Woven Clay Coaster
Mold and weave pieces of self-hardening clay into colorful coasters.
Materials Needed
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Steps
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1. | Roll self-hardening clay into 3 to 3.5 inch long sausage shape pieces. To make a coaster, you will need about 6 to 7 pieces of these. | |
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2. | Make a second set of these sausage-shaped pieces using another color of self-hardening clay. | |
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3. | Position 1 purple piece (or your first color of clay) at right angles with 1 yellow (or your second color of clay) piece. Press gently on the joint to allow the pieces to stick to each other. | |
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4. | Position the rest of the purple pieces along the yellow piece. Each purple piece should be placed alternately over and under the yellow piece. Also try to keep the purple pieces as evenly-spaced as you can. | |
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5. | Once all the purple pieces had been put in place, gently press on the joints along the yellow piece. | |
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6. | Notice that the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th purple pieces are positioned on top of the first yellow piece. Weave the second yellow piece by lifting up the 2nd, 4th, and 6th purple pieces. |
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7. | Press gently on the areas where the second yellow piece intersect the purple pieces. | |
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8. | Weave the third yellow piece by lifting up the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and the 7th purple pieces. | |
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9. | Continue to weave the yellow clay pieces in an alternating pattern until you achieve a full weave. Fold down the excess length of clay along the edges. |
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10. | Straighten the edges by patting them with your hands or with a plastic knife. You may also pat the top slightly to ensure that your coaster has a level surface (glass or cup doesn't topple over). | |
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11. | The clay will dry at room temperature in 1 to 2 days. Once the clay has set completely, you can use your colorful coaster. | |
More Ideas
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Create various-shaped woven clay coasters. The procedure for making these is very similar to the basic square coaster except that the first set of colored clay is set as the radial frame while the second set of colored clay is woven through the frame in a circular pattern. The steps are described below. | |
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Frame (First set of colored clay) - (1) Mold a piece of clay into a small ring. (2 & 3) Form twelve 3-inch long sausage shaped pieces and arrange these around the ring in a radial pattern. Press the joints along the ring. |
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| Weave (Second set of colored clay) - (4) Form a sausage-shape and weave this around the radial frame to form a circle, keeping the weave close to the center ring. Press the ends of the round weave to lock them in place. (5) Use a longer piece of clay for the next layer of weave. In case your piece falls short of the required length, simply lengthen by connecting another sausage shape and continue weaving until you complete the second circle. (6) Make 3 more layers of weave around the radial frame or until you achieve the desired coaster size. (7) Cut the excess length of clay at the edges of the frame. (8) Fold down the trimmed ends of the clay frame and gently pat the top surface to level it. Set aside to dry. | ||
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Go three-dimensional by weaving the clay around a mold to make a beautiful Woven Clay Basket. |
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