Rickrack, or how to do crazy stripes
By NoraJean Gatine


Supplies:
  • clay in three colors
  • backing clay/scrap clay
  • blade
  • pasta machine
Step One:
Start out with three colors. I used copper, pearl and gold.
Step Two:
There's a quicker way to make a blend. When you put it through the press, roll it up first and mash it down, then press it. Six passes instead of 25 will yield you a blend like this.
Step Three :
Put your blends together and roll out a ribbon.
Step Four:
Roll the ribbon into a jellyroll.
Step Five:
Take a slice of that jellyroll and run it through a press.
Step Six:
Take that pressed slice and back it with something, I did the backing in black.
Step Seven:
Slice into even sections. Then stack them.
Step Eight:
After stacking, reduce and then run through the press again.
Step Nine:
You'll have a striped ribbon. Lay the ribbon down in a zig zag pattern on a sheet of clay. If the clay isn't going to show after you're done, you can use any color.
Step Ten:
This is the rickrack after it was laid on the backing sheet. I'm going to run it through the press again.
Step Eleven:
The top image is the rickrack pressed. In the left image, I've turned the rickrack over and trimmed then ends to a point because I'm going to wrap the rickrack around the red snake. In the right image, I've twisted the rickrack into this horseshoe-ish shape.
This rickrack is the same cane backed with pearl. It looks really different.
If you pinch and gather the rickrack gently on one side, and pull and stretch the rickrack on the other edge, you get this shape, which is nice for a hanging pendant.
Close up of the pearl stripes. I love that mica.

Enjoy making your own rickrack and using it to create all kinds of wonderful items!

 

Editor's Letter | Letters to the Editor | Beginners' Corner | Dotty McMillan | Dremel Polishing Mandrel | Pearlescent Ink Mokume Gane | Rockfish Boxes | Rickrack: Crazy Stripes | Monet Cane Revisited | Issues in the Crafting World | E-mail Us | Home