Indie

Triangles
Polymer clay tutorial
by Polymer Clay School online

Indie Triangles
Polymer clay jewellery defined by uncompromising triangles and indie patterns.
The word Indie in their name comes from English independent. I chose the name
because the patterns used on the earrings are made independently of each other
and each of them is different, yet they match. Part of the process is also backfilling
technique, which discreetly completes and divides individual patterns. The patterns
are ruled by a certain randomness which is strictly framed by the triangular shape of
the jewellery.
The overall impression is smooth and precise execution is part of the concept. The
jewellery is decorative not only on the front, the back and sides are also smooth and
well-crafted. The components are artfully built in so as not to disturb the overall
design.
Indie triangles are inspired by indie music and the independent culture emerging
around it. They are independent and original in their own way. They offer many
possibilities of self-expression and different use. You can change the shape, patterns
and colours as you wish.
Be independent!
Dana Fruitensse Phamov
Author of the tutorial, Co-founder and teacher at Polymer Clay School online

www.polymerclayschoolonline.com

Material and tools

This tutorial is for black and white earrings and a matching brooch. This is the list of
material and tools you will need.

Material
1 block of white FIMO Classic (8000-0) (you can use FIMO soft as well)
1 block of black FIMO Classic (8000-9) (you can use FIMO soft as well)
FIMO liquid or a different brand of liquid clay

Tools
a Clay machine
a blade (sharp and thin)
an acrylic roller
work surface
thin wrap or foil
corn starch

Indie triangles

Colour blend
Take two parts of white clay and one part
of black (you always need a bigger part of
the lighter colour so that it does not get
all coloured by the darker one).
Prepare a triangle from each colour, put
them together to make a rectangle and
prepare for the colour blend.

Join the colours by rolling the sheet

gently with a roller and put it into the clay
machine.
Roll through the machine, fold in half and
roll again. Repeat until fully blended.

Tips for blending:

1. Follow the same direction when folding
the sheet - fold the same colours
together.
2. Always insert the sheet of clay with the
folded side down
(these rules are not always necessary for blending
but can help you if you are a beginner).

Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Do not make your blend wider than 25

centimeters so that you can use all the
colours in it.

Noise pattern
Take two parts of white and two parts of
black clay. Roll into sheets and place on
top of each other.

Roll the stacked sheets together through

the clay machine (on a setting of your
choice, I usually use a thicker setting),
cut into parts and stack them to create
ablock with striped pattern.

Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Cut the block into irregular pieces.

Chop the pieces into smaller bits using

ablade.

Join the bits together again using a roller

and cut into irregular pieces again.

Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Repeat the whole proces until you are

happy with the fineness of the grains.

Form the clay into a block, press firmly to

expel air bubbles.

Cut the block into even slices and place

them next to each other to create a sheet
of the veneer. Smooth the edges using
athin plastic wrap.

Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Roll the veneer to make it completely

smooth. You can also roll it through the
clay machine, but if you do so, the pattern
will stretch a bit.

Indie patterns
Make a striped block using black and
white sheets of clay. You can stack the
colours irregularly. Use three parts of
white and 3 parts of black (you can use
different colours in whatever ratio).

Cut the pattern into even slices. Place the

slices next to each other to make a sheet
which will fit into your clay machine.
Roll the slices to join them.

Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Roll the sheet through the clay machine.

Cut the sheet in half vertically and stack

the halves so that the stripes are not
aligned. This will make the pattern more
interesting.

Roll the stacked sheet through the clay

machine.

Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Cut the sheet in half horizontally. You will

see an irregular checked pattern.

Stack the sheet mirrorwise.

Roll the sheet through the clay machine

again. This will refine the checked pattern
into a fine brindling.
Repeat the process. Cut horizontally after
each rolling to see how fine the pattern is.
Stop when you are happy with it.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Cut the pattern into even slices and place

them next to each other to create a sheet
of the veneer.
Keep half of the pattern for the striped
pattern described in the next step.

If you cut the same pattern vertically, you

will get an irregular striped pattern.
Proceed in the same way - cut and place
the slices next to each other to create a
sheet of the veneer.

Both the patterns are interesting also

because the sheet of the veneer is a bit
different.
You can use either side or both of them
for your jewellery.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Cut the sheet in half and place the halves

different sides up on a sheet of scrap clay.

To stretch the veneer, roll each sheet

through the clay machine vertically
(along the stripes). This will straighten the
stripes and you will also get a larger sheet
of the veneer.

You can enlarge the brindle pattern in the

same way.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Putting the final pattern together

Place two sheets with different patterns
on each other. Choose the place where
you want one pattern to end and the
other one to begin. Both sheets must
overlap at this place.
Take a flexible blade and bend the way
you like it. Cut through both sheets of
clay.

Remove the excess clay from both sheets.

Now one pattern is trimmed and the
other pattern continues.
Place another sheet with a different
pattern and continue in the same way.

