Craft & Handwork
Stained Glass
Cut coloured glass, wrap it in copper foil, and solder it into a picture light shines through
No furnace is needed. You score and snap the glass with a cutter, grind the edges, wrap each piece in copper foil and flow solder into every seam, all at a kitchen table. A palm-sized suncatcher is a typical first piece, done in a weekend. Cutting is the hard part: one clean score, never retraced. Wear eye protection and gloves, and ventilate while soldering.
First stepTake an intro stained glass class or buy a starter kit, and make a palm-sized three-colour suncatcher, doing the cutting, foiling and soldering yourself.
Barriers
Cost to start
$50–300
Going deep → $300–2k
Alone or with people
On your own
Effort
Light
Without a teacher?
Best with a class
One session takes
1–2 hours
Where
At home
Why people take it up