Video #723: Starting with a Skinner or Teardrop Blend that has good color contrast, is key to making Zipper Canes that work.
In the previous video, I showed how to get more color contrast in your polymer clay color blends. This can be very important when making certain polymer clay canes… especially a Zipper Cane.
If you don’t have enough contrast between the darkest to the lightest colors in your blend, your Zipper cane design will lose its impact, visually. Colors that are too close to the same value, will blur together and the pattern will be difficult to see. This is especially the case if you reduce your cane to a smaller size.
So… before attempting this Zipper Cane Tutorial, make sure to first watch the “More Contrast In Your Polymer Clay Skinner Blends” video, so that you end up with a pleasing result for your zipper cane.
As you will see in the video, once you have a good Teardrop Blend with nice contrast, you can easily transform it into a Zipper Cane in just a few steps.
The first step is to manipulate your cane into a long strip between 1″ to 2″ in width. The blend should go from side to side down the entire strip, rather than from end to end. In the video you will see what I mean.
This strip is then cut in half, leaving you with two long strips that you will flip one side to side and stack on top of the other. Making sure that light edge of Piece Two is now on top of the dark edge of Piece One… and that the dark edge of Piece Two is on top of the light edge of Piece One. Again, this makes the most sense when you can see it done in the video.
Then, to make this double layered alternating stack into a cane, you simply cut in half and stack… repeating until you have a rectangular cane that suits your needs.
This Zipper Cane can then be reduced to a smaller size as needed, and sliced to be used for whatever you want. Zipper Cane slices make great earrings, beads, buttons, pendants, polymer clay background sheets, slices to add to bangle bracelets, frames, candle holders, etc., etc.
Try this cane out in lots of different color ways. Have fun!
- Related Video: Managing Color Contrast With Skinner Blends
- Related Video: Lietz Teardrop Blend Color Gradients Made Easy
- Related Video: Is Your Skinner Blend or Teardrop Blend Too Wide
- Related Video: Reducing Square Polymer Clay Canes Mini Tutorial
Do you have any suggestions for videos on tips, techniques or products you would like to learn more about? Let me know in the comments section below!
My goal is to help you to learn quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.
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Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Zipadeedodah,
love this zipper cane Cindy and also the new premo colours you are using. Must remember to add them to my wish list, they are so pretty…..cheers xx…..
LOL You are always so much fun Elaine!
You also made it look so easy. I would have been slicing each piece and trying to stack it.
Thanks Anna! Sometimes there are ways to make things a=faster and get the same result. I try my best to find those ways, When I was a kid, teachers called me lazy… |I just figure, why do it the hard way, when you can do it the easy way? :)
whoo-Hoo! Love this zipper cane! I really like the colors you used also. As usual Cindy you make it look so easy to do and one can put several of these together to have on hand when needed.
Thank you Dixie Ann! Glad you enjoyed that!
Love this one! It looks so easy! Love the colors you chose, too.
Thank you Catalina, it is easy. You should make up a little pile of them and make something cool!
You always talk about,what we can “do” with our resulting canes, but could you then take a minute and show some examples of your resulting creativity…thank you so much for these videos!!
Hi Marilyn, I have tons of tutorials on what to make with polymer clay canes. Just put “canes” in to the search box and you should be able to find all sorts of cool projects.
Hi Cindy,
This is a wonderful cane. Simple yet beautiful!
Can you please do some more videos about finishing textured pieces?
Hi Aastha, I will put that on the list as a future video. Thanks for the suggestion!!
You mention turning a zipper cane into a sheet. I’d really like to know how to make smooth sheets from cane. Thanks
There was a tutorial done on that years ago. Here is the link to more info:
Using Cane Slices To Make Pattern Backgrounds
looking forward to trying this