The final look should contain several

patterns in the design of your choice.
Some of the patterns can repeat.
The lines can be both straight and curved.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Triangles
You can choose any shape you like. You
can cut the triangles free hand or use a
template.
If you are using a template, print it out or
draw it on thicker paper and cut out the
shape using a scalpel with a sharp point.

You can use the outer template to choose

the part of the veneer you like. The paper
masks the surrounding and shows only
the pattern on the jewellery.

When you choose the part you like, insert

the inner template (cut-out) into the outer
template. Remove the outer template and
cut the triangle around the template.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

If you cut the template form thinner

paper, use a rigid blade and do not cut
too close to the template.

Use the same template for both earrings.

You can experiment with different shapes
and sizes.
If you are not fans of huge jewellery, you
can make the triangles smaller with more
obtuse angles.

Texturing and backfilling

Texture the triangles using a blade. Score
the surface where the patterns join. You
can use both sharp and blunt sides of the
blade.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Na Score the blend with the tip of the

blade. Of course, you can use different
textures of your choice too.

Another option - a brooch

You can use the rest of the final pattern
to make a brooch.
Rotate it by 90 degrees and add more
sections with different patterns.

The new look will match the look of the

earrings but it will be a bit more complex
and interesting.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

You can use a template to cut out the

shape of the brooch. Choose a regular
triangle shape, it will complement the
earrings nicely.

Texture the brooch in the same way you

did it with the earrings.

Bake your creations at 110-120C

for 15 minutes

Backfilling
After baking fill in the texture you made.
Use a softer clay, either FIMO Soft or
soften a piece of FIMO Classic with liquid
polymer or clay softener (FIMO Mix
Quick).
Press the clay into the dents to fill them
in. You can use one or more colours to do
that.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Remove the excess clay using a blade.

Be careful not to take out clay from the
notches. Add more clay and fill them in
again if necessary.

Remove excess clay from all creations

and bake them.
You can also use wet/baby wipes to
remove the excess clay. However, if you
want your creations to have a smooth
and glossy finish, do not use the wet
wipes because they wipe out more clay
from the notches and you would have to
sand the surface too much. It is easier to
sand off the excess clay in the notches
than the surface clay.

Sides and back

Send the upside and the sides of your
creations. Use 400-600 grit sandpaper or
sanding sponge.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Do the same with all pieces and you can

start making the back.

For the back you can use any pattern

that you have left. If you do not have
left enough of it, put a sheet of scrap
clay underneath and roll it through the
clay machine, it will stretch. The ideal
thickness of the sheet of clay is around
1mm.

Brush a bit of liquid clay on the back of

all pieces. You can also use polymer clay
paste or mix liquid clay with a little piece
of FIMO to make a thicker paste. This will
prevent the raw clay from sliding on the
cured clay.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Roll a sheet of scrap clay about 1 mm

thick and place it on the back of your
creation.

Trim the excess clay on the sides.

Repeat the process with all your pieces.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Press metal jump rings into the raw clay

where you want to hang the ear wires.

Trim one side of the prepared sheet for

the back to make it straight and place
the earring on it so that the upper part
(with the ring) is aligned with the trimmed
edge.

Press the back sheet lightly using a roller

to make sure the make the layers of raw
clay stick and secure the ring.
Trim excess clay.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Finish the second earring in the same

way.

Pin back
Prepare the pin back and place it to the
back of the brooch where you want to
attach it.
Cut around it.

Remove the clay from underneath the pin

back. Place tiny bits of clay to the back of
the pin, especially into the holes.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Press the pin back to its place and

prepare a sheet of clay for the back of
your brooch.

Place the sheet to the back of the brooch

and press lightly so that the pin back
imprints on the sheet.
Cut out little squares around the marks
on the sheet. You can use a knife or the
tip of the blade.

Try to make the holes large enough for

the the raised parts of the pin to go
through.
You can do this with small round cutters
too.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Pull the sheet over the pin back and

press the sheet to the back of the pin.
You cannot use a roller to press the raw
clay firmly to the cured back, so you
can either use gloves or put some corn
starch on your fingers to keep the surface
smooth.

Trim off excess clay.

Close the pin before curing so that its end

imprints into the raw clay. This will create
space for proper closing of the pin when
your brooch is baked.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Edges
Roll out a thin sheet of black clay (about
1 mm) and cut a stripe. Brush a small
amount of liquid clay on the sides of the
triangle. Press the stripe along one side.

Trim off excess clay with a blade or knife.

Guide the tool parallel with the surface
of the triangle so that the edge is alligned
with the surface.

On the side with jump ring carefully cut

along the ring on both sides and remove
the tiny bit of clay that remains on the
ring.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Finish both earrings.

Do the edges on the brooch in the same

way.

Sand the whole surface of all your

creations, especially the front in order to
remove the remains of backfilling. Buff
for glossy finish.

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Indie triangles - Nezvisl trojhelnky

Hang your earrings on ear wires.

You can try different colour or shape varieties.

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