SMF February 2021 Challenge - Circling Taiwan Swirl

[AliOop]

I was afraid that was going to be the answer, and I am pretty sure my applique plastic is not sturdy enough. Off to Home Depot or Menards tomorrow. I don't want to use cardboard because I like making things only once and then it's done! I have never done a swirling technique before but want to try, how do you determine how wide you want your rod or stick to be when you go around your mold? I am going to use a fairly narrow stick (popsicle) for the design part but was thinking 3/4" or so of tongue depressor for the outside. What are your thought on this?

@dibbles suggested using a double layer of your appliqué plastic, taped together. Would that work?

I used a chopstick for swirling my first attempt, which was at medium trace. It worked pretty well for me. Others have successfully used dowels, popsicle sticks and round spatula handles, which are quite a bit wider. It all depends on the look you are attempting to get.

 

[GemstonePony]

I was afraid that was going to be the answer, and I am pretty sure my applique plastic is not sturdy enough. Off to Home Depot or Menards tomorrow. I don't want to use cardboard because I like making things only once and then it's done! I have never done a swirling technique before but want to try, how do you determine how wide you want your rod or stick to be when you go around your mold? I am going to use a fairly narrow stick (popsicle) for the design part but was thinking 3/4" or so of tongue depressor for the outside. What are your thought on this?

My "fancy swirling tool" is a tongue-depressor with an end cut flat to evenly scrape the bottom (left two soaps show the bottom, and I planed the tops off my soaps). I used it for the swirl in the pics, but because it pulls so much, I only went around the edge twice (soap made prior to challenge). I really love the wider swirl for back and forth, but I'll probably be using a popsicle-stick or thinner for going around the edges three times. A lot depends on your batter as far as how much any swirling tool pulls though, and mine have been thicker than I'd like so far.

 

[Sudds]

I see, so the corrugation (if that's a word? haha) is on the inside, not on the outside edges? Even if it won't make ripples, it does sound a bit thick, esp. if you are working with a tall & skinny mold that has so little room to pour between dividers to begin with. A regular width loaf mold might not be too bad with thicker dividers though.

I didn't want to buy dividers since I wasn't sure if this was a technique that would make it into regular soaping rotation for me. So, I cut up a cracker box to make thin cardboard dividers for my TCS attempt. I wrapped them in plastic packing tape and theoretically could have used them again, had I not been too lazy to clean them up after use.

You are a woman after my own heart!

@Sudds I used cardboard from a cereal box, reinforced with shipping tape. It was a bit thin and bowed, but you can see from the pictures I posted that it will work. I'm not sure how thin the applique plastic is. I think the flexible plastic cutting mats that are available at the dollar stores would probably also work - two layers taped together if they aren't rigid enough, so doubling up the applique plastic might also be something to try.

The corrugated plastic (coroplast) should work just fine. Even if the material is rippled, it is removed while the soap batter is fluid enough that it shouldn't make a difference, especially since a skewer will be dragged through the batter once the dividers are removed.

I hope this helps. Ask if you still have questions.

Thanks for the info. After reading both your and AliOop's answers I am going to purchase some plastic that is thicker and make something that will be durable and I won't have to make any more as I like the looks of these bars. I am getting bored waiting for my purchases to come in, the worst has been from the place in Oregon and it wasn't their fault at all. My package made13 trips to get from their place in Oregon to my house! Oregon to Seattle, then to another place in Seattle 2 times, then to Kent WA, then back to Seattle 1 more time then To Dea Moines IA, bounced around there 2X. then 2 trips around Chicago then 1 more trip around Chicago, then to our distribution center in WI then finally to the P.O. in my town and sat there 2 days then finally to my house! I have never kept track of packages but I have had to the entire month of Jan. The guy I bought my Soap Cutter from sent me grips over a week ago, they still have not arrived. I send stuff to my kids in Europe and it gets there faster!

My "fancy swirling tool" is a tongue-depressor with an end cut flat to evenly scrape the bottom (left two soaps show the bottom, and I planed the tops off my soaps). I used it for the swirl in the pics, but because it pulls so much, I only went around the edge twice (soap made prior to challenge). I really love the wider swirl for back and forth, but I'll probably be using a popsicle-stick or thinner for going around the edges three times. A lot depends on your batter as far as how much any swirling tool pulls though, and mine have been thicker than I'd like so far.

I was actually planning on doing the opposite! I have thought about doing it your way, and know I will because I like the way these soaps turn out....anyhow how your and everybody else's turns out, this will be my first attempt so I don't have any expectations other than not spilling the colors all over the place and breaking the fancy twirling tool!

 

[GemstonePony]

@Sudds the opposite would be cool, too! I'm so excited to (eventually!) see pics! Also, your package has done more traveling in its existence than I have in my life, and I'm slightly jealous.

 

[dibbles]

@Sudds did you watch the Tree Marie video for making dividers that was linked? If you know you want to make something permanent, there might be some good ideas there for you on materials to use.

