How to Make Dichroic Glass

Dichroic glass is used in a variety of applications, from stunning jewelry to absolutely mind blowing pieces of glass art. Although the techniques used to make it might seem to be daunting at first, you'll find that it is far easier than you might think. The basic concept is fusing thin layers of glass together with metallic oxides, which is what makes the brilliant colors throughout the pieces.

Things You'll Need

• Dichroic glass
• Clear or black glass
• Fusing glue
• Kiln

Instructions

Fusing the Glass

1. Although the process is slightly different depending on whether you are making dichroic glass jewelry, beads, or other types of craft, the basic concept is the same. You will use a piece of clear or black glass, depending on the type of look you are going for, and lay that out first. If you are making it into a special shape, you will want to cut the glass.

2. Next you will apply glue to this base piece of glass. Adhere a layer of the dichroic glass to the fusing glue, and allow it to dry. As it dries, you can continue to prep other glass pieces to be fused, whether regular or dichroic glass.

3. Once you are done gluing your inner layers together, you may want to add on a covering of clear glass. When this fuses to the rest, it will give you a feeling of depth, however it is not required if you are going for a different type of look.

4. Now it's time to place the piece into the kiln. The exact firing time varies greatly between types of kilns, although typically you fuse glass in multiple stages. The lower temperatures come first, starting at 500 degrees and ending at 1500 degrees. Each stage tends to last 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Once the fusing process is done, remove the dichroic glass piece and allow to cool. Now you have a beautiful piece of jewelry or artwork, and all it needed was a few layers of glass and a lot of heat.

Tips & Warnings

• Kilns are incredibly hot, and you need to exercise extreme safety around them.

References

• Lacy Glass