How to Use Textured Rolling Pins for Clay

One popular technique a lot of potters try are textured rolling pins. This is a great way to give your clay that extra little personal touch, in its own unique way.

But how do you do it? Well, you’re in luck because here we’ll tell you how to use textured rolling pins for clay, and how it can help you make your pottery really stand out.

Table of Contents

What are They?

Textured rollers are a great way to give an extra dimension to your products since it allows you to put together an intricate and amazing detail to it.

Textured rollers allow for the following to happen:

You can create a unique design
You can work with multiple ones
They can be used to create a wonderful and different look to your pieces

Textured rollers are great if you’re looking to create a certain look to your pottery, and you don’t feel like etching it out. There are many cool designs, and you can use them all, or maybe just one or two on your pieces.

Some of the cool designs these textured rolling pins have included the following:

Cool geometric shapes
Animals
Little patterns

They are super easy to use, and they don’t require a lot of extra care. How you use them is pretty simple.

To use a wooden roller, you simply do the following:

Hold either the handle or between the fingers
Gently press into the wet pottery clay
Slightly roll over these
You can do this on a section, or on an entire piece

There you have it, it’s quite awesome. There are different types of rollers out there, some of which are used for handbuilt projects, and some are used for wheel-thrown projects that are there.

Some people like to use them for varying reasons, including the following:

They add a neat pattern to the piece
They add texture to the piece
They add dimension to the exterior of a piece
They help to create a look to the piece that’s simple, yet effective

A lot of these rollers are incredibly easy to use, and they are versatile in their uses. In the next section, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of using these, and why they are good for some projects, but not for others.

Pros and Cons to Them?

The pros and cons to them do vary based on the project that you plan on doing. For example, some people benefit from these if they are making smaller pieces, others may not like them for other projects.

The pros to these rollers include the following:

They are incredibly simple to use
Once you roll it over the clay, you’re done
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes
A lot have interchangeable handles so that you can put different ones on there
You can make so many different designs
Good for kids
Great for beginner potties to add their own unique flair to their piece

They are incredibly easy to use, and a lot of people like them because of this. For a lot of beginner potters, there are a lot of uses for this, since it allows for them to get used to using these types of patterns to create wonderful ideas.

There are a few cons to them, and they include the following:

It takes a little bit of effort to push into the clay with these
They often are a little awkward at first
If you don’t get it right the first time, it may not look good, or you’ll have to smooth it out and redo it

But, compared to other ways to create patterns in your clay, this is by far one of the best, and you can always get some awesome textures from this, and they definitely are helpful when crafting the pieces that you need. The pros certainly outweigh the cons in many of these cases.

Are they Good for Small Hands?

One thing a lot of potters wonder about these is are they good for smaller hands. The answer is yes, they’re wonderful for tinier hands for a variety of reasons, and they include the following:

They’re easy to manipulate
You can usually hold one side and then get it moving forward
You’ll be able to with this be able to craft and create many designs that would take forever otherwise
If you have a texture you’re going for, a roller can help offset a lot of the strain of making this

Have you ever tried to make a cool pattern on your piece, but you feel exhausted halfway through? Well, a roller can help with making that much easier, so you can craft the perfect texture for your piece.

One way a roller can help you is the following:

You can shape the piece
You can take the roller, and depending on how hard you want the image to set, or the type of rolling implement, you can push down with one or two hands.
Lightly go over the area you want the texture on, and you should see the indentation shortly after
When finished, you can step back, and see if it’s good, or lightly go over it again if possible

These are great for those tiny designs, and if you have small hands and don’t want to work on something for hours on end, this is one of the best ways to offset that.

Can you Make your Own?

Yes, you certainly can make your own. They are incredibly easy to make, so if you’re curious about this, you can get started with it right away.

