Swirling......

Guest · Mar 31, 2009

What is the best, most reliable method to use to get a nice swirl going?

I've got a soaping pal in Atlanta who said starting at light trace she pours her base color, then the second darker color in a second layer, then another layer of the base color...then uses a spatula to move the darker color through the soap...

Another method I heard of, was pouring the base color in the mold then pouring the secondary (swirl) color on top and pulling it through......

What works better....any idea?

So far I've failed miserably at swirling.

honor435 · Mar 31, 2009

Soapmommie said:
What is the best, most reliable method to use to get a nice swirl going?

I've got a soaping pal in Atlanta who said starting at light trace she pours her base color, then the second darker color in a second layer, then another layer of the base color...then uses a spatula to move the darker color through the soap...

Another method I heard of, was pouring the base color in the mold then pouring the secondary (swirl) color on top and pulling it through......

What works better....any idea?

So far I've failed miserably at swirling.

i havent had good results either, tried poring some then color then more base then swirling, didnt workk!

Guest · Mar 31, 2009

I have had success with swirling in the pot.You pour your colors ( about 2 inches from the edge of the pot )from light to dark and swirl it in the pot once or twice and then pour up and down the length of your mold.There is a tutorial on it, I can't remember where though.Google might get you to it.
There is also a funnel swirl tutorial , that is fun and you get some very unique results.

HTH

Kitn

IrishLass · Mar 31, 2009

Soapmommie said:
I've got a soaping pal in Atlanta who said starting at light trace she pours her base color, then the second darker color in a second layer, then another layer of the base color...then uses a spatula to move the darker color through the soap...

I've done this before with very good results, even at medium-thick trace (providing that my F/O was well behaved), but I utilize a chopstick instead of a spatula. When I do it this way, the trick to getting a good swirl going is not to get over-zealous with your swirling implement. The old adage of 'Less is more' applies very well here. The way in which I do it is to pour like your friend in Atlanta pours, but then I take a chopstick instead of a spatula and stick it vertically down in one corner of my mold. Then I slowly slide only the bottom point of the chopstick along the bottom of my mold until it reaches the opposite corner, keeping the top portion of the chopstick in the same starting corner so that the chopstick is now at a diagonal angle in the soap.Then I gently lift the chopstick up and out at that angle. Then I do the same in each remaining corner and also across the width of my mold in a couple of places, and that's it. I make great swirls this way.

Soapmommie said:
Another method I heard of, was pouring the base color in the mold then pouring the secondary (swirl) color on top and pulling it through......

What works better....any idea?

I've not used this second method, but from the sound of it, it seems like it wouldn't come out as pretty as the first method.

Another method I utilize a lot is the ITP method. 'ITP' stands for 'In The Pot'. I just did another one last night. What you do is pour your colored portion into your base soap which is still in your soaping pot. The way in which to pour is this: hold the cup that contains your colored portion way up high above your pot and then pour in a thin stream as you gradually lower your arm toward your pot. The idea is to insure that your colored soap reaches the bottom of your pot when your arm is at the highest level, and that the colored soap forms a line of color all the way up to the surface of your base soap as you lower your arm closer toward the pot. Do this in different strategic places in your pot and then take a rubber spatula and very gently scrape along the bottom of your pot and lift it out in a few places to slightly agitate the color around a little (remember- less is more!

). Then go ahead and pour your soap into your mold. When all is poured you can then take a chopstick if you wish to manipulate the color around a tiny bit more like I mentioned how to do in my first paragraph. This way works great for me, too.

HTH!
IrishLass