Penni Jo’s Faux KnitTechnique

To make darling scarves like theone on this snowman, or even‘thick sweaters’ use this FauxKnit’ technique.

Sample left shown using handrolled threads of Kato clay.

Begin with thin strands of firmclay like premo, Fimo Classic orKato clay. Condition well andeither roll very thin snakes, or to

make the project easi-er, use the new Makin’sextruder.

Shown left: extrudedthreads using the tini-est opening disk of theMakin’s UltimateExtruder.

Steps:

1. Extrude or roll very thinropes of clay.

2. Lay two pieces of clay side byside and twist the clay overhand.Twist first from the ends andthen lightly hold the rope totwist any areas that are tooloose. This should form asmooth twisted rope. See pic-

ture left. Set aside.

3. Lay two ropes of clay sideby side and twist in theopposite direction, backhand.See picture right.

4. Lay the two twists side by side asshown left. The opposite twists cometogether to form a double twist. These

double twists can then be laidside by side to create asheet of ‘knitted’ clay. Thesheets can be cut to anyshape and used in a

sculpture or for jewelry, etc.

5. To make the snowman’s scarf, put one double twistof knit around his throat and tuck in the ends.

6. To make the ‘flowing’ scarf ends, lay TWO doubletwists side by side (see box above)about 1 1/2” longto make the scarf. Cut two scarves and pinch each ofthem a little bit on one end. Join the pinched ends tothe double twist around his neck. Shape the flowingends. Cut a very short piece of double twist to makethe knot, covering the place where you attached theends. Make tiny marks on the flowing ends of thescarf to attach it securely and make ‘fringe’.

7. Since the puppy is so small, we willdo something different tomake it’s scarf. Begin bymaking and putting theflowing part on first. Addone single twist to one

double twist of knit to make a tripletwist. 8. Cut a short piece of triple twist asshown, pinch one end a bit and press itto the puppy’s neck. Gently pat it inplace. Make the ‘fringe’ in the samemanner as the snowman’s scarf, secur-ing the end to the background. Finishby adding a double twist around histhroat, coveringthe other end ofthe scarf.

Can you think ofways to use this‘faux knit’? Itcan be cut andshaped in manyways. The thin-ner the thread,the finer theknit.

Howabout some mit-ten earrings, stocking hats for snowman ornament,knitted pins, clothing for a miniature doll, etc.

Sample shown to the left was made from fourropes of hand rolled clay. Two ropes weretwisted first one way, then the other tworopes were twisted the other way. The ropeswere then laid side by side, creatinga column of double twists of clay.

Sample shown to the right wasmade from two double twists. Twodouble twists were laid side by side,creating a sheet of “knitted” clay.

Sheet of ‘Knit”

© 2007 Penni Jo’s Design Group, Inc.