How To Create Your Own Stained Glass Suncatcher Patterns

Before you learn how to create your own stained glass suncatcher patterns, you must first be somewhat familiar with how to cut and put together stained glass projects.

Like some architects who create designs that look great on paper, in reality the actual construction may not be feasable.

There are some cuts that are "impossible" to make and even if you are able to make them with aTaurus 3.0 Ring Saw, the pieces could not be foiled for easy construction.

A little common sense here goes a long way.

• First get yourself a picture or photograph of the design you plan to create your suncatcher from and enlarge it to your satisfaction. Coloring books are a great place to get patterns from.
  

If you have a copy machine, enlarge your picture enough to fit easily on a 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper and print it out in black and white.

• Next if you have a light box, trace only the outline of your picture on an overlay piece.

Make sure that there are no impossible cuts and that the lines flow together without any sharp angles.

You will have to get creative here and use your artistic abilities and knowledge of stained glass construction to add or delete lines where necessary.

The idea here is to create a pattern that has reasonable stained glass cuts.

When you're finished tracing, go over your your pattern again and refine it. Make sure there are no pointed edges and no "impossible cuts".

When you're satisfied with your pattern, you can either enlarge it farther if you plan on making a wall hanging, or reduce it if you plan to create a suncatcher or wind chime project.

• Next, use a pair of double bladed scissors to cut out your pieces.

• If you are making a suncatcher or wind chime, all you need to do next is transfer your pattern to the stained glass using a white glass marking pen, cut out your pieces, foil and solder.

• If you are creating a wall hanging or stained glass picture, you will need to arrange the pieces of the pattern you cut out, inside the border or frame you plan to use.

Tape the pieces of your pattern together on top of another piece of paper that will be your background and trace the outline of your pattern on the background.

Add lines on the background where you think they will look best to bring your pattern together and then cut out your background pieces with double bladed scissors as you did with your pattern.

Number the pieces by the color of the stained glass you are going to use and you're finished.

As you gain experience learning how to create your own stained glass suncatcher patterns, you can progress to more difficult projects such as wall hangings, room dividers, window and door inserts, etc.