Make Your Own Polymer Clay Needle Tool
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Tools & Materials
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A needle tool or its equivalent is almost an essential tool to have. It is useful in impressing lines and texture, piercing beads, positioning small pieces of clay, and almost anything else you can think of. You can buy a commercially available needle tool or use a knitting needle, skewer, cuticle stick, or other convenient pointy object. OR you can make your own using polymer clay... |
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Step 1: Assemble your materials and condition your clay. I used a tapestry needle in this case but I also have needle tools with ordinary sewing needles for fine work. Decide what you want your handle to look like. You can have a short stubby handle, one that conforms to your hand, or as in this case, a long thin handle like a pen. |
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Step 2: Roll out a log of clay for your handle and shape it to your liking. Then press your needle into the handle, and reform the clay around the needle. Make sure the needle is centered. |
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Step 3: Once the needle tool is formed correctly, you can either bake it or embellish it. You can texture it, add cane slices, apply mica powders, etc, etc. I used some stamps to texture it and then gently reformed the handle back to its original shape. |
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Step 4: Bake your needle tool on a flat surface, following the recommendations for your brand of clay. Once the needle tool is baked AND cooled, pull on the needle to see if it comes loose. If it does, put a drop of super glue gel on the end and insert it back into the handle. You can now start using your needle tool or do any further embellishments. I antiqued the handle of this tool with a mixture of red and brown acrylic paint. |
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