Swirling in very small molds

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KatyP

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Just a bit of a whine, hoping for some advice. I do CP ITP and ITM swirls pretty regularly in loaf molds and slab molds.

I had a request to do a swirled soap in some small (guest sized) silicone flower molds. Each one holds about 1 ounce. My customer wanted whispy swirls, so I went with a light trace in a standard slow-moving recipe. FO was BB's Cranberry Fig. My main batter was uncolored, then I colored 1/4 of the batter in red (BB's Magenta mica and TKB's Crimson Sparkle mica) and another 1/4 in purple (BB's Queen's Purple mica). I did an ITP swirl, and it looked good in the pot, but all the soaps just look like a murky purple. I can't see much of the uncolored batter, and very little red. On the bright side, they unmolded beautifully. But... Not the swirl I was going for.

I thought about doing an ITM swirl with a toothpick. But these are poured upside down and the toothpick probably wouldn't get into the nooks and crannies very well. My other thought was maybe using 3 squeeze bottles and laying the soap down in stripes, then giving it a spin.

Does anyone have any tips for getting a nice swirl in a small mold, where the soaps will be poured bottoms-up?

IMG_2699.jpg
 
When I started about a year ago, before I knew the meaning of ITP or ITM, I would put my colored portions into my base color in the pot. I didn't swirl in the pot. I used a small ladle to scoop out some batter, making sure to get more than one color. I filled my mold ladle by ladle. Then, if necessary, I skewered it. I haven't done it like that in a while, but I got some nice swirls in a small space. Did any of that make sense? My other thought is to use fewer colors, or maybe have more of the plain batter? Anyway, there's my two cents.
 
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Those are nice. :)

If you want more definition, I think a clyde slide poured out of a small container into individual molds works pretty well. The trick is to pour very low so the colors don't muddy up.
 
The ribbon pour worked pretty well with individual molds, but it is a lot more work loading the container. I think you could adapt the ITP by using the same poring technique with a more pointy spout and pouring close to the surface.

Your soaps are pretty even if they aren't what you wanted.
 
Another thought FWIW -- I don't think the ITP swirl technique works well when the soap batter is thin; the colors mix too much and can look muddy. An ITP swirl works best for me when I pour the batter into the mold when it's at a light trace like medium-thin gravy or even a wee bit thicker.

edit: I also think an ITP swirl into a small mold might be most successful with a simple color scheme. I did an ITP swirl into a small mold awhile back that turned out really pretty. It was just blue swirled into a base of plain white batter.
 
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^^^ I do what Lsg just mentioned, but keep to 2 colors in that mold. After I alternate the colors I use a small skewer to swirl. You first pour is the most critical since it will be the top. I use that mold and 2 colors will work
 
Thanks everyone! Lots of great suggestions. I'll try a couple out and see what works best. :)
 

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