Pillow Soap Dishes

I’m always looking for small items to tuck in the small spaces in the kiln between larger things. Pendants, refrigerator magnets, and buttons fill this bill nicely, but now that I’ve adopted soap making as a hobby, dishes to hold said soap seem like a natural. Obviously there are many ways to make soap dishes, and I have a few online now, but while playing around I came up with a quick way to a really appealing, pillowy shape. 

First I throw a cylinder without a bottom. It can be just a tallish mug shape, but the larger the diameter of the ring, the more dishes you are going to get. The height of the ring will be the length of the soap dish, and a soap dish that’s almost big enough is like underpants that are almost big enough: irritating. Pull it taller than you need, because it’s going to shrink (thanks Captain Obvious) and also because the next step is going to make it shorter. 

 

With a rib outside and my fingertip inside, I stretch the outward in three places, so it’s a cylinder with three bulging bands.

  

Using my wire tool, I cut the cylinder into lengths of about 5 inches. If I’ve made a mug-shape, that will be in half.

Soon after removing from the wheel, roll the cut ends under, with the outer surface becoming the top.

Voila! Pillow soap dishes! The ridges raise the soap up so it doesn't get gloppy.

Kickstarter update: The campaign, it seems, is gonna come right down to the wire: we are at 89% with 5 days remaining. If you've got a minute, I hope you'll pledge. A $30 pledge gets a notebook of all my glaze recipes, with firing notes (a special reward, just for potters) but you can pledge as little as one dollar. Believe me it all helps. Check it out here.

Many thanks to readers who have already pledged. Keep your fingers crossed for me.