i have NEVER been able to use my Wilton #1 round decorating tips - they're always clogged!!! ok i think i used them once for the filligree work in decorating class but somehow i can't seem to make them work at home! i've tried piping with royal icing, buttercream, even ganache but NOTHING comes out. i had a small success with color-flow or runout icing but i noticed that the flow was not steady and came out in uncontrolled spurts. at first i thought maybe i damaged the tip during cleaning so i went and bought another one... so now i have two #1's that don't work what am i doing wrong? i tried squeezing til the bag almost burst but that didn't help either. does anyone have any, uhh, TIPS on how to use my smaller tips more effectively?

Is your icing thinned down enough? That tip is pretty small. Also, have you tried opening it up a bit more? Sometimes a toothpick will do the trick.

HTH,
Tanya

Darra,

I'm with you on that subject! I can't get icing out of my #2 tip either! I never thought of thinning it down. I just use tip #3 and deal with the thickness!
But now when I NEED very thin lines, I'll try thinning the icing. Thanks for the tip Tanya!

you might also want to try sifting your powdered sugar when you make BC or Royal icing just to make sure there are no clogs. But i'd say thinning down is your best bet.

Do you mean they are clogged from previous use? If so, soak in hot water with soap and vinegar. The vinegar will help dissolve the icing.

No, Susan, not from previous use; just so hard to squeeze icing out of (for me anyhow). There are no lumps in the icing clogging it melxcloud; I think in my case, it's just too thick.

Oh, that's what it sounds like..

I agree with the other girls. Your icing has to be pretty thin for such a small hole and since the hole is soooo small be sure to clean it GOOD after you are done using it
Michelle

thanks everyone!

i'm always really tidy with my decorating tips so i'm pretty sure thinning down my icing should be the trick thank you all so much!

When I use that tip I take a new/unused knee high...stretch it over a glass..secure with a rubber band..it has to be tight..fill it with your icing and squeeze the icing out of it. It takes some elbow grease to do it..I tie the end off and then run my hand down the stocking to the end and push the icing through into a bowl.

It is messy but the only way to ensure perfectly smooth icing.


Use it as it is or thin it a bit.