Fish in a bag (soap)

I've always been interested in soap-making, I haven't been game to make lye soap. So it's all melt a pour for me at the moment. This it the first soaps I made, many years ago, and i didn't make any more till now.

My first melt and pour soap

I thought "Fish in a bag" looked like fun, and be easy. It wasn't. It was quite challenging. I got a kit to make it simple(It wasn't).

This is the kit.

To give you an idea of what it's supposed to look like.fish in a bag. Cute huh?

This is what they're supposed to look like.

Instructions for 4

Melt enough soap to fill to 4 moulds to fit the fish in, the idea of this is to make a smaller soap that can be positioned within the the larger soap to make the fish stand upright and not appear dead. It suggested using ice cube tray and I did, but didn't like it. Next think I tried was a paper cup  cut down to about 5 cm (It was a McDonald's cup, don't judge me). Pour the soap into the cup and use the icy pole sticks to hold the fish  upright until the soap sets enough to hold it up(doesn't take long). If I did it again i think I'd pour the soap straight into the bag and put the fish in, manipulate the fish though the bag until it was in the right position, wait for it to set, then place the bag into the position I wanted it to set in.

Don't forget to put fragrance in the soap. Soap that doesn't smell is just weird.

Once the small mould with the fish in it has set, put it in the bag and pour more melted soap into the bag careful to keep the fish in the right position. Tie up the bag and place into the position you want it to harden in. You need to tie up the bag before the soap sets. Place the bag on a flat surface to set or else the bottom will set rounded and won't stand up.



This is the equipment I used. I can tell you what not to do! I don't know why the photo stretched.

The ice cube tray was a bad idea

I melted the soap, but couldn't keep it clear, I'm not sure how to prevent that, I think I stirred to much and heated it too much. The clear soap base is more sensitive than I thought I added watermelon scent(from the kit) but because It smelt disgusting straight from the bottle, I don't think I put in enough. The hardest thing was get the bags open and upright to pour the soap in. After much trial and error, this was my solution. Peg each top side to an icy pole stick and then hang them on the clothes airer thusly (thusly isn't a word?). I really don't think the bags were big enough for the job.:

I should patent my design

The next problem was finding a small container to put the fish in and a small amount of soap. I tried the ice cubes first and it was a disaster, I couldn't get the soap out and i froze it, (too long) and it lost all transparency. Then I tired the coke up. (see above) and that worked better. Here's the finished product, and I can't take good photos.

Orange fish, this is the best one.

yellow fish

Poor purple fish with his head embedded in an ice cube.

The finished product is ok. I am NOT in a hurry to do it again. If I did, I'd use bigger bags, clearer soap and cut out the first step.

Rather Alooming news.

Ok, that sounded much better in my head. Anyhow. I ordered these awesome looms and they arrived at my doorstep last week. I was home all day and didn’t hear anyone put the package at my door, rather creepy yeah?

The looms are quite large. The work on the blue loom is a "sleeve".

The pick thingy. (Is that what it's called)

I am learning as I go, but the normal stitch is easy, and just like a giant knitting Nancy/knitting bee/knitting ned/french knitting/spool knitting . I can cast off a gather for hats. That is it. I haven't figured out how to cast off an edge, that's why the sleeve is still on the loom. My daughter T, decided to make sleeves because her arms get cold in bed or something? I want to learn the other stitches and to make socks, I'll figure it out one day. My first hat went ok, but it's waaaaaay to small.

Teeny hat

But it fits perfectly on this Teddy.

My next had went better, I used three strands of wool and the next size up loom

I got a bit excited with the dangly thingy, it's about a metre long! Whoopsie.

Unclear photo of me demonstrating the length of the dangly bit

I wore it to vote. Stay tuned for more loom work, or not.