Polymer Clay Extruder Flower Cane Tutorial

Today, I’m showing you how to make a polymer clay extruder flower cane inspired by the cozy vibes of a granny square cardigan. We’re taking retro charm and shrinking it down into adorable, tiny cane form. Grab your extruder and let’s get to it!

Whether you’re an experiences cane maker or just dipping your toes into this polymer clay technique, this extruder flower cane is a fun, approachable project. The flower’s design is simple, and once you’ve reduced the cane small enough to fit into the extruder barrel, the extruder works its magic for you.

Using a polymer clay extruder to shrink canes down to micro sizes is addictive—trust me. The first time I tried it, I was practically cackling with delight. Then again, making polymer clay canes always feels like a sprinkle of sorcery, but the extruder? It just makes it that much more fun and magical.  

Tips for Making Polymer Clay Extruder Canes

1. Keep it simple, superstar

Don’t waste time adding intricate details that’ll vanish into oblivion once your cane gets reduced to its tiniest form. For this technique, simple shapes and patterns work best. Simple designs shine brightest here.

2. Choose contrasting colors

Subtle color shifts can blend together when reduced, so pick a palette with good contrast. This ensures your tiny flower details stay vibrant and defined.  

3. Cap it with background clay

When reducing a cane with an extruder, some of the colors from the center can sneak their way onto the outside edges. To avoid this sneaky color transfer, cap one end of your cane with matching background clay. Make sure to load it into the extruder so the capped end comes out first. This little hack prevents those pesky ghost lines from haunting your final cane assembly.  

4. Embrace imperfection

Forcing a cylindrical cane into a square shape with an extruder is bound to cause a little distortion—don’t sweat it. Wrapping the cane with a thicker layer of background clay can help minimize the wonkiness, but perfection isn’t the goal here. Honestly, I think the slightly quirky, tiny flowers have more charm anyway.  

Ready? Grab your extruder, give it a quick clean and a little lube (yeah, I said it), and let’s dive into making your very own polymer clay extruder flower cane.

Polymer Clay Extruder Flower Cane Tutorial

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 — 4 colors of polymer clay. I went through my scrap bins and mixed up the warm 70s inspired palette
• Polymer clay extruder and a square disk
• 3/4” round cutter — optional, but this will help you with clay amounts
• Polymer clay blade — use your sharpest blade for clean slices

Directions 

Prepare your clay by conditioning all colors separately and sheet them on the thickest setting (no.0) of the pasta machine.

Flower Center

Cut 2 x 3/4” circles for each flower center. You’ll be making three flowers so you’ll need 6 circles in total.

Pair the circles up by color and smush two matching circles together for each flower center. Roll the clay out to a 3/4” uniform log. Repeat with the other circles.

Wrap each short log with a different color rolled out on the thickest setting.

Flower Petals

Cut out 12 more 3/4” circles from each color. Smush the matching circles together and roll each color out into a log about 2 1/4” long.

Flatten the log slightly and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half of the log into 3 equal sized pieces for the flower petals.

Arrange five of the six petals around the flower center (the sixth one won’t get used.) I find it helpful to press a curve into the cut edge of the petals with the side of a Sharpie marker before fitting around the flower center.

Repeat with the other two flowers.

Fill in the Background

Roll out a snake of your background clay small enough to fit between the flower petals. Shape into a triangle by pinching along the top as you press the snake into your work surface. Lift the snake off your work surface and pinch the two points that will sit on top of the petals thinner.

Fill the space between all of the petals with the triangular clay snake. Gently roll each flower on your work surface to smooth out any bumps.

Sheet the remainder of the background clay on the no.2 setting. Wrap each flower twice with the no.2 rolled background clay.

Reduce the Cane

Begin reducing each flower by gently squeezing around the middle. Continue squeezing from the middle and moving the clay out towards the ends. When the diameter of the cane is almost to the size that will fit the barrel of the extruder roll it on your work surface to smooth it out.

Cut off one of the distorted ends and cap with a thick disk of background clay.

Load one of the canes into the extruder so the capped end will come out first. Fit a square disk on the extruder barrel and extrude the clay. Trim away the distorted ends until you get to a clean flower design.

Repeat with the other two canes.

Assemble the Final Cane

It’s time for some math! Measure the length of the extruded flower canes. If you’ve got one that’s shorter, take the measurement from that one. Divide that number by 6 and round down if needed for ease of measuring. My number was 3.83” so I rounded down to 3.75”.

Use that number to cut each extruded cane into 6 equal sized pieces.

Assemble the cane using a repeat pattern with six pieces along the bottom and three rows high. Pay attention as you build each row so your pattern repeats seamlessly.

Or, grab the pieces randomly to build the cane without an obvious pattern repeat. You do you.

Final Notes

At this point I only press along each side lightly to make sure everything is well stuck together. I’ll then gently roll each side with my roller to straighten the sides, but that’s it. 

If you’d like to reduce the cane any further I suggest letting it rest for at least an hour to firm up. Freshly reduced and extruded clay is quite soft and trying to reduce the cane right away will likely lead to distortion.

The same goes for slicing your new cane. Take a slice off one end to get a clean look at your new cane but then let it rest and firm up before slicing it all up. And when you do slice it up, use your sharpest blade for the cleanest cuts.

Looking for more polymer clay extruder ideas?

• How to Make an Analogous Retro Cane
• How to Make a Polymer Clay Extruder Cane | Groovy Geometric
• How to Make Texture Rollers with Scrap Polymer Clay

If you enjoyed learning how to make this polymer clay extruder flower cane, I’d love to see your creations! Tag me on Instagram @bysandracallander.

Have questions? Comments? Hilarious clay fails? Drop me a message—I’m here to help (and laugh with you, not at you…promise).

Want even more inspiration and a place to share your work? Join my Facebook group The Polymer Clay Collective and connect with a fabulous community of fellow makers. Let’s clay it up together!