Square Kaleidoscope Cane Tutorial

In this polymer clay tutorial I'll show you how to make a square kaleidoscope cane using basic base canes as the building blocks. This is a fun variation on the traditional hexagonal version and an easier cane for beginners to tackle.

In order to complete this tutorial you will need to know how to make Skinner Blends, Skinner Blend Bulls Eye Canes, Skinner Blend Plugs and a Striped Border Cane. If you haven't made these before, watch the tutorials listed in the suggested links box below the video before you watch this one.

You will need the following supplies:

Souffle clay ( I’m using White, Blue Stone, Royalty and Turnip. I’m also using some colors from color recipes I show on Patreon)
A tissue blade
A pasta machine
An acrylic roller
A skewer
Three Skinner Blend Bulls Eye Canes
Three Skinner Blend Plugs
A black and white striped border cane

Steps To Making A Square Kaleidoscope Cane

First you need to make a Skinner Blend from each of your six colors. Blend a triangle of each color with a triangle of white so that you have six Skinner Blends.

See how to make a Skinner Blend here.
Turn three of them into Skinner Blend Bulls Eye Canes and the other three into Skinner Blend Plugs.
Cut each of these in half.
Take one of your Skinner Blend Bulls Eye Canes (I’m using a dark purple one) and form it into a flat oval shape.
Bend the oval into a hollow triangle that looks like this “V”.
Now take a Skinner Blend Plug (I’m using a pink one) and form it into a solid triangle.
Take your Striped Border Cane and wrap around two sides of the pink triangle. Leave one side bare.
Now place the pink triangle into the hollow in the purple triangle. Make sure the striped border sides are the ones that are touching the purple triangle. You should now have a solid triangle shape.
Now place another strip of the Striped Border Cane along the bottom of the triangle.
Take one half of each of the other two Skinner Blend Bulls Eye Canes and reduce them down until you can fit eight across the bottom of the triangle. They need to have about a half cm diameter. Alternate the colors.
Now place another strip of the Striped Border Cane along the bottom of the Skinner Blend Bulls Eye Canes.
Now take another two half Skinner Blend Bulls Eye Canes and form them into the same shape as the first shape you made (a hollow triangle that looks like this “V”).
Place them together to form a shape that looks like a T junction and place the flat side of the T onto the base of your triangle.
Place a strip of the Striped Border Cane along the inside of the T.
Then take your Skinner Blend Plugs and form them into the shape that will fit into the last gaps in the cane so that it’s again a solid triangle.
Place another strip of the Striped Border Cane along the base of the triangle, but leave enough space on each side of the triangle base to fit two bulls eye canes with a diameter of half a cm each on each side.
Now for the final step place three Bulls Eye Canes and two Skinner Blend Plugs along the bottom. Alternate them.
Now reduce your triangle cane using a pinching motion. See the video for the correct procedure.
Cut it in half.
Place those two pieces together so that they mirror and form a diamond shape. Gently shape the diamond into a square and reduce.
Cut into two pieces.
Put these pieces together so that they mirror.
Cut in half again.
Put these pieces together so that they mirror.
Use your acrylic roller to square the cane up.
Allow the cane to rest and cool before slicing.

That’s the Square Kaleidoscope Cane.

There is a lot of detail on the various steps in the video, so please be sure to have a look at that.