Jelly Roll Cane Tutorial

          The most basic cane is the Jelly Roll Cane.  I always recommend trying this cane to beginners, because it lets the beginning artist get a feel for polymer clay.  It helps teach them how to condition the clay, and how to reduce canes.  I've outlined all the steps in making a Jelly Roll Cane below and included photos for each step.  Feel free to use your own color and clay brand choices, although I recommend using only one brand in a cane.  Since different types and brands of polymer clay vary slightly in their reduction rate, using the same brand in a cane is important.  You may also increase the amount of clay used if you desire a larger cane, or use more than two colors for a slight variation of the typical Jelly Roll Cane.  To use more than two colors you would just add more layers.  Always be sure to fully condition the clay before putting a cane together.  See my Polymer Clay FAQ section for tips on conditioning clay.

Supplies: 1oz. of Sculpey III (1/2 of an individual pack) in Pale Pistachio 1oz. of Sculpey III (1/2 of an individual pack) n Purple Pasta Machine (an acrylic roller and skewers can be used if you don't have a pasta machine) A tissue blade for trimming sheets and slicing the finished cane
Start the cane by running the fully conditioned Purple clay through your pasta machine to create a flat sheet.  For this particular cane I used the second thickest setting, but you can adjust that to your preference.  Lay the sheet of Purple clay aside.            Now run the fully conditioned Pale Pistachio clay through the pasta machine to create another flat sheet.  For this particular cane I ran the Pale Pistachio through on the thickest setting, since I want this color to be more prominent and the Purple only as an accent.
Using my tissue blade, I trimmed both sheets of clay to the same size, which increased the amount of Pale Pistachio in the middle of the spiral.  If you want the spiral to have more evenly distributed color you can leave the bottom sheet a bit longer (about 1/8") and taper the ends before you start to roll the cane.
Begin rolling the cane slowly, pressing evenly along the cane to prevent any creating air bubbles.
Once you have the entire length of the sheets rolled up, press the end down to bond it.  At this point your cane will look like this, but once you begin to reduce it, the sheets will bond together and create a clearer design.
As you reduce your cane, the clay will begin to bond together and the clarity of the design will increase.
Once you've reduced the cane, you can trim the end to see your design clearly.  After you let your cane rest for a while (or place in the fridge or freezer to chill for a while) you can begin slicing and decorating.  Make your own beads, or decorate a picture frame.  The choices are limitless.