What Polymer Clay is Best for Millefiori
I get asked this question a lot… "What polymer clay is best for millefiori?"
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The answer is a firm clay that won’t easily distort.
There are a few different brands of polymer clay that are best for millefiori or polymer clay cane making and some that are terrible.
The ones that are good are Fimo Classic, Premo, and Kato Clay. Fimo Classic is the firmest and therefore distorts the least when slicing or reducing the canes. However, some artists find it hard to condition and work with. Both Premo and Kato Clay are easier to work with and are firm enough to make great polymer clay millefiori canes.
Since I am going on what I have heard about Kato Clay and have not actually used it myself yet, I recommend using Premo, which is easy to find and gets excellent results. Of course, once I do try Kato I may like it better, so my recommendation may change.
The worst polymer clays for millefiori are the soft clays like Sculpey III and Fimo Soft. Since they are so soft, the image distorts easily down the length of the cane and smears when it is sliced into. If you want to try using these clays for caning, you will need to firm up the clay considerably by leaching out some of the plasticizers on a piece of paper. Even with this technique, you may find it difficult to achieve the detailed canework that you can achieve with Premo, Fimo Classic, and Kato Clay.
If you have any further questions about "What Polymer clay is best for millefiori," then please do leave a comment below. I will do my best to answer as soon as possible.
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Thank you Jane for your comment! Right now I am putting together some videos on canework for the beginner and intermediate level. After I have serviced that level properly I will move on to more advanced cane tutorials.
Hopefully the info you learn here at my blog is helpful even if it is not yet as advanced as you would like to see.
You should know that some canes that appear to be advanced, may actually be quite easy. There are also many tips and tricks that you may not know about on how to use your canes. Feel free to ask any specific questions and I will do what I can to help you out.
I would like to learn advanced millefiori cane making for use in my studio. I currently cover glass with canes, but need more advanced tutoring. I would like to make intricate designs.
That is a great question Katina! The exact time you need to leave your clay out on a piece of paper to leach out the excess polymers, depends on how soft it was in the first place. I have had to leave clay out over night to get it firm enough.
I have tried to figure out how to describe the firmness and came up with this. Press your thumb and forefinger together. It should be about that firm. If you press your finger to your palm, that is way too soft. If you press your finger to the table, that is way too hard.
Hope that helps!
If you don’t have a pasta machine how long would you leave out the clay for it to firm up on it’s own? And, how would you know it’s finally firm enough?
Earlier today, I also posted Millefiori Polymer Clay Tip #34 plus a preview video clip for my Tutorial Series on How to Make Polymer Clay Canes.
You also might may want to have a look at these posts:
Common Polymer Clay Brands in North America
Polymer Clay Pasta Machine – How To Firm Up Soft Clay
I am new to polymer but have had a lot of fun making canes. I have enjoyed working with Du-Kit . It is a New Zealand brand and I have yet to see any commentary on it. I would be interested to hear what others think.
Well Cherol, I was hoping one of our New Zealand members would be able to help you, but maybe they haven’t tried Du-Kit clay yet? Maybe you should pick up a pack or two and test it out? I am not familiar with the brand and would love to hear your thoughts on it. If you do try it, come back and let us know what you think about it!
I really enjoy working with Du-Kit but it is the only clay I have used so far, for canes. Perhaps I should try a couple of other brands so I have a comparison.I have tried studio sculpey for figure modelling and enjoyed that. Having come from cake decoration and working with icing that has a very short working time (it dries out so quickly) any other medium is a treat to work with.