Anybody tried this technique? It's obviously ambitious, but if it works, it makes some beautiful soap!
Mini Drop Swirl
- Thread starter DWinMadison
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Lin19687
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Someone posted this video a while ago. Not sure what section it was in but I think a few people did it.
Search under 'drop' maybe it will pop up
Search under 'drop' maybe it will pop up
Very nice. What did you learn from the first attempt. I’m wondering how to judge the flow of batter to make the drops visible but not huge blobs.
This was the technique for the soap challenge club in September. I know there are several videos on YouTube that might give you a good idea of trace. This challenge was divided into two categories- one with the drops and one without. I did the one without the drops, and still got a couple of drops purely by accident.
Frauline Winter was the first place I saw this technique. Here is a link to her blog post. https://www.fraeuleinwinter.com/2015/11/23/für-gute-laune/
Frauline Winter was the first place I saw this technique. Here is a link to her blog post. https://www.fraeuleinwinter.com/2015/11/23/für-gute-laune/
So pretty! Could this be done like the watermelon seed soap
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/a-slice-of-watermelon.73818/
just with tiny "logs"?
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/a-slice-of-watermelon.73818/
just with tiny "logs"?
Well, you could get a similar look but it’s a different technique. It all depends on what you want to do.
This particular approach uses squeeze bottles with pipettes to extend the tips far enough to get down into the soap. Pretty ingenious, but lots of moving parts to go wrong.
Carolyne Thrasher
Well-Known Member
I’ve done it twice now using squeeze bottles and cutoff pipettes. It wasn’t too hard. Just make sure you use a fluid recipe and well behaving fragrance. Have everything laid out and ready to go. The base should be at a light when you pour it into the mold because it will setup a bit more while you bottle up your colors.
My recipe:
30% rice bran
25% canola
25% coconut
15% palm
5% avocado oil
Water:lye was 2:1
Half of the water was coconut milk added to the oils
Also used sodium lactate and kaolin clay
I really like this recipe.
Beautiful soap @Carolyne Thrasher !
Carolyne Thrasher
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. Those look incredible! Very different from the tiny “rain drop” affect in the YouTube I posted, but every bit as visually stunning. We’re these your 1st attempts or did it take a few batches to perfect the technique?
Carolyne Thrasher
Well-Known Member
These are my 1st attempts ever. I clipped the pipettes so their opening was bigger because I was afraid of the batter getting to thick to get out. I’ll have to try it next with the narrower opening.
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
Carolyne Thrasher
Well-Known Member
I just put the recipe I wrote above into Soapmaker's Friend. I wanted to play around on it. It should be public. It is listed as Carolyne's Slow Moving Swirl Recipe. Feel free to use it!
I haven't tried any techniques with squeeze bottles or pipettes mainly because I'm not confident that the batter will remain thin enough to be useful in either of those situations. All the you-tube videos seem to be working with super-runny soap batter and mine never is. I think the soy wax is a thicker constituent than most, and if I soap super-cool it would become thicker and thus harder to do techniques such as this.
As I'm writing this I'm considering making up two different batches of soap - and using them to create one design. Not dissimilar to the 'ghost swirl' technique I guess, but i could have the main batch using my soy wax, and the 'design' component using softer oils - thus allowing me to use squeezy bottles and things. The design would be 'held together' or encapsulated by the main batter with the soy wax.
I hope this isn't too much of a digression from your thread DW - but I wonder if anyone has ever tried such a thing?
As I'm writing this I'm considering making up two different batches of soap - and using them to create one design. Not dissimilar to the 'ghost swirl' technique I guess, but i could have the main batch using my soy wax, and the 'design' component using softer oils - thus allowing me to use squeezy bottles and things. The design would be 'held together' or encapsulated by the main batter with the soy wax.
I hope this isn't too much of a digression from your thread DW - but I wonder if anyone has ever tried such a thing?
Not with soy wax. The one thing about a design like this is that you want your base to be fluid enough to quickly close in around the trail of the batter from the squeeze bottles. So I’d think no heavier than medium trace. It never hurts to try, and would be interesting to see how it works.
Primrose
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I used a slow moving recipe and a FO that I know doesn't accelerate at all, I get up to an hour or so of working time.
I didn't put extensions on my squeeze bottles but I should have, I then would have been able to get more raindrops and scatter them throughout the soap at different heights.
I would have liked my drop swirl on top to be a little more defined, I'm guessing thicker lines poured from higher might help that.
All in all though, as long as you have the right recipe and FO it's not a difficult technique I didn't think
I didn't put extensions on my squeeze bottles but I should have, I then would have been able to get more raindrops and scatter them throughout the soap at different heights.
I would have liked my drop swirl on top to be a little more defined, I'm guessing thicker lines poured from higher might help that.
All in all though, as long as you have the right recipe and FO it's not a difficult technique I didn't think
Well, I just ordered, like, a million pipettes, so I guess I better figure this out. To your and kiwi’s points, my batters are so darned inconsistent as to how quickly they move, I’ll need a plan b in my pocket.
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
I watched the video but am a little confused (who would have guessed huh?) I love the little drops but my question is are they done randomly thru out the bar or do you do a line of them?
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