Tools to Roll Your Clay With

 

Watch the video here.

 

 

This week for the Tuesday video I thought I would talk a little bit about tools you can use to roll out your polymer clay with. Over the years I have posted a lot of polymer clay videos on this channel and I am thinking it is about time I start thinking about doing some more.

I haven't touched my clay in a very long time but the last couple of weeks I have been thinking it is time to dig it out and take stock of what clay I still have and what I need to stock up on. Then I can play with my clay again.

One of the most frequent questions I get on my clay videos relates to how to roll the clay out if you don't have a pasta machine. So this week I thought it was high time I addressed that topic.

Of course my first choice, especially if you are planning to do a lot of work with clay is a pasta machine. A real pasta machine not one of those contraptions they sell in the craft store that looks like a pasta machine and is sold for use with clay. Unless they have changed a lot in the last few years they really aren't worth it. Just shop garage sales and thrift stores, maybe check Facebook marketplace and look for a used pasta machine. They are so much sturdier and will last you a very long time.

Now if you are just starting out and want to purchase a less expensive option I would recommend one of the acrylic rollers that are sold right with the calys in the craft-store. You can find one here also. You will still need a small roller of some kind even with a pasta machine. These are well made and will last a long time and you will definitely get use it a lot.

Now for the free option, just check the recycling bin and find a straight sided glass bottle of some kind. I think the best ones either come filled with green olives or capers. This is how I started out and an added benefit is you also can use the bottle to store some of your tools for clay work also. The other bottle I show in the video held Kombucha and would also work very nicely. Just look for a bottle that is relatively straight (not curved) and fairly narrow. Be sure to remove all traces of the label and the glue that held the label and wash the bottle very well before using.

Now lets take a moment to mention a couple of things I don't recommend. First anything made of plastic. This is because raw polymer clay has a really bad habit of eating holes in plastic. Also I don't recommend using either a wooden rolling pin or a wood dowel, since both will leave marks in the clay from the wood grain.

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