To do this, you need the following:

A roller of some sort, such as cut-up PVC, couplings of it or a plastic rolling pin from the dollar store
A sharpie
A hot glue gun
Extra hot glue sticks

The directions to make this are the following:

Draw the pattern that you want on there
Try to make the pattern as connected as possible
Literally, take the hot glue and draw this one each of the lines that you have for the design
Draw it deep so that you can get them to show up on there
Let the glue cool down completely
From there, you can roll away, and use this with your textured slabs
Try rolling these around and see what you get

You will notice that at first there will be a bit of sticking, but if you do have some clay left on there on the surface, it won’t stick anymore. This is a great way to create your own pieces, especially if you have a design that you can’t really find anywhere in the sore.

Personally, I love using these because they provide the following:

A simple way to create designs that you will love
A really cool personalized design
Is perfect if the store doesn’t have the textured design that you’re looking for since this makes it doable

If you have a design that you really wanted to try on a piece, this is one of the best ways to do it, since it’s incredibly simple, and effective too.

Highlighted Product: Creativity Street Wood Rolling Pin Set

What if you are interested in getting a set of rollers that you don’t have to make on your own? Well, this is one of the best rollers sets out there, and they get the job done!

Click here to view on Amazon.

Some of the features of these include the following:

They are 15 inches long
There are 24 of them in the container
They are 6.5 inches long
They don’t weigh much
They are almost 6 inches wide

This is a product that is really good for children, but for those who want to create some wonderful rolling designs, this is honestly one of the best out there to do the job.

Some of the benefits of this rolling pin set include the following:

They are specifically made to work with clay tools
They contain a special coating that keeps the clay from sticking to them
They come with a variety of textures and designs
It eliminates the frustration that is there
There are 6 different sets, and 5 different pins in each set, each of them coming with a distinctive pattern
They’re perfect for those of us with the creativity bug

While it may seem like a lot of money for this, remember that there are a lot of different benefits to this, and a lot that you can do with this, and so many different aspects that you can benefit from. Do remember that, with each of these pins, there is a lot that they have to offer, and you’ll be amazed at how helpful they are.

If you are curious about these and want to try them out, then you can get them here.

Any Cautions to Take?

While these are probably some of the safest pottery tools out there, there are a few things that you should make sure that you have on these rollers before you begin.

Remember, in order to get the right designs from your rolling pins, you should make sure that you consider the following:

That the pin is made for clay
That it has a residue that prevents clay stickiness
That they fit in your hands
That you don’t have to use much effort in order to use these

So, with that in mind, here are a few cautions that you should consider when you do buy these rollers:

Always make sure that they’re made for clay, otherwise, the rollers won’t be effective with the medium
Make sure there is a means to prevent the clay from sticking the roller
If you need to wash them, never throw them in the dishwasher unless the pins explicitly state that you can do that
Make sure you’re gentle with these because if you go over the pottery too fast with them, you could potentially break the item
Make sure to keep any loose hair and skin away from the rollers, because you’ll accidentally pinch yourself otherwise
If you’re not getting a good enough indentation in the pottery, look at how hard you’re pushing down on it
Experiment with these, and if you do back and forth with these, remember that it will affect the design
If you have a specific design, make sure you only go over the pottery once with it, unless it doesn’t matter to you
Practice and experiment with these and see which way works best for you

With all of this in mind, you’ll be able to create the best experience that you can with these, and in turn, you’ll be able to experiment with them to help craft the right pottery textures that you want.

Don’t be afraid to use these with shapes, or with textures, since they make the job so much easier. But, do be careful that you don’t accidentally pinch your skin with these when you use them.

Textured Rollers are Fun!

Textured rollers are a great way to help create the best design that you can make, and in this, we even highlighted a couple of options for you to try out, along with one of the best rolling pins sets out there on the market.

With that in mind, you should consider trying rollers with your next project. I know it can be a bit awkward to start with, but if you’re using hand-building means to create pottery, this is one of the best ways to craft the items that you want to easily, and effectively too.