Earlier this month, I shared my most recent rendition of a Sally-inspired dragon. My favorite, favorite part of this sculpture is the patchwork wings. They are meant to represent the doll’s dress in the Nightmare Before Christmas.
In this week’s blog, I wanted to show you how I created them!
Supplies:
- Polymer clay in colors of your choice
- Roller
- Long blade
- TLS
Optional:
- Black acrylic paint
- Small dotting tool
Step 1: Roll out clay
To create the patchwork look, we first need flat sheets of polymer clay. Using your roller, flatten each color so they’re about the same thickness. We’ll be flattening them a little more later to help make sure the clay is sticking together, so roll them to be a little thicker than what you want them to be.
I finally tried out the popsicle stick trick for rolling out clay evenly! This is where you set out 2 popsicle sticks, one on each side of your clay, and then roll over it. Pressing the roller to the sticks makes sure that everything is even. I found that 1 layer of sticks was too thin, but I could still roll my clay out with 2 sticks stacked on each other on each side.
Step 2: Cut out patches
My brain is not the best at making random shapes or patterns without it looking carefully calculated out, but I thought if I chopped up the clay into strips, squares, and other shapes, I could get something that looked patchy.
Step 3: Lay out patches
Once you have an assortment of shapes and colors to choose from, it’s time to start laying them out. Since I was making small wings, I just need a few patches. If you’re covering a larger area, you could create larger patches or lay out more to make a larger overall sheet.
As I laid them out, I trimmed up ends to give me a sheet to eventually cut another shape from, or straight edges to butt up another patch of clay if I wanted to extend the sheet.
Step 4: Finalizing the patchwork
Once you’ve created a sheet you like, it’s time to make sure everything will stay together as you’re working with the sheet.
You can use some TLS to secure the attachment points. Pull up a patch, lightly cover each edge that will connect to more clay, and tuck it back into the sheet. Start on one side and work across, pushing the patches together as you go to make sure everything is sticking together.
It’s very easy to use too much TLS, so watch out! If you use too much, your pieces will start sliding on each other while you’re working with it. I find it easiest to pour some out on my work surface and dab my finger in it to apply a thin layer.
Once this is done, you can use your roller to really make sure everything is firmly attached. You don’t want to flatten it too much at this point, but apply firm, even pressure to make sure any gaps between the patches are filled.
Step 5: Ready to use!
From here, your sheet should be ready to use. I cut wing shapes from my sheet and folded them around my sculpture. You may have to touch up some areas if you are going to bend the sheet, but it’s pretty easy to do so, especially if you have a silicone clay shaper.
Step 6: Paint stitches (optional)
If you’re using this patchwork technique for a fabric effect, you may want to add stitching. I did this after baking using black paint and a small dotting tool.
This ended up being a really fun technique, and I think it could be useful for making geometric patterns. Here are how the wings turned out in the end!
