Cable Knit Technique Tutorial

In this month's tutorial, we'll show you how to make a cozy cable knit sweater design!

Now that it's colder, what better way to warm up than creating a cozy cable knit sweater design in your polymer clay creations!

What you'll need:

• Clay machine 
• Acrylic square (flat)
• 1/2 pack of clay (color of your choosing)
• Extruder with 7 round holes
• Tissue blades
• Cutter of your choosing
• Embellishments of your choosing

Directions: 

1. Condition the clay with your clay machine. We kept each of our 1/4 pieces separate during the conditioning process. 

2. Take 1/4 piece of conditioned clay and roll it through your clay machine at the 4th or 5th setting to create a thin base sheet for your project. Set that aside.

3. Roll your other 1/4 piece of conditioned clay into a log and place it in your extruder. Be sure your extruder disk is already in place. We used the one with 7 round holes.

4. Extrude the entire 1/4 piece of clay and then use your tissue blade to cut off the ropes when you've reached the end.

5. Some colors of clay tend to have a cracked look after extruding, so take your acrylic square and gently roll your ropes (one by one) to help heal those cracks.

6. Next, take two of your ropes and align them at one end. Gently twist them together—be sure to note if you're twisting toward you or away from you. This is very important.

7. Try to keep your twists the same tightness as much as possible. Once you've twisted those two ropes together, set them a side.

8.  Take two more ropes and repeat the twisting process, but twist in the opposite direction of your first ones.

9.  After both sets of ropes are twisted, align them together at one end and compare the tightness of the twists. You want them to be as close to the same as possible.

10.  Gently press them together without distorting the twists. 

11.  Place your ropes on your base piece of clay. Cut off the excess. Place the excess ropes back at the top to match your first placement. Continue this process until you're out of clay or 
you reach the end of your base sheet.

12. Using your tissue blade, clean up the edges and remove any excess clay.

13.  You can use your acrylic square to gently apply pressure to help the pieces fuse together.

14.  Add embellishments if you choose. We added a light dusting of pearl mica powder for this tutorial. 

15. Using the cutter of your choice, cut out your shapes. We used a basic round cutter for this tutorial.

16.  Place your pieces on a baking surface. Be sure to bake your clay at 275°F for 30 minutes or the recommended baking time for your specific brand of clay.

Once cooled, you can sand and add any findings to complete your cozy sweater creations (we made earrings)!