Making a functional teapot requires integrating four essential features—body, spout, lid, and handle—to work together in an aesthetically pleasing manner to dispense tea. There is no right way to make any of these parts, but there are many
ways to make teapots that don’t function well! If you put the spout on too low, the teapot can’t be filled all the way; if too high, tea will pour out the lid opening before it comes out the spout. If the spout flares at the tip, tea will
come out in spurts instead of a smooth stream. If the lid is wide with a short flange, it may fall out when you tip it to pour tea. If the lid is too narrow, it may be difficult to clean out the teapot. Once you have decided on the shape of your pot,
and the diameter and style of the lid, and you’ve placed the spout appropriately, you need to figure out what kind of handle to use.
Choosing a Handle
A tall, narrow teapot may work well with a pulled handle that attaches to the back of the pot, opposite the spout, similar to a mug handle. But, a short round teapot often is easier to use if the handle arches over the top of the teapot. If you attach
a pulled handle opposite the spout on a very round teapot, your hand ends up so far from the center of gravity of the pot that the weight of the teapot may be difficult to control with one hand. You can use a pulled handle that arches over the top
of the pot; this can be elegant and graceful, but it is also very vulnerable to breakage during use; and with some clay bodies, it can be difficult to keep such a handle from slumping during firing.
The classic answer is to use a cane handle that attaches to the teapot through two lug handles. Lug handles are small clay loops attached to the teapot body, allowing you to attach a cane handle after firing. Ceramic supply stores offer a variety of handsome
cane handles in many sizes, but it can be very satisfying to make your own cane handle.
Preparing the Materials
Start by soaking the cane (A) in a mixture of 2 quarts (1.9 L) of warm water and a tablespoon of glycerin (B). I soak about 15 feet (4.6 m) of round cane per teapot and about 10 feet (3 m) of flat cane. You will cut the round cane into five lengths, so
it’s okay if you don’t have one long strand, but the binder cane must be one long strand. Examine your binder cane to make sure it does not have weak spots where it will break easily. Notice that it has a glossy side and a dull side—the
glossy side will be on the outside of your handle. Carefully form a coil from each kind of cane and secure them with twist ties so that they fit into your bucket of water. The glossy side of the flat cane should be the outside of the coil. Use white
or undyed twist ties—colored ones may stain your cane! Weigh the coils down with a plate and allow them to soak for 20–30 minutes to become soft and pliable.
Starting a Cane Handle
Once the cane has soaked long enough, take the round cane out of the water and uncoil it. Put one end through both lug handles and pull up the middle to form a handle-shaped curve. You should have a foot or so of extra length protruding from the lug handle
on both sides. Curve both ends back over the top of the teapot to form a three-strand arc over the teapot (1). If the cane is longer than needed, cut one end off. You should have a strand about 2–3 feet (61–92 cm) long, depending on the
size of your teapot and how high you want the handle to arch over the top.
Cut four more equal lengths of round cane. (If your teapot is very small, you might only want three or four strands.) Now bundle all five strands together and put them through the lugs again, pulling up in the middle, and looping the ends over the top,
just as you did to measure your first strand (2).
Next, you’ll twist tie all the strands together, starting at one lug and working your way to the other one (see 3). Bundle them tightly together along the full length of the handle, using many twist ties, and checking to make sure that where
they loop under the lug handle the strands remain closely packed. The ends of the strands may be longer than you need at this point; you can cut them later, or cut them now, depending on whether you want to bind the ends into the finished handle or
leave them loose.
Binding the Cane
Remove the coil of binder cane from the water. Leave it bound into a coil with a twist tie, but pull one end out so you have several inches to work with. Put the end of the binder cane under the first twist tie (close to the lug) and hold it in place
with a finger (3). Next, loop the cane around itself and around the base of the handle, close to the lug. Wrap several times while holding the end in place (4). That first end of the cane should extend a couple of inches up the inside of the handle
so you can keep a grip on it.
Once you have made a few loops around, you can tighten these first few loops by pulling on the end that sticks up from inside the loops, while holding the loops in place and gently pulling on the still-coiled strand of binder cane (5). That was the hard
part! Once the starting end of the binder cane is securely in place, you can twist the binding tighter and tighter with one finger and thumb while holding the rest of the strand tightly with your other hand.
Continue looping the flat cane around the handle. Do about ten wraps (6), leaving the ends of the round cane loose; then twist the coils tightly before starting to wrap the binder cane under the loose ends of the round cane. Periodically you’ll
have to loosen the twist tie that holds the coil of binder cane to give yourself more cane to work with, then tie it up again to keep it in a coil.
