How to Make a Stained Glass Suncatcher

Steps

1. 1. Trace the Pattern onto the Glass

   Cut your paper pattern apart into its individual pieces. Patterns come from books, from online, or you can draw your own once you have a feel for what cuts cleanly.

   Tip: Trace on the side you will cut from and keep the marker line thin. A fat line loses you a millimetre of accuracy on every piece, and it adds up across a whole panel.

   

2. 2. Score and Break the Glass

   Run the glass cutter along the traced line in one continuous pass. One pass only - going over a score twice ruins the edge and the break.

   

3. 3. Grind the Edges

   Every piece goes to the grinder. This is what takes the piece from roughly the right shape to exactly the right shape, and it is where a tight-fitting panel is actually made.

   Tip: Grinding also takes the razor edge off the glass. Even pieces that fit perfectly are worth a quick pass so they are safe to handle while you foil.

   

4. 4. Wrap Every Piece in Copper Foil

   Copper foil tape goes around the edge of each piece with the glass centred so equal foil folds over each face. Fold the overlap down on both sides and burnish it flat with a fid or the back of a marker.

   

5. 5. Flux and Tin the Foil

   Brush gel flux over the copper foil, then run solder over the foil on every side of every piece. This tinning pass coats the copper and is what lets the pieces join to each other in the next step.

   

6. 6. Assemble and Solder the Pieces Together

   Lay the tinned pieces back onto the paper pattern in position. Solder the bells to each other first, then add the holly leaves and the nuggets.

   Tip: Tack each joint with a small blob first and check the whole layout before running full beads. Adjusting a tack is easy; adjusting a finished bead is not.

   

7. 7. Solder On the Hanging Ring

   Put the wire ring on a joint at the top of the piece, where two or more sections meet. A joint has more solder mass and more foil around it, so it holds the weight.

   

8. 8. Wash Off the Flux

   Flux residue is corrosive and it will haze the glass and dull the solder lines if it stays on. Wash the piece with washing soda and warm water, scrubbing gently along the solder lines, then rinse thoroughly.

   Tip: Do not skip this because the piece looks clean. Flux residue is mostly invisible when wet and shows up as a white bloom weeks later.

   

9. 9. Add the Ribbon and Hang It

   Thread a decorative ribbon through the ring and knot it at the length you want. Then hang it in a window that gets direct sun.