My first pull-through batch

[AliOop]

As you can see from the blurriness, my batter was way too thin. And what's up with the orange taking over the universe? Apparently it devoured the purple, blue, and most of the green. The one bar that is all green has a raised pattern on it from the end cap that goes on my homemade PVC cylinder mold. That's actually my favorite out of this batch.

The tall bars came from the leftover batter that went into the TS mold. By that time, the batter was much thicker. It probably would have been perfect for a pull-through, but it made for a muddy hanger swirl.

On the positive side, the pull-through tool from Love Your Suds worked perfectly, and I definitely love the TS mold from Nurture. I can be cheap sometimes, and I do love to recycle/repurpose stuff for soap making. But sometimes it is worth buying a good tool that just works.

 

[Marsi]

looks like a riot in the flower garden



(orange calendula flowers take over in rl too )

 

[AliOop]

@Marsi, thank you! I'll name it "Flower Riot" in your honor

 

[gardengeek]

I think they came out nice, especially for a first try! Did the pull-through tool come with a rod? I had my husband cut some PVC a while ago and haven't tried using them yet. Add it to my ever growing list of new things to learn...

 

[AliOop]

I think they came out nice, especially for a first try! Did the pull-through tool come with a rod? I had my husband cut some PVC a while ago and haven't tried using them yet. Add it to my ever growing list of new things to learn...

Thank you! Like most soapy-related things, the technique isn't as easy as it looks. (I'm looking at you, Zig-Zag Cosmic Wave!).

I purchased two rods with my set of four pull-through tools. The rod attaches to the center of three of them; the fourth tool uses two rods, attached to the sides. I've seen YT videos where the soaper attached a single rod to the side of the pull-through tool, so as not to disrupt the design. And apparently one of the other makers creates all of hers that way, with the rods attached to the side instead of the center.

My husband made my PVC cylinder molds. He used tester caps for the ends, so there are zero leaks. Since the tester caps aren't flat, he also used some leftover wood to make a stand for them. The whole set-up was so inexpensive! As long as I put these in the freezer for a bit, and then let them thaw about five minutes, they un-mold perfectly without lining or greasing the inside. That means no crinkly rims from the freezer paper. Yay!

 

[gardengeek]

Thank you! Like most soapy-related things, the technique isn't as easy as it looks. (I'm looking at you, Zig-Zag Cosmic Wave!).

I purchased two rods with my set of four pull-through tools. The rod attaches to the center of three of them; the fourth tool uses two rods, attached to the sides. I've seen YT videos where the soaper attached a single rod to the side of the pull-through tool, so as not to disrupt the design. And apparently one of the other makers creates all of hers that way, with the rods attached to the side instead of the center.

My husband made my PVC cylinder molds. He used tester caps for the ends, so there are zero leaks. Since the tester caps aren't flat, he also used some leftover wood to make a stand for them. The whole set-up was so inexpensive! As long as I put these in the freezer for a bit, and then let them thaw about five minutes, they un-mold perfectly without lining or greasing the inside. That means no crinkly rims from the freezer paper. Yay!

None of it is as easy as it looks and with soooo many variables affecting the process, even the same recipe behaves 'uniquely' every time. Haha!

Mine have the flat type caps, but I had him cut my tubes kind of short because I had grand plans to do something like Etsuko Watanabe does in the video I linked below. Hers only look about 3 inches tall, mine are about 6 & 7 inches so I may start out not filling them all the way up(?).

So happy to hear that it's not necessary to line or grease, I was concerned about keeping the sidewalls smooth.

 

[tommysgirl]

They look awesome!!

 

[Jersey Girl]

As you can see from the blurriness, my batter was way too thin. And what's up with the orange taking over the universe? Apparently it devoured the purple, blue, and most of the green. The one bar that is all green has a raised pattern on it from the end cap that goes on my homemade PVC cylinder mold. That's actually my favorite out of this batch.

The tall bars came from the leftover batter that went into the TS mold. By that time, the batter was much thicker. It probably would have been perfect for a pull-through, but it made for a muddy hanger swirl.

On the positive side, the pull-through tool from Love Your Suds worked perfectly, and I definitely love the TS mold from Nurture. I can be cheap sometimes, and I do love to recycle/repurpose stuff for soap making. But sometimes it is worth buying a good tool that just works.
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I think this is a great first attempt at this technique. You are absolutely right that many technique are not as easy as they look. It really is all about the batter consistency and what is ideal varies with each technique. This is one reason why after purchasing all the needed supplies to try this, I have yet to do it! The one thing that pushes me to try different things are the challenges, lol. Love me a challenge, We need one for this one!

 

[peachymoon]

I know they didn't come out how you wanted, but they're so pretty anyway!! Love the color combos.

 

[TashaBird]

They’re great!!!

 

[AliOop]

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! I'm definitely going to try again a couple more times to see what improvements I can make. And no more orange this time!!