Whats the best way to practice piping?
can i put a pattern on a cake, then pipe over the pattern or is it best to free hand it?
how do you put a pattern on a BC cake?

just thought i would ask, since i need to practice.

unless you have a spare cake to practice on, you can always practice on pieces of wax paper too. you can either do the design free-hand or put a pattern on, which I've heard you can do using a toothpick

Here's the old lady starting out her story with the typical.....

"Back in MY day.......!"

We had no cake classes, videos, food network or You-Tube. All we had was a Wilton book and our own gumption to learn. The design presses (those off-blue-greenish-things) were about the only "patterns" we had to press into the cake. Eventually, we just figured out how to learn by freehanding it (one, it was faster).

When I've taught (4-H) girls, I've told them to turn a cake pan over and just start practicing ..... borders, shells, lattice, stringwork, garlands .... just do it. Scrape it off and do it again.

A pattern is ok, but you still have to practice to know the when's and how's to squeeze and release for garlands and stringwork and such.

yes Debi is very right, you do need to practice to get the "when's and how's" and how much pressure to use

I remember someone saying once that they practiced piping when they put toothpaste on their toothbrush

If you can get your hands on them, the Wilton practice sheets are great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WILTON-PRACTICE-BOARD-COURSES-1-2-3-/350369938818?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5193acfd82

Pipe on upside down cake pans, styrofoam dummies, even a cutting board in an easel.

The cheapest "icing" is just crisco stiffened with some powdered sugar and a bit of water to get it to the consistency that you like. You can scrape it off and reuse it several times, too. I've know people to just use the shortening, too.

HTH
Rae

I just thougth myself how to do royal icing bridge work. That was fun (I posted the pic, take a look). I've been doing cakes for a while now, and I still practice. I prefer free hand, but you should do what is comfy for you. In this field we are all always learning. Have fun with it I say.