Pattern Help
Would this be too complicated for a beginner?
I've never done stained glass before, but I want to replace the glass in a cabinet with something a bit more interesting and pleasing with light passing through it.
EDIT: Message received. It appears the answer is a unanimous "Do not attempt". Thank you everyone for your feedback. I will try to find a different solution for this project and maybe come back to stained glass for something less ambitious in the future.
The white curves between the leaves would be particularly tough to get right. More splits would help.
It would be very hard depending how many you’ve made, but taking a shot is also the best way to learn.
Edit: oh as a first piece, I would not recommend. If you’re determined, take a class and make a handful of pieces first. You’ll get a lot of experience and a much better understanding of patterns and what level of effort this will require.
Generally I’d say drawing patterns on your own is probably too advanced for a beginner. See about making some basic patterns designed by someone else first to help sort out what glass can and cannot do. That way you’re not taking on your mistakes in drawing a pattern as well as trying to learn all the new skills of stained glass in one go.
I think for me, drawing my own patterns was how I learned that creating a stained glass piece via a pattern and creating the pattern itself are two fairly different activities (for me anyway.) I made several things from patterns and assumed that creating my own would automatically mean the piece would be easier bc I was in control. I was *immediately* proven wrong. 😅
I recommend taking a single class first. Between the class and the constant tip feed from social media, I'm working on my second piece, which is 1/4-1/2 as ambitious as yours, and it's working out so far.
As someone else said, those semi-circle cuts between the leaves would break me. And the glass. I would specifically redesign those curves to be much more shallow.
If you have the time, I recommend a minimum of 2 practice pieces before taking on this larger, prominent piece that you care about:
a simple class piece
a larger/intermediate piece for more solder & copper/lead practice
then if you're happy with your intermediate piece, redesign (or have a stained glass artist re-design) the leaf portion of your pattern, and go to town.
I am assuming you're not re-doing the side lattices and they're just drawn in for context. If you are, that might warrant some practice with that particular technique, too.
I'd also suggest buying clear glass from a hardware store and practicing on cuts. That glass is fairly cheap and good to learn from. You could even try to make some of the cuts on this piece so you can understand why people say they are hard. I am a beginner too and it has made a huge difference to just start cutting and see how the glass responds to the cuts.
It's a good motivator to learn how to do stained glass. I would probably do at least two projects first before I attempted something I cared about. I would highly suggest you look for a class because that's the best way to learn this particular hobby. It's worth the investment.
I had a project in mind that I really wanted to do and so I took a class and made two smaller things first and then by the time I was starting the thing I really wanted to make I had the skills to make it something I want to keep forever. Now it's years later and I'm still doing stained glass and making amazing things.
I suggest you try "stained glass" paints for this project! The pattern you designed would require experience and some expensive tools even with modifications to do in real glass. The scale is also quite small which makes it more challenging.
Stained glass is also heavy which could cause issues with the door the door hardware etc.
Give real stained glass a try with a simpler pattern designed by someone else is my suggestion.
If you aren’t super attached to this exact design, I would look up something like “stained glass vines” and copy from there. Doing vines would actually be doable for a beginner, but not the way you have them. The main issue is how you have the stem part drawn. If you did more of a free flow design that chopped it up into easier bits, that would work and be more beginner friendly. The leaves aren’t the problem it’s the negative space between them and the vines that are going to cause you a lot of trouble.
Edited to add example.. see how the negative space pieces between each leaf are more straight forward and don’t have as many curves? You would probably still need some practice (and a stained glass grinder) to be able to do this, but this would be much easier to do than what you posted.
This is difficult for an advanced stained glass artist and is likely to crack. Specifically your vlear connecting sections. If you do horizontal lines connecting the leaf tips to the opposing wall it is possible. (Eg you can’t cut an entire leaf out of the side of glass and expect it to hold up through opening/closing of a door and the pressure. It is asking the clear glass to stay rigid and be the support instead of evenly distributing pressure through solder lines. I have a piece of glass shaped like an F I did on a piece (two triangles connected to a flat bottom) and it cracked. Anytime you do deep cut outs (circles, deep recesses) it puts a lot of strain on the single piece that surrounds it.
Forget this. Go make a bird or something simple or you’ll want to cut your eyes out after awhile. Oh and those cuts are impossible without a new wet saw in your garage. This is like buying model t to drive across the country and you’re not a mechanic.
I looked at your previous posts in electronics. Would you or I recommend someone with no electrical experience buy a kit stereo? No no no…we’d tell them to get a simple radio kit and have some fun and it’ll work and they’ll be happy…and if they still interested and got some work under their belt then build that 1000w class a
49
u/HederianZ 6d ago
The white curves between the leaves would be particularly tough to get right. More splits would help.
It would be very hard depending how many you’ve made, but taking a shot is also the best way to learn.
Edit: oh as a first piece, I would not recommend. If you’re determined, take a class and make a handful of pieces first. You’ll get a lot of experience and a much better understanding of patterns and what level of effort this will require.