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A few posts back, I talked about using the cookie cutter method to accurately measure polymer clay. While that's a quick way to do it, sometimes one of these methods might work better for a particular task:

  1. Polymer Clay TemplateUse a polymer clay template. Polymer clay templates are clear plastic sheets with holes for measuring balls of polymer clay. They also include diagrams showing Fimo, Sculpey, Premo & Cernit clay bars, so you can determine clay amounts for 1/4 block, 1/16 block, etc. About.com's Miniatures site has an article with more info about polymer clay templates.
    • What it's good for: including standardized measurements in project instructions for someone else to use; giving measurements based on package sizes; determining how much of a package of clay a project uses (to help you determine costs).
  2. Marxit / PolyRulerUse a Marxit. A Marxit tool (also called a Polyruler) has equally-spaced indentations along each of its 6 sides, with increments ranging from 3 mm to 20 mm. If you're a seamstress and don't want to make an extra purchase, you could also use your sewing guage. [Sewing guage tip via Katherine Dewey's Creating Life-Like Animals in Polymer Clay, reviewed here.]
    • What it's good for: getting equal-sized slices of canes; cutting even strips from a sheet of clay; cutting lots of same-sized pieces from an extruded snake
  3. Slice & dice. The simplest methods are sometimes the best. As Sue commented on my previous post, cutting a ball in half is a good low-tech way to get equal amounts. If you don't trust yourself to cut a ball right down the middle, try rolling it into a log and using a ruler to find the halfway point.
    • What it's good for: making measurements when you don't have (or don't want to bother with) special tools; making same-sized body parts for a sculpture

Any other suggestions?

Comments

I have used all of the above measuring techniques, as well as the cookie cutter method. But my absolute favorite measuring tool is a 6" plastic see-thru 'graphing ruler' made by the C-Thru Ruler Company. It is awesome for measuring components for canes and for determining the finished size of a cane...
They are hard to find, but I know that Mr. Art has them because I ordered several more from them to have in case I lose or misplace one !

Thanks for the suggestion! Here's a link to a graphing ruler in case any of my readers aren't sure what you're talking about. I remember my mom using one for sewing projects, but I'd never thought of it for polymer clay. Very clever indeed!

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