I bought a #1 wilton piping tip a little while ago to use for really intricate lines. The problem i am having in that it seems to clog up when i am piping and the icing stops piping out, does anyone else have this issue with this particular tip?

I was thinking it might have something to do with the pressure in the bag or has it got to do with the comsistency of the royal icing? I make it so it is not really runny so i can get a stable very thin line but when i try to make it runnier to help it flow through better it ends up piping out and it starts spreading out and i don't have a firm thin line anymore

I've never used a #1 tip, but I've used a 2. I had problems with it clogging when I didn't sift my powdered sugar first. Did you sift first?

I don't use royal icing, so can't help with the consistency part. Hopefully someone else be able to help you out with this!

no i don't sift my icing sugar, maybe thats the prob. I have never really had an issue of clogging before with my tips not even on my #2 etiher but i'll try sifting the icing sugar and see if that helps at all

yeh it is so annoying where the piping will be going just fine and then all of the sudden the icing will just stops piping out and i squeeze as hard as i can to force it out but it doesn't budge, i then stick a needle down the top of the tip and that doesn't help either

When you are using such a small tip get a package of knee high nylons. Add some Karo Syrup to your frosting not a lot but enough to make the elastisity better so it doesn't break while doing string work. Next take the frosting and run it through a clean nylon. You will need to sqeeze this thru the nylon, it's messy but works like a charm. This will remove the lumps, #1 tip is easy compared to a 1s The other trick is your frosting has to be fresh. I would not use anything that's been in the fridge or freezer, make the frosting the same day you need to pipe. Believe it or not this makes a difference.

Good Luck,
Kat

Yeah, like katwomen1up said, a whole lot of problems with the small tips comes from small lumps in the icing that clog the tip! You'll be very happy with the suggestions she gave you....

I do the clean knee high trick that Katwomen does any time I am plannng to use a PME 0 or 00 and it works like a charm! I use it for detailing on cookie and just use Antonia74's RI recipe as is. You take the new knee high, wash it in dish soap, rinsing very thoroughly and dry it. Put this over a tall glass, pulling the excess over the top so you can easily access the bottom of the stocking. Pour your RI in, twist the top, then put a piece of plastic wrap around that area to protect your hand from any icing as you squeeze the RI through. The stocking catches those little bits that would clog your small tips and makes life SO much easier!

i'll give the nylon a try, thanks alot katwomen thanks everyone else too!

Oh, I just remembered something else. When I heard about the nylon trick, the person said that for stringwork to add glycerin to keep it from breaking, but I am guessing that is what Katwomen was talking about. Just thought I would throw it out there.

You're welcome Elise87. TracyLH, you're right, glycerin or the Karo syrup will work fine. I like your saran wrap trick too, it is very messy otherwise. Thanks for the tip.


Kat

Thanks, Kat! I think you know a lot more about this than I do! I am just over on the cookie-side-of-things.

You're Welcome, I think you know plenty, have you looked at your pics lately? OMG... amazing the work you do!!

ooooohhhhhh i thought i recognized your name TracyLH, you do all those unbelievable absolutely fantastic cookies lol love em

Also katwomen i saw your shaggy dog he is so cute i love his ultra shagginess, if that is even a saying lol

Katwomen - Thanks for the very kind words and thank you for the the huge smile that I got this morning when I looked at the Shaggy Dog cake Elise mentioned! That really brought a lift to my morning! So cute!

Elise - Are you kidding with that teacup?? My jaw hit the keyboard when I saw that!! Incredible! Thanks also for the nice words - they mean a lot to me!

aww thanks so much tracy! I was so scared i was going to muck it up when i was painting it but thank goodness it ended up ok lol

Oh, I woluld have been holding my breathe so much I would have likely passed out! Actually, I can safely say that I will not even be attempting something like that! Just incredible!

yeh lol it's not as hard as you think actually so i reackon you could do it, honestly

I do appreciate your vote of confidence, but I think I will stick with cookies! My daughter wants me to teach her how to do cakes and to make fondant for little figures and that is putting me into enough of a panic!

that's great news, i want to do more cookies. I have done 2 sets of cookies with fondant on them but i really want to try colourflow, does that just use royal icing? What techinique do you use for your cookies?

Hi again! I haven't worked with colorflow, but I swear by Antonia74's RI recipe. Here is a link, if you need it:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1983-Antonia74-Royal-Icing.html

She lives in Canada and her mer. powder has vanilla built in, but the mp I use (Wilton) does not, so I add 1 tsp. pure van. extract during the last minute of mixing. If I need it to be white, I use ¾ tsp. instead and balance the color with Americolor Bright White.

I will send you a PM with more info.