Sculpey Premo™ and Sculpey Soufflé™ Yarn Minder

Getting Started:

Please make sure your work area is covered and you are not working on an unprotected surface. We recommend working on the Sculpey® Oven-Safe Work Mat, wax paper, metal baking sheet, or disposable foil. Uncured clay may damage unprotected furniture or finished surfaces. Be sure to cover your crafting area appropriately.

Start with clean hands, unwrap and knead clay until soft and smooth, or condition by running clay though a Pasta Machine. We recommend using a designated machine for clay purposes only. When working with multiple colors, clean hands with soap and water or baby wipes (we have found that baby wipes work best) before switching colors. Shape clay, pressing pieces firmly together. Wash hands after use.

Baking (also called Curing):

Begin by preheating oven to 275 °F (130 °C). After you are done creating; for best results bake/cure clay on an oven-proof surface such metal, aluminum foil, an index
card or the Sculpey® Clay Mat at 275°F (130 °C) for 30 minutes per 1/4" (6 mm) thickness according to package directions. Oven safe glass or ceramic surfaces are also acceptable for baking/curing; however please note that the baking/curing times may take longer as the glass or ceramic surfaces take longer to heat up. For best baking results, use an oven thermometer. DO NOT USE MICROWAVE OVEN. DO NOT EXCEED THE ABOVE TEMPERATURE OR RECOMMENDED BAKING TIME.

Start with ¼ block of Premo white. Roll the white into a small cylinder. This will be the center of the bullseye cane. Wrap thin layers of souffle daydream, then Premo pale blue, Premo neon blue, Premo cobalt, and finally black around your white cylinder.

Roll and reduce your cylinder. Trim off edges so that the ends are flat, cut about 5 thin slices.

NOTE: If your clay cylinder is very soft, you can set it aside to "rest" and cool before making your slices.

Reduce the cylinder again, trim off warped edges. Cut more circles.

Repeat this a few times until you have multiple sizes. Set aside.

Using scrap clay or Souffle Bellini cut about a 5-inch diameter, ¼ thick circle for the base of your yarn minder. You won’t be able to see the base much when finished - feel free to use either.

We are going to create a veneer for the walls of the yarn minder. I used about 6-7 ounces of scrap clay. I ended up with a similar color to Bellini but it doesn’t have to be pretty; you will cover it up later. Roll the clay out into a long thick rectangle. My rectangle is around 16 x 3.25 x 0.25 inches.

Trim top and bottom edges; wrap around the base circle you created in Step 4. Join the seam as best you can using your fingers on the inside and outside of the wall. Remember to create a hole so you can feed yarn through it later. I used a small ½ inch circle cutter to create a hole. 

NOTE: You can bake/cure your bowl now if you prefer before continuing with the project.

Time to create the veneer! We’ll assemble in two sections rather than one very large application.  Create 16 strips about 8 inches long using Bellini. 8 strips for this panel, and 8 more for the back panel.

Cut 18 strips of Neon orange. Create an alternating pattern of Bellini and Neon orange. Don’t leave any gaps between the strips.

Add your bullseye slices, to your liking on top of your striped veneer. 

Use an acrylic roller to press the bullseye circles into the striped veneer until you have a relatively flat surface again.

Repeat steps 6-12 to create the second panel of your veneer. I trimmed most of the overhang but you can leave some areas on the top edge if you want to create a fun wrap-around of the bullseye over the lip of the bowl.

Wrap both of your unbaked panels around your unbaked or baked bowl firmly. Join the edges as best you can. I highly recommend adding a few more bullseye in this area to hide the seams. You can wrap any overhang over the top edges.

Poke through where you made your yarn hole initially. Press the sides of the hole with the handle of a pen or clay tool. Trim off excess clay. Bake at 275°F and reference clay packaging for the thickness of your veneer.