First Swirl Suggestion, Please?

[LynetteO]

Lol! Well thanks! I just wanted to save someone else from feeling like a ding dong as I did when my in-the-pot didn't turn out uniformly colored!

Same. My last ITP (3days ago) was just like that. Got to end & was sad to see 98% base color only! My next one will be so much better. Thanks again!

 

[LynetteO]

I prefer drop swirls. ITP, for me at least, always looks too muddled and haphazard. I like having more control with where my colors and how deep or shallow they are in the finished bar. These are two of my favorites:View attachment 60152View attachment 60153

 

[The_Phoenix]

They are lovely Phoenix, but I have trouble getting mine to look as lovely as that. Mine always look more messy and less 'droppy'. Here's one I did the other day:
View attachment 60154
FYI @John Harris - to achieve this I split the batter into four colours - red, orange, green and TD to the base colour. I poured a little of the white ( about a cm coverage along the bottom of the mold) then poured a couple of random thin lines up and down of the red (from a height, so it 'drops' in), then the green, then the orange, then the white until all the colours were exhausted. As usual my batter got fairly thick for the last few passes along the top, so i grabbed a teaspoon and kinda spoon swirled the top inch or so of the top layers ( in, scoop, twist then out). Most people wouldn't have to bother with that if their batter is more fluid.

Yowza! That’s a beautiful bar of soap! Very vibrant. I think maybe a thicker batter is better. Every ITP swirl design I’ve done doesn’t look nearly as neat as yours. So maybe medium trace?

I’m making a pumpkin spice latte soap today. Think I’ll give ITP another shot today.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Yowza! That’s a beautiful bar of soap! Very vibrant. I think maybe a thicker batter is better. Every ITP swirl design I’ve done doesn’t look nearly as neat as yours. So maybe medium trace?

I’m making a pumpkin spice latte soap today. Think I’ll give ITP another shot today.

Ummm that was my drop swirl Phoenix! Hence I was saying mine don’t look as good as yours!

 

[The_Phoenix]

Ummm that was my drop swirl Phoenix! Hence I was saying mine don’t look as good as yours!

Oooohhh…now I see it. Yours looks like a hybrid ITP and drop swirl.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Oooohhh…now I see it. Yours looks like a hybrid ITP and drop swirl.

Soap do what soap do...

 

[AliOop]

Soap do what soap do...

... and your soap always "do's" pretty stuff, so kwicher whinin' Kiwi. I could only dream to have my soap "do" like that.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I agree that for a first swirl fewer colors are better. Less color work means you are in better control of time as well as keeping your workspace simpler. I was so concerned on my first complicated swirl about getting everything done quickly with all of the swirl cups in front of me that I forgot the fragrance.

Do you use ultramarine blue as a colorant? I personally find a white soap with a one color ultramarine blue swirl impressive because of the contrast of the bright dark blue against a pure white background.

So I decided to try this but with purple - one mistake I made (something I never usually do) is to colour the entire batch with TD before splitting off to add the purple colour. The result was too low a contrast between the two colours. I tried to make up for my mistake by making a small cup of stronger purple and added that to the swirl too. Even so - contrast aside - I don't get the effect I really want with this. Should I wait until thicker trace? Or is there a knack to the pour? I wanted it to look more marble-y.
(Don't mind the white speckles - i added rice slurry which sometimes does that)

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@KiwiMoose I like the muted colors, but I know you like brighter. I have been planning to try a soap similar to this in my TS mold. I thought I would try pouring the top batter from a funnel pitcher after doing an ITP swirl, maybe also moving the spout around in circles, making random mounds and such to try to get the swirls as random as possible.

eta: I’m not sure that this looks like marble, but I found a YouTube video showing a technique that‘s close to what I had in mind.

 

[KiwiMoose]

@KiwiMoose I like the muted colors, but I know you like brighter. I have been planning to try a soap similar to this in my TS mold. I thought I would try pouring the top batter from a funnel pitcher after doing an ITP swirl, maybe also moving the spout around in circles, making random mounds and such to try to get the swirls as random as possible.

eta: I’m not sure that this looks like marble, but I found a YouTube video showing a technique that‘s close to what I had in mind.

Yes I totally love that pour.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

@KiwiMoose I hope these bars have an asphyxiant smell of lavender? Of course I don't know what you've been aiming for, so I can't confirm that you have successfully made mistakes here, sorry. Nice gentle swirl, and the happy pale spots that have sneaked between the glycerin rivers, add some fresh look.

 

[lucycat]

Ultramarine blue is really a royal blue color and it mixes in water. Depending on how much you use it can be a bright medium blue or a bright darker royal blue. I have never seen it in purple and the purple oxide colors are not near as vibrant. It is simple color combination and swirl but I find most people pick it up at craft fairs because the contrast catches their attention. This soap had a fragrance that accelerates and the swirl was at a medium to thick trace to balance that thickening white fragranced soap batter.

 

[lucycat]

Also, yes, there is a knack to the pour. I have seen ITP swirls others do that I can never accomplish. I find my swirls messier if the batter is too thin. However, I have seen other people's ITP swirls that are beautiful and they thought a thin batter was needed. So, I think it is probably more about how mixed the colors get in the pot and then how much mixing in the pour. I liked the video showing small amounts of the swirl poured slowly in the pot. I have never done and am curious if I would notice the difference in my swirls. I do like to pour into my log pouring down the long side rather than back/forth with the short side of the mold.

 

[Zing]

For in the pot swirls, what I have found effective is to pour the accent color(s) in 3 spots BUT from different heights. Then stir a spatula one time around. Then pour.

 

[amd]

Then stir a spatula one time around. Then pour.

I rarely stir my ITPS - am I the only one who doesn't?
When I do stir it's because the soap is thick and doesn't flow into the pot, just sits on top.

 

[dibbles]

@amd I usually give it a once-around stir, but my batches are likely smaller than yours. I see lots of makers on YouTube that don't stir, but I think the force of a larger amount of batter will help swirl the colors around more.

 

[BodyDew]

"Drop Swirl" was easiest for me but I have come to love "Hanger Swirl" & you will get lots of how to videos searching either of those.
Good luck & let us see how your first turns out.