What is a mold and what is it for?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Handicraft is the most common hobby among women and even some men. In order to make the work of craftswomen easier, craftsmen invent more and more various devices. These can be special needles for embroidery or beading, machines for weaving baubles from rubber bands, beads or threads, cutters of various shapes for woodcarving or molding.

Today we will look at such a tool as mold: the meaning of the word, what it is for, and how to make it with your own hands - you will learn all this from the article. We will also find out what molds exist and in what crafts they are used.

Mold: definition, concept

Mold is translated from English as "to cast". Therefore, already by the name you can guess that it can be used as a form to obtain a particular figure or pattern.

These tools are kind of little bits like those from which children make Easter cakes, but they are often smaller and made of a different material. This is what mold is.

However, with the help of molds, you can not only cast figures from liquid material, but also extrude a pattern or even somean object made of a substance like polymer clay, mastic or plasticine. It is very difficult and even almost impossible to achieve maximum realism of the product without molds, so if you want to put your work up for sale, then you cannot do without these molds.

Where molds are used

Silicone molds are used both in needlework and in the food industry. We will now consider the use of these molds in more detail.

• This tool is needed when working with cold porcelain. It is used to give realism, for example, to the porcelain faces of dolls and baby dolls.
• Some clay items can only be made using special molds called clay molds.
• Working with polymer clay also requires molds, with their help you can make leaves and flower petals that are difficult to distinguish from real ones. Also, when making jewelry, you will significantly improve its appearance by applying these casts.
• Epoxy resin jewelry is especially beautiful. There are special molds for epoxy resin, most often they are in the form of geometric shapes, for example: circle, square, oval, triangle, etc.
• It is very fashionable for birthdays and other holidays to order cakes decorated with fondant figurines. For the manufacture of these figures, molds are used, which are discussed.
• For the manufacture of hand soap, any molds of not very small size are suitable.

As you can see, in many areas suchforms. We have already described the meaning of the word "mold" in detail, now let's see how it can be replaced.

Several ways to replace molds

There are many options for replacing special mold shapes:

• The veins on rose petals can be made using corrugated paper. Use real flower and tree leaves to make realistic polymer clay leaves.
• Using a wire, wind a toothpick to the tweezers on each part from the inside. By pinching the edges of the leaves, you will get bilateral veins.

We've only given a few ideas on how to replace special molds and seals, but understanding what a mold is, you can come up with many interesting replacements yourself. Use all your imagination - and ideas will not keep you waiting.

What is a silicone mold

In order for the part to be easily removed, the mold must be made of plastic and easily bendable material. If this condition is not met, then the finished product may crack or break when removed.

The cheapest material suitable for making molds with your own hands is silicone sealant. For a very small amount, you can buy enough material from which you can make a lot of silicone molds.

You can buy silicone sealant at any hardware store nearby. Acrylic-based sealant is not worth buying, because withsolidification, it loses its plasticity and may crumble. A neutral or acid base is what you need. Also pay attention to the heat resistance of the material you choose, since you will bake it, it must withstand at least 200 degrees Celsius. Besides silicone sealant (we will describe how to make a mold later), you will need a few more tools:

• Special pistol.
• Starch, the amount of which should be equal to the amount of sealant (it is needed to thicken the mass).
• Soap solution.

When making a blank for the mold, mix the sealant with starch in equal proportions. Remember that the sealant dries very quickly, so do not waste time when working with it.

Moment silicone molds

Producing molds in this way will only be justified for products that do not have to be baked, for example, for soap. Also, under no circumstances should you use such silicone for molds with which you want to make edible figures, as it is quite toxic.

You need to work with Moment silicone in the same way as you would with a sealant. By the way, this silicone is much more expensive than our first option.

Mold made of special silicone

There is a special two-component silicone for making molds. As you understand, it is best suited for this purpose, but it also costs more than all the options presented above.

Molds made from thismaterial can also be used for food products.

If you follow the instructions on the package, the relief on your mold will turn out beautiful and clear. Immediately before starting to create your personal shape, you will have to mix both components of the special silicone. And after finishing work, the drying time of the product will be from 3 to 6 hours.

Polymer clay molds

We invite you to learn how to make molds with your own hands! Anyone can handle this process.

Before we describe in general terms how to make polymer clay molds, it is worth noting that this is the most expensive and not worth the cost, as polymer clay is non-plastic, toxic, so using molds made from it, for figures from mastic it is impossible.

Of course, if you don't have any suitable materials at home, and you need a mold very urgently, you can use polymer clay.

Besides that, you will also need Vaseline and water. Mix polymer clay with a small amount of Vaseline, knead it well beforehand. Before making the print you need, moisten the mixture of clay and petroleum jelly crushed into a layer with water. When the mold has the shape you want, bake it in the oven at 100 degrees (about 20 minutes).

