SMF September 2024 Challenge - Feathered Mantra Swirl

[Servant4Christ]

I definitely plan to try this technique again (possibly tonight if I can build another contraption in time) with one batter, divided and colored to see if the swirl turns out better. My swirl doesn't look feather-like at all due to one of the colors being much thicker than the others. It didn't help matters when I realized I never picked something to swirl with and had to run around looking for something to use... I raided the kids art supplies and used the handle of a paint brush.

 

[McKherring Farm]

Weeellllllll.....this is my "hmmmm.....that didn't quite work out" post. LOL. I thought I would give the feather swirl a try despite not having a slab mold. Or dividers.
Step 1 - create dividers with heavy cardboard - they actually worked well

Step 2 - pour in three colors - orange was supposed to be gold. Hmmm...maybe it will change with cure

Step 3 - first pass left to right, right to left horizontal. I don't think I made the passes close enough together

Step 4 - second pass moving diagonal. Hindsight....I think I was focused so much on the path to follow, that I forgot to push my tool all the way to the bottom. Either way...no feathers.

Step 5 - The cut. LOL. Ummm....oh well, it smells great and NO cracking because I followed some advice, put the loaf on cans and had fans blowing on it. I did pay the price of not tapping the mold after pouring - air bubbles!! I was afraid it would mess the colors up if I did. Lesson learned!

Now it's a personal challenge!! I shall try again today.

 

[AliOop]

I like the colors,@Tammyfarms! It looks to me like you didn’t cut it correctly, and that’s the only reasonyou didn’t get the swirls.

For a loaf mold like that, you need to first slice the whole loaf in half horizontally. When you open those two halves, you will see the swirl. Then cut the bars to size with the swirl facing up.

 

[bookworm42]

@McKherring Farm it looks so pretty!

 

[McKherring Farm]

I like the colors,@Tammyfarms! It looks to me like you didn’t cut it correctly, and that’s the only reasonyou didn’t get the swirls.

For a loaf mold like that, you need to first slice the whole loaf in half horizontally. When you open those two halves, you will see the swirl. Then cut the bars to size with the swirl facing up.

OMG!! How did I miss that?? I just cut the bars horizontally and....feathers. Not super great feathers, but feathers none the less. So many lessons learned here. Thank you.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I was wondering if you cut the wrong direction, too, because yours is way more uniform than mine. I don't think I made my first swirls close enough either, but the second swirl is definitely botched. You certainly couldn't identify this particular swirl by just looking at my soap.

 

[AliOop]

OMG!! How did I miss that?? I just cut the bars horizontally and....feathers. Not super great feathers, but feathers none the less. So many lessons learned here. Thank you.

It's easy to do - and exactly what I did with my first Taiwan swirl. There is another way to cut it where you chop the loaf vertically in thirds, and then turn each "chunk" 90º, and cut it again. But I always mess that up! It so much easier to cut the whole loaf horizontally and go from there.

 

[ackosel]

I definitely plan to try this technique again (possibly tonight if I can build another contraption in time) with one batter, divided and colored to see if the swirl turns out better. My swirl doesn't look feather-like at all due to one of the colors being much thicker than the others. It didn't help matters when I realized I never picked something to swirl with and had to run around looking for something to use... I raided the kids art supplies and used the handle of a paint brush.

I did the same thing and ended up using a BIC pen.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I did the same thing and ended up using a BIC pen.

I almost did the same but noticed a tiny little crack near the end piece and couldn't bring myself to try it.

 

[Servant4Christ]

It's easy to do - and exactly what I did with my first Taiwan swirl. There is another way to cut it where you chop the loaf vertically in thirds, and then turn each "chunk" 90º, and cut it again. But I always mess that up! It so much easier to cut the whole loaf horizontally and go from there.

I don't have a slab cutter or I definitely would've used it for this challenge. I have a cheese cutter that I DIY'd into a wire cutter. I added a 2.5 inch line to my cutter today just for this challenge, then I turned them and cut at just over 1inch as usual. I've already cut mine, but still need to clean up the edges and take pics. My swirl, while not really feather-like, did go all the way through to the bottom.

 

[Servant4Christ]

Question: Am I supposed to enter a pic of the bottom before I plane it?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@McKherring Farm - You were so close! I’m happy to hear that you’re going to give it another try.

@Servant4Christ - Feel free to plane the bottom face of the bar before you take the photograph.

For those of you who don’t have a slab cutter - I think it’s easier to use the method where you cut the soap vertically into chunks before you turn it on a cut end to make the cuts that are parallel with the original surface of the soap. It’s so hard to explain with words! The guidance @dibbles provided for cutting the woodgrain design also works for cutting this design. I provided that link in the top post.

This YT video by Holly’s Soapmaking also shows how to use the approach where you cut the soap in chunks before turning the soap to cut the individual bars. Although she’s using a Hercules cutter, the same cuts can be made with a knife and/or a wire/cheese cutter.