your hands towards the center. Keep moving your hands around the cane and pushing in so that all sides are getting equal pressure. Flip the cane over so that the top doesn’t get too domed and stick it firmly to the surface, squeezing like you did before.

If you do this slow enough and even enough, making sure the ends don’t get too deformed you can get the cane to a more normal dimension, so you can reduce it the way you normally would.

I don’t usually like to stick scrap clay onto the ends of my canes cause then I can’t see what’s going on, but lots of people do. Do what works best for you.

By: Meg Blevins

Meg Blevins — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:55:25 +0000

Cindy, thank you for your VERY informative site. I am new to this art-form and am now a member so that I can continue learning. I messed up…I created a dragonfly cane. Very pretty, but it’s 1″ thick and about 6″ wide (think thick coaster). Can I add extra background clay to the top and bottom to make it thicker in order to reduce it? Is there a better way to reduce it? Thank you for your help!

By: Cindy Lietz@Cool Down Polymer Clay Canes

Cindy Lietz@Cool Down Polymer Clay Canes — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:26:14 +0000

@Illaya: I am so sorry sweetie I missed this comment! I try so hard but some slip through the cracks. I am really glad Catalina answered this because it popped into my inbox again and I see it was never addressed. Adding scrap clay to the ends pf canes, is an excellent way to deal with distortion! I read about it recently and have been meaning to pass it on. Thanks so much for doing so for me! I’m sure many others will love the idea!

Catalina: Thanks for addressing Illaya’s comment! I missed that one. It is not so much a matter of chilling the canes when you want to reduce them. It’s more of letting them get to the same temp all the way through to the core by letting them rest. Chilling is more for when you want to slice your polymer clay cane without distorting it. Hope that makes sense!

By: Catalina

Catalina — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:36:32 +0000

Illaya, I didn’t think to add scrape clay to the cane. That sounds good so I’m going to try it. I usually just keep pressing the ends in as it starts to distort. I, also, have to be patience enough to chill them first.

By: Illaya Brown

Illaya Brown — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:13:57 +0000

I always chill my canes for about 30 minutes. I also always make sure that my clay is either mixed brands with equal percentages or just one brand.

I found after years of being frustrated with cane reducing that adding about 2 inches of scrap clay to both ends of my cane, that all the waste and distortion stopped. The scrap clay moves inward without effecting any of my newly built cane. Illaya

By: Cindy Lietz@Kaleidoscope Cane Pillow Beads

Cindy Lietz@Kaleidoscope Cane Pillow Beads — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:54:37 +0000

Some people swear by chilling their canes in the fridge before reducing for best results. Others swear by warming them up a bit in an oven with the temperature dialed way, way down. I’d love to hear your opinions about these two very opposite approaches. Which method do you prefer?