Q&A for How to Make a Soap Carving

You can also use cutter, nail pusher or a spoon; it depends on the shape you're going to carve.

You'll need a large size soap and lots of practice. To avoid wastage, try creating easier objects so that you'll learn the tips and tricks in carving the soap. Then, work your way up to carving a dancing girl and boy.

When we did this project in grade school, our teacher had us stick a toothpick into the main part and then stick the broken part on the other end, then wet each side so it fuses together. If it's a small enough thing that broke off, you probably don't even need the toothpick.

Any object which has the capacity to cut the soap is enough. You'll need not use sharp objects, but to get a smooth finish, avoid tools having rough edges, especially when you are doing the final touch up.

On a board or just any surface with a paper towel or something like that under it.

Softer bars of soap are generally easier to carve. When we did soap carving for scouting, the troop leaders always told us to use Ivory but pretty much any soap will work.

Softer soaps usually work best, such as Ivory, but most bar soaps work.

Yes, you can just make them into a ball and then wet it and smush it together. Then you can let it dry and use it after. You can also sliver it into a new batch of cold process soap before the trace.

Yes, you can. Just follow the same instructions about making new bars of soap out of used ones, simply substituting your leftovers for the old bars of soap. There is a tutorial for that here on Wikihow.

Draw a flower outline onto the soap bar and cut it out using a non-sharp or butter knife.

Outline the bird and carve, as how it says to do with the heart. Outline the bird in the desired position, then either cut away the unused edges or make it more of a relief.

The easier way to smaller, detailed work is by using smaller, more precise tools. Use the kitchen knife for larger carving and find something smaller for detailed work.

Trace a pattern onto the soap by printing a template and placing it over the soap (lightly trace the lines with a toothpick). Carve large chunks off the soap that you don't need to carve (outer layers of soap that are unneeded). Go in with your knife, delicately carving around/in the design you would like. Choose a smaller knife for finer details.

You don't carve glass, you actually have to melt glass into the shape you want.

It can last for years. I've carved a carving two years ago and it's still left untouched by mold or anything. But if it's wet, let it air out or it could catch mold.

Yes, but be careful to not cut yourself. You can use anything that can cut the soap well.

Draw the shape on the soap. Carve the shape roughly, but not too close. Shape closely and round out the outline. Finish carving details. You can wet the soap and add tiny flakes to fill out or fix cracks. Wet to smooth the item a bit at a time to finish.

A flower and an aloe plant. It will be harder to carve but the result would be nice.

Just use the side of your knife's blade instead of your fingers, or use a very tightly-woven, non-fibrous cloth to smooth it out (dampen the cloth with water if needed).

I've found that it's easiest when using a small plastic knife and a toothpick and working with a simple design, such as a heart or turtle. For more advanced designs, like birds, detailed flowers, or people, you'll need a metal knife with a considerably sharp end (semi-dulled in the least.)

If the soap is soft enough, it will most likely work. There are also fruit and vegetable carving tools, which will also work if you soften the soap in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Figure out what species you want to carve, buy your soap, make an outline, then carve as explained in the above instructions. You might want to start off with something easier than an animal though if you've never done this before.

Do not try microwaving it, since it can break down very quickly in the microwave. When I reuse bits of soap and turn them into new bars, I microwave them for 15 to 30 seconds, and they're pretty much mush. Not ideal for carving! If you try warm water, make sure not to get the whole bar of soap wet, or it’ll keep slipping out of your hands. If you’re still having difficulty carving your soap, opt for a softer brand.