Read more about how to make a polymer clay mold

Since this method is the most difficult, we decided to talk about it separately. Let's see how to make such molds using a birch leaf as an example.

Tools and materials you will need:

• Polymer clay.
• Vaseline.
• Water.
• Real birch leaf.
• Plastic board.

Mold making process:

• Warm up the polymer clay in your hands until it is as soft as possible.
• Add Vaseline to it and rub the mass well with your hands. You should have the consistency of an unscored dough.
• Roll out the mass on a plastic board.
• Print a birch leaf on the inside of the resulting cake.
• Remove excess mass.
• Bake the first mold in the oven preheated to 100 degrees Celsius.
• Cool the finished product and moisten it well with cold water.
• Apply the rest of the clay-vaseline mass to it.
• Remove excess clay from the resulting shape and bake in the oven.

Now you have realistic molds. How to use these tools? Place a molded birch sheet without veins on the first mold, cover with the second mold on top and press it down. The product is ready.

Cooking silicone mold

Now we will describe to you the technique of making mold from silicone material, and it does not matter if it is a sealant, "Moment" or a special silicone - the principle of preparation is the same.

Let's break down the creation of a rose petal mold. Ingredients and materials:

• Silicone.
• Sealant gun (if you have sealant).
• Petalroses.
• Starch (unless you have special silicone).
• Sunflower oil, odorless.
• Tight package.
• Rubber spatula or spare credit card to level the layer.

Starting to create a mold:

• Squeeze a small amount of silicone onto a bag spread on a flat surface. If you use Moment or silicone sealant, mix it with starch in equal proportions.
• Smooth the resulting mass with a rubber spatula.
• Wash the rose petal under running water and moisten it with oil.
• Place the rose petal on the silicone-starch mixture and gently press down on it so that the entire relief is printed.
• Squeeze out a portion of silicone on top of the petal.
• Carefully remove the petal from the bottom.
• Put the petal with silicone on the bag.
• Walk over the product with your finger, applying light pressure.
• Remove the petal from the second half of the mold.
• Leave the molds to dry for 4 days.
• Use scissors to shape the molds into an attractive shape.

Doll face

One of the most common is face mold for dolls.

After all, it is very difficult to mold a realistic baby face on your own. Manufacturers of articulated dolls understand this very well. Of course, you can buy a ready-made face mold in a store, but not everyone can afford it, since they are by no means cheap, so we offer you a master class on making such a mold.

Materials that yourequired:

• Neutral based silicone sealant.
• Starch.
• Vaseline or vegetable oil.
• A doll head of the right size.
• Polymer clay that doesn't need to be baked.
• Rubber gloves.
• The container where you will mix the ingredients.
• Wooden stick for sushi (to stir the mixture).

Process of making doll face mold:

• First, remove all hair from the doll's head (this is necessary so that the doll's hair does not stick to the silicone mass and does not spoil the future shape).
• Pour half a pack of starch into a mixing bowl.
• Add the same amount of silicone sealant to the starch.
• Knead a mixture of these ingredients to make a paste that is similar in texture to unleavened dough.
• Roll the silicone into a ball and press lightly.
• Lubricate the doll's face with petroleum jelly or unscented sunflower oil.
• Press the doll's face against the silicone cake hard enough to make sure all the details are imprinted.
• Wait 3-4 days for the mold to harden.
• Knead the polymer clay in your hands until soft.
• Roll it into a ball.
• Press this ball firmly against the mold.

You have made a polymer clay doll face and silicone sealant and starch mold.

Molds of various interesting figurines

In addition to molds for making flowers and dolls, you may need prints of various pleasantlittle things. They will be especially useful if you are engaged in scrapbooking or making jewelry. It can be various miniature construction tools, bicycles, strollers, tiny glasses, hearts, arrows and a lot of other little things.

Let's look at how you can make these molds at home. Tools and materials:

• Figurines whose molds you want to get (you can buy them in a needlework store).
• Silicone sealant.
• Sealant gun.
• Starch.
• The container where you will mix the ingredients.
• Wooden stick for sushi.
• Pair of rubber gloves.

Mold making process:

• Squeeze out a small amount of silicone sealant.
• Add the same amount of starch to it
• Knead thoroughly the resulting mass.
• If the substance turned out to be too liquid, then add more starch to it.
• Divide the mass into the desired number of parts (depends on how many parts you want to make).
• From each part we make a neat round, square or rectangular cake.
• Press the selected item halfway into the resulting silicone figure.
• Pry it off with a stick or a knife and carefully remove it.
• Leave the mold to dry for 4 days.

Moulds should be handled with care and stored in separate boxes to prevent debris from sticking to them.

To make it easier to remove the polymerclay from the mold, place the mold with clay for 25 minutes in the freezer.

In this article, you learned what mold is, what it is for and how to use it, figured out what these molds necessary for needlework are made of.

We hope that no question related to this topic has been left unanswered. Let this article help you in promoting your creativity!