Polymer Clay Striped Veneer 3 Ways | Scrap Clay Series

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to turn your cane scraps into a polymer clay striped veneer with three unique pattern variations. So, if you’re looking for a creative way to use up those cane ends cluttering your clay stash, you’re in the right place. Let’s put those scraps to work with some clever chopping and layering—no mud mixing required.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably amassed an impressive collection of cane scraps, each one a little burst of color that’s too good to waste. But let’s face it: mixing all those colors together usually makes for an accidental mud mess. Instead, I’ll show you how to repurpose those remnants into a striped cane that forms the basis of a beautiful, bold polymer clay striped veneer. It’s quick, it’s easy, and the results are way more satisfying than a drawer of forgotten scraps.

The process starts with chopping up that scrap clay and pressing it into a striped cane. From there, we’ll explore three different ways to slice and arrange the cane into veneers: a simple striped pattern, a herringbone layout, and finally, a basketweave design. Each pattern has its own flair, adding style and personality to whatever project you have in mind—jewelry, decor, or anything else that could use a touch of playful, colorful style.

And don’t feel limited to just cane scraps here! Any mix of clay colors will work, though I’d recommend sticking to shades that complement each other. To make things even punchier, I’ll also show you how to add a solid stripe color that highlights the whole look.

Ready to give your scrap clay new life? Let’s dive into making a polymer clay striped veneer—three ways!

Tools & Materials

• Non-porous work surface — I work on either glazed tile or glass
• Pasta machine dedicated to polymer clay use — I use an Atlas 180 and will refer to the settings I use on my machine. If you don’t have a pasta machine an acrylic roller and some playing cards will do in a pinch, it’ll just take a little more work.
• Polymer clay — I’m using cane scraps and fresh clay in one of the colors found in the scraps
• Polymer clay blade(s) — use your stiffest blade for chopping the clay and your sharpest blade (stiff or flexible) for slicing the cane
• Acrylic roller
• Parchment paper
• Burnishing tool — I use a combination of a stainless steel soap to burnish the seams and an espresso tamper to smooth everything out afterwards. A roller will do the trick as well

Directions for Polymer Clay Striped Veneer 3 Ways

The Striped Cane

Using a stiff blade, chop up scrap polymer clay into small pieces. I find using an old Lucy Clay Slicer blade works well for this task since it has very little flex and chopping clay doesn’t require a sharp blade. Save the edge on your sharpest blade for slicing canes, mica shift, and mokume gane techniques.

Gather up the chopped clay and squeeze it together into a rough log.

Continue squeezing and shaping the clay, taking care to squeeze all trapped air out. Press the log into a rectangle using a roller and your work surface to smooth the sides.

Cut the log into thick slices, slightly thicker than the thickest setting on your pasta machine (no.0 on my Atlas.)

Lay the slices out into a rectangle, slightly overlapping the sides. Roll over the slices to help them stick together. You’re not looking for perfection here, you just want everything to stick together when you lift it from your work surface.

Roll the clay through the pasta machine on the thickest setting (no.0) fold it once and roll it through the machine again. This should be enough to make sure everything is well pressed together without blending the colors together. Trim away any uneven edges.

Sheet a piece of your chosen contrasting strip color on a no.6 setting. Lay it over the scrap sheet, taking care not to trap any air. Use a needle tool to pierce air bubbles and press the air out. Trim the sides so they extend just beyond the edges of the scrap sheet.

Run the stacked sheets through the pasta machine once on the thickest setting. Trim away the excess clay from the contrasting stripe.

Cut the layered sheet into equal sized pieces—I was able to get six 2” wide pieces out of my sheet. Neatly stack the pieces together to create the striped cane.

Polymer Clay Striped Veneer | Simple Stripes

This one is easy—take slices off of the long side of your cane and lay them together to create the striped veneer. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and burnish the seams until everything is smooth and well adhered.

That’s it. Easy, eh?

Polymer Clay Striped Veneer | Herringbone Pattern

This pattern requires that your cane slices are at least twice as wide as they are tall. Mine were a little wider so I had to do some trimming as I built the veneer.

Begin by placing two slices together in a lopsided “V” shape. Continue to build on that shape with a few more cane slices. If you need to trim some of the width off the slices use the outer edge of the cane slice two above the one you’re trimming as a guide. See the dotted lines in the picture above in case that’s not very clear.

Once you’ve trimmed the slices continue to build out the veneer, trimming as needed, until you’ve reached your desired size. Cover the veneer with a piece of parchment paper and burnish the seams until everything is smooth and well stuck together.

Polymer Clay Striped Veneer | Basketweave Pattern

Unless your cane yields perfectly square slices this veneer will require some trimming as you build as well.

Begin by joining for slices together at a center point. Each slice should be rotated a quarter turn from the one next to it. Use the outside edges of the neighbouring slice as a guide to trim into square, if needed. See the dotted lines in the photo for reference.

Continue to build on the initial square, trimming as you go. And be careful to keep your stripes the right way up! Luckily, I caught the mistake in the photo after I snapped the picture. If you look at the red stripe the arrow is pointing to you’ll see it should be at the top of that slice, not the bottom, when compared to the other slices. 

Once you’ve reached your desired size for your veneer cover with a sheet of parchment paper and burnish.

Want more scrap clay ideas? Check out these posts:

• DIY SCRAP POLYMER CLAY BARGELLO SOAP DISH
• NATASHA SCRAP TECHNIQUE
• HOW TO MAKE SCRAP POLYMER CLAY MOKUME GANE

If you’ve enjoyed learning how to make a polymer clay striped veneer three ways and give this tutorial a try please tag @bysandracallander on Instagram!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, I’m happy to hear from you.