Sunday, June 9, 2013

Lining Your Mould with Contact Paper - Step by Step

As some of you may already know, I'm in the process of creating a course on how to make soap: everything from the basics through to advanced techniques. One of the tutorials I've just finished is how to line your soap mould. I know from experience that this can be a source of frustration for many soapmakers! My technique is quick and easy to learn, and I thought I would share it here.

1. Choose your mould. I'm using a wooden 2-log mould, but only lining one side.
    

 2. Cut the length of contact paper that you need. Make sure it’s long enough to cover the bottom and both side of the mould.


 3. Put the contact paper over the top of the mould, shiny side up. Use your nail to press a line of the inside edge of the mould onto the contact paper, all the way around.

 4. Fold over each line that you’ve made, folding inwards, creating four creases in the paper.

 5. Cut four slits into the paper, two at the bottom, and two at the top, as shown below. 

 6. Fold the middle tab up.

 7. Fold the left tab over.


 8. Fold the right tab over.


 9. Repeat steps 6-8 with the other end of the paper.

 10. You should now have a box shape that you can slot into the mould.

 11. If you have excess paper hanging over the top, make cuts in the corner creases, and fold the edges down.

 12. Tape the paper to the side of the mould to prevent it from moving around.

 13. Your mould is now lined and ready to use!

Tips: 
● This method can work with other materials such as baking paper or freezer paper, however it can be tricky as it doesn’t hold the shape as well. 
● Use clear contact paper rather than coloured or patterned, to prevent any dyes being transferred onto the soap.

If you're interested in my upcoming soap course (it will be a downloadable e-book), please click here or subscribe for updates using the sign-up form on the right.

4 comments:

  1. Great tutorial. I used to use parchment paper but it was so expensive and it took forever to line my molds. I now use thin, clear office trash bags. I got the tip from another local soaper who uses large kitchen trash bags and then re-uses them afterwards for actual garbage. I bought a huge box of 1000 10 gallon light duty commercial trash bags and line my molds with them. (They are super cheap at Sam's.) I just tape the outer edges where the bag folds over the outside of the mold to keep them in place. I can now line all nine of my molds in 5 minutes or less.

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  2. Thank you for this simple explanation.....will have to try this for sure! May eliminate the creases I get on the sides and bottom from the glad bake :)

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  3. Great tip always a pain lining the mould, I have use old shopping bags too, but you get wrinkles in the soap log. Keep the tutorials coming
    :-)

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  4. I found your tutorial from jenorasoap and have been using your contact paper technique. I like that I can use the same paper 4-5 times, saving me time from measuring and cutting each time. The only problem I have is that sometimes the surface of the soap that is in touch with the liner gets bubbly looking. I read that silicone liners can have the same problem because it does not allow the soap to breath while it goes through the hot gel phase. Anyhow, your tip has been very helpful.. Thank you!

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