When making something out of silver clay, it is important to know that your silver clay will shrink when it has been fired. Be sure to know what the shrinkage rate of the specific clay you have as all silver clay shrinkage rates may differ. You will find this information on the back of the packaging.
To ensure your silver clay piece turns out how you want it to after it has been fired, you will need to account for this shrinkage within your design. This means lines and indentations will become closer together and holes will become smaller. The reason for this is that when fired, the organic binder is burnt away, leaving behind your solid silver piece.
The image below is a pendant made with 6 grams of Project X silver clay which has a shrinkage rate of 22%. You can clearly see the difference between the two pendants, one has been sculpted and dried and the other has been fired.
This is another important tip for when you are making your next jewellery project out of silver clay.
Sian Brown
Sian has been hand making her award winning jewellery in the West Midlands for over 12 years. Sian spent 10 years in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter before relocating to a quiet Worcestershire village.
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