For the size of the swirl tool, I usually use a chopstick - the kind you would get with Chinese take out. If my trace is thick, I'll use a spoon handle. I generally use the chopstick for circling the perimeter too.

 

[Jersey Girl]

So you know how you get batter on your arm, but you can't stop to get it off, because you are making your challenge soap, and decide to make an extra bit of batter for a pull-through, but you forget - AGAIN! - to halve the radius when calculating the amount, so you end up with enough batter to also fill the slab mold, and now you are trying to time all three for pulling and swirling and circling, so you end up with a burn on your arm, but you are happy because you had fun, and just maybe all the soaps turned out ok, except for the one muddy corner of the slab, and you have to not lick the bowl that looks like fudge on dulce de lece, but is really soap? Yup, that was me tonight!

View attachment 53901

I could dig a spoon into that!

 

[Louise Taylor]

Hi there,
Totally butchered the cut of my bar.
I normally use a multi bar cutter, I bought this as I was not very great with my single wire and had a few uneven bars.
Even the cut into blocks was not possible with my single wire as the bolts are too close to the wire. So I used a knife Resulting in 3 uneven blocks. Then used the single wire cutter freehand on the blocks. Result is 9 different sized bars.

Any tips on cutting straight and even would be appreciated. I measured and marked the block. Yep, I know how to measure, but somehow things did not work out.

 

[AliOop]

@Louise Taylor Thank you, you make me feel so much better to know that I'm not the only soaper who cannot cut in a straight line, even if it is marked out for me!!

 

[dibbles]

Try marking and cutting a block off the loaf. Use your wire cutter to cut 1/4" (or whatever) off the end you cut. That should square it up and is what works best for me.

 

[AliOop]

Try marking and cutting a block off the loaf. Use your wire cutter to cut 1/4" (or whatever) off the end you cut. That should square it up and is what works best for me.

My problem is that I no longer have a single-wire cutter, nor a log splitter. So that first block is cut with a pastry blade using a miter box. It still comes out trapezoidal. I can use the first wire on my loaf cutter to even up the edge, but it wastes so much soap, and my bars are not equal sizes.

(Can you tell I'm practicing my sales pitch for the purchase of a log splitter? DH really doesn't mind if I buy anything, but I have to also convince myself to add one more thing to the soap cabinets. All four of them).

 

[Louise Taylor]

@Louise Taylor Thank you, you make me feel so much better to know that I'm not the only soaper who cannot cut in a straight line, even if it is marked out for me!!

You are so welcome

 

[Louise Taylor]

Try marking and cutting a block off the loaf. Use your wire cutter to cut 1/4" (or whatever) off the end you cut. That should square it up and is what works best for me.

I will give it a go. Thank you

 

[amd]

I cpoped it and forgot it was in the oven.

That's why I always put a post it note over the oven controls! "Soap in Oven" works every time.

 

[violets2217]

Am I thinking the corrugated plastic, although thin, is too thick to use as dividers to do the Circling Taiwan Swirl? I have some thin plastic I get at Joanns to use when I do applique, do any of you know if this would work? I don't think it has a width on it, as I clean all the info off when I put it away. Thanks for any help you can send my way.

I used corrugated plastic... a yard sale sign... for my divider. They worked well. I just hot glued them to the end pieces and plopped in the mold. It was cool when I cleaned them they came unglued and were easy to clean and was able to use them again for my second try. I actually made them a little taller than my mold so when I pulled them out my mold was somewhat filled and I didn’t waste a lot of soap either! I just scraped excess off and plopped it into individual silicone molds.

 

[linne1gi]

Where is the thread to post our February 21 challenge soaps?

 

[dibbles]

Where is the thread to post our February 21 challenge soaps?

?? Do you mean the entry thread. It will be created on the 18th.

 

[KimW]

Where is the thread to post our February 21 challenge soaps?

Don't rush me!

 

[linne1gi]

?? Do you mean the entry thread. It will be created on the 18th.

Thanks

 

[Zing]

It's hard to keep up with all you overachievers here!

So you know how you get batter on your arm, but you can't stop to get it off, because you are making your challenge soap, and decide to make an extra bit of batter for a pull-through, but you forget - AGAIN! - to halve the radius when calculating the amount, so you end up with enough batter to also fill the slab mold, and now you are trying to time all three for pulling and swirling and circling, so you end up with a burn on your arm, but you are happy because you had fun, and just maybe all the soaps turned out ok, except for the one muddy corner of the slab, and you have to not lick the bowl that looks like fudge on dulce de lece, but is really soap? Yup, that was me tonight!

View attachment 53901

I really do want to eat that. Here's my vote for the Best One Sentence Post Monthly Challenge!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Right, no rushing on the entry date! I’m still trying to find a recipe that will remain fluid long enough. I have total option paralysis about a color scheme, still can’t decide if I should use 2 or 3 dividers, and then when I watched Teri’s YouTube I realized we also have the option of squeezing in more colors. If I could make any of those decisions I might be able to move on to how far apart my swirls should be and what size swirling tools to use. Decisions, decisions...