Keep wrapping, stopping every now and then to twist the coils and tighten them up. Remove twist ties as you go. When you get close to the second lug handle, start wrapping under the ends of the round cane to leave them loose (see 7), so the finished handle
will feature a little spray of unwrapped round canes protruding above each lug. Try to leave room for about ten wraps below this point, and make these coils fairly loose. Once you reach the lug, cut the binder cane, leaving yourself several extra
inches of cane (7).
Finishing the Handle
The next step is a bit tricky. Put the cut end of the flat cane back up under several of the loose coils you left above the lug (8). Work it under, then push it so it sticks out between two of the coils. Grasp the protruding end with a finger and thumb,
and pull to tighten it up, while holding the bottom coil in place. You want to be sure all the coils remain flat and smooth; don’t let them bunch up or overlap as you tighten them by pulling on the end of the strand. Twist the coils as tight
as you can while pulling on the loose end.
This is your last chance to make sure the binder cane is twisted tightly all along the length of the handle. Once you’re sure the binder cane is tightly wrapped, and the coils are laying smoothly next to each other, cut the end of the flat cane
close to where it protrudes (9), and wiggle the coils so the loose end disappears inside the wraps.
Your last step is to cut the loose ends of the round cane to the desired length (10). You can cut them all to the same length, cut them at an angle, or in a V-shape. Alternatively, if you prefer to hide the ends of the round cane you will have to cut
them short before you begin wrapping (11). Cut each strand to a different length to avoid creating a bulge, and catch them under the flat cane as you wrap. Tuck the end of the flat cane up inside about ten coils, then trim it (12).
Once you have made one or two simple cane handles following these directions, you can try making them fancier. There are many ways to dress them up; you can dye the cane with fabric dye or natural plant dyes. You can work beads, stones, wire, or even
feathers or strips of fabric into the handle as you work. I have used this technique to make handles out of guitar strings. The sky and your imagination are the only limits! If the handle gets old and worn, or the cane loosens or breaks, you can simply
remove it and make a new one at any time.
In 2021, after 30 years of teaching pottery in the Denver area, Sumi von Dassow moved to the small town of Beulah, Colorado. She owns a studio and gallery, Beulah Valley Pottery, and is the president of the Beulah Valley Arts Council. She has contributed many articles to Pottery
Making Illustrated. Look for her third book on pottery for the home and garden, published by The American Ceramic Society, forthcoming.
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Making a functional teapot requires integrating four essential features—body, spout, lid, and handle—to work together in an aesthetically pleasing manner to dispense tea. There is no right way to make any of these parts, but there are many ways to make teapots that don’t function well! If you put the spout on too low, the teapot can’t be filled all the way; if too high, tea will pour out the lid opening before it comes out the spout. If the spout flares at the tip, tea will come out in spurts instead of a smooth stream. If the lid is wide with a short flange, it may fall out when you tip it to pour tea. If the lid is too narrow, it may be difficult to clean out the teapot. Once you have decided on the shape of your pot, and the diameter and style of the lid, and you’ve placed the spout appropriately, you need to figure out what kind of handle to use.
Choosing a Handle
A tall, narrow teapot may work well with a pulled handle that attaches to the back of the pot, opposite the spout, similar to a mug handle. But, a short round teapot often is easier to use if the handle arches over the top of the teapot. If you attach a pulled handle opposite the spout on a very round teapot, your hand ends up so far from the center of gravity of the pot that the weight of the teapot may be difficult to control with one hand. You can use a pulled handle that arches over the top of the pot; this can be elegant and graceful, but it is also very vulnerable to breakage during use; and with some clay bodies, it can be difficult to keep such a handle from slumping during firing.
The classic answer is to use a cane handle that attaches to the teapot through two lug handles. Lug handles are small clay loops attached to the teapot body, allowing you to attach a cane handle after firing. Ceramic supply stores offer a variety of handsome cane handles in many sizes, but it can be very satisfying to make your own cane handle.
Preparing the Materials
Start by soaking the cane (A) in a mixture of 2 quarts (1.9 L) of warm water and a tablespoon of glycerin (B). I soak about 15 feet (4.6 m) of round cane per teapot and about 10 feet (3 m) of flat cane. You will cut the round cane into five lengths, so it’s okay if you don’t have one long strand, but the binder cane must be one long strand. Examine your binder cane to make sure it does not have weak spots where it will break easily. Notice that it has a glossy side and a dull side—the glossy side will be on the outside of your handle. Carefully form a coil from each kind of cane and secure them with twist ties so that they fit into your bucket of water. The glossy side of the flat cane should be the outside of the coil. Use white or undyed twist ties—colored ones may stain your cane! Weigh the coils down with a plate and allow them to soak for 20–30 minutes to become soft and pliable.
