I want to buy the poppy patchwork cutter, I just fell in love with it. BUT, I don't really understand how to properly use it. Do I cut out each color for the different parts of the flower seperately and then piece them together on the finished cake??? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I am absolutely no help, as I have wondered the same thing. The finished product is amazing, isn't it! I am watching this topic eagle-eyed for any feedback you get! The finished product looks amazing!
The picture of the cake on global sugar art does look mailnly to be cut out of the different colors and piced together. You can of course use the cutters in this way. You can also cut out in a neutral color (white) and paint your details but you will get a different look. Patchwork cutters are fun to use and really make cakes look great.
I've done them both ways. I like to use a base color and then build on top of it. Press harder to get the cutouts than when you want the whole piece to stay together. I had a bit of a learning curve but now I've got it where I am comfortable using them.
For those who are watching this post:
I received the cutter from GBA today. The instructions say to first use the cutter to make an imprint into the cake to know where you will place the pieces after they are cut. Maybe that was obvious to some, but I would never have thought of that. Then cut the whole thing out of however many colors you are using and use the imprint to piece them together. I plan to try this on a birthday cake next week. If it goes will, I will post a photo.
i loooove patchwork cutters, i prefer to make little plaques ahead of time rather than doing it directly onto the cake 
Does everyone use the recommended "Mexican paste" or do you just use fondant or gumpast?. Does the Mexican paste dry hard like gumpaste of stay softer like fondant? I bought a couple cutters but I've been scared to use them. Gum tragacanth (required for Mexican paste) is kinda spendy for me.
I've always wondered how the patchwork was done.
Here are the links to pics of some of my cakes where Ive used patchwork cutters in different ways
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1337642
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1545951
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1462742&sub=1462766
I use gumpaste to do this work and one very important thing i learned is to roll out the gumpaste and let it leather (dry out a bit...not completely....just a little) a bit before using the cutter...this helps to get a much cleaner cut as well as it prevents the gumpaste from sticking to the cutter especially in the tiny areas.
I'm yet to try cutting out different colored pieces and puzzling them together.
HTH Happy patchworking!!
Hi,
I have posted a video on you tube showing how to use the patchwork cutter. You can go to Youtube & search for how to use the patchwork cutter you will find the video. You can also google Judecreations in google & you will find the video link posted there too.
Since August, we have begun using Patchwork cutters quite a bit. You can use them in several ways with the top three being: (1) Imprint in the cake and then paint or applique on top, (2) Applique the pieces together with different colors, or (3) Build on top of a base.
We use Nicholas Lodge's gum paste. If you ever get a chance to take his cake classes, he teaches you how to use patchwork cutters. If you become a fan of Sweet Guys and check out our Teddy Bear Picnic Cake, that is from Nicholas' class using the cutters.
We ran white gum paste on setting 4 of the KitchenAid pasta maker and run the applique pieces on setting 5. Some of the designs that are too tiny we painted with a mixture of gel colors mixed with alcohol.
The skies the limit and my mind is swirling with possibilities.
Paul
PS: Come to think of it...I may have the Teddy Bear Cake in my pictures on here.
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