Starting a Cane Handle
Once the cane has soaked long enough, take the round cane out of the water and uncoil it. Put one end through both lug handles and pull up the middle to form a handle-shaped curve. You should have a foot or so of extra length protruding from the lug handle on both sides. Curve both ends back over the top of the teapot to form a three-strand arc over the teapot (1). If the cane is longer than needed, cut one end off. You should have a strand about 2–3 feet (61–92 cm) long, depending on the size of your teapot and how high you want the handle to arch over the top.
Cut four more equal lengths of round cane. (If your teapot is very small, you might only want three or four strands.) Now bundle all five strands together and put them through the lugs again, pulling up in the middle, and looping the ends over the top, just as you did to measure your first strand (2).
Next, you’ll twist tie all the strands together, starting at one lug and working your way to the other one (see 3). Bundle them tightly together along the full length of the handle, using many twist ties, and checking to make sure that where they loop under the lug handle the strands remain closely packed. The ends of the strands may be longer than you need at this point; you can cut them later, or cut them now, depending on whether you want to bind the ends into the finished handle or leave them loose.
Binding the Cane
Remove the coil of binder cane from the water. Leave it bound into a coil with a twist tie, but pull one end out so you have several inches to work with. Put the end of the binder cane under the first twist tie (close to the lug) and hold it in place with a finger (3). Next, loop the cane around itself and around the base of the handle, close to the lug. Wrap several times while holding the end in place (4). That first end of the cane should extend a couple of inches up the inside of the handle so you can keep a grip on it.
Once you have made a few loops around, you can tighten these first few loops by pulling on the end that sticks up from inside the loops, while holding the loops in place and gently pulling on the still-coiled strand of binder cane (5). That was the hard part! Once the starting end of the binder cane is securely in place, you can twist the binding tighter and tighter with one finger and thumb while holding the rest of the strand tightly with your other hand.
Continue looping the flat cane around the handle. Do about ten wraps (6), leaving the ends of the round cane loose; then twist the coils tightly before starting to wrap the binder cane under the loose ends of the round cane. Periodically you’ll have to loosen the twist tie that holds the coil of binder cane to give yourself more cane to work with, then tie it up again to keep it in a coil.
Keep wrapping, stopping every now and then to twist the coils and tighten them up. Remove twist ties as you go. When you get close to the second lug handle, start wrapping under the ends of the round cane to leave them loose (see 7), so the finished handle will feature a little spray of unwrapped round canes protruding above each lug. Try to leave room for about ten wraps below this point, and make these coils fairly loose. Once you reach the lug, cut the binder cane, leaving yourself several extra inches of cane (7).
Finishing the Handle
The next step is a bit tricky. Put the cut end of the flat cane back up under several of the loose coils you left above the lug (8). Work it under, then push it so it sticks out between two of the coils. Grasp the protruding end with a finger and thumb, and pull to tighten it up, while holding the bottom coil in place. You want to be sure all the coils remain flat and smooth; don’t let them bunch up or overlap as you tighten them by pulling on the end of the strand. Twist the coils as tight as you can while pulling on the loose end.
This is your last chance to make sure the binder cane is twisted tightly all along the length of the handle. Once you’re sure the binder cane is tightly wrapped, and the coils are laying smoothly next to each other, cut the end of the flat cane close to where it protrudes (9), and wiggle the coils so the loose end disappears inside the wraps.
Your last step is to cut the loose ends of the round cane to the desired length (10). You can cut them all to the same length, cut them at an angle, or in a V-shape. Alternatively, if you prefer to hide the ends of the round cane you will have to cut them short before you begin wrapping (11). Cut each strand to a different length to avoid creating a bulge, and catch them under the flat cane as you wrap. Tuck the end of the flat cane up inside about ten coils, then trim it (12).
Once you have made one or two simple cane handles following these directions, you can try making them fancier. There are many ways to dress them up; you can dye the cane with fabric dye or natural plant dyes. You can work beads, stones, wire, or even feathers or strips of fabric into the handle as you work. I have used this technique to make handles out of guitar strings. The sky and your imagination are the only limits! If the handle gets old and worn, or the cane loosens or breaks, you can simply remove it and make a new one at any time.
In 2021, after 30 years of teaching pottery in the Denver area, Sumi von Dassow moved to the small town of Beulah, Colorado. She owns a studio and gallery, Beulah Valley Pottery, and is the president of the Beulah Valley Arts Council. She has contributed many articles to Pottery Making Illustrated. Look for her third book on pottery for the home and garden, published by The American Ceramic Society, forthcoming.
Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
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