Ok, I'm going a little crazy with lint. It seems like no matter how hard I try, there's always a little bit of lint getting into my fondant or gum paste. It's really driving me nuts. Any tips for avoiding this? I've been trying to keep everything super clean before I use the fondant/gum paste, what else can I do? [/code]

I have this problem all the time too! When working with white fondant or gumpast I always try to wear a white tshirt and lint free pants (yoga pants work great!). It can be so frustrating

My Wilton instructor's advice to us was to take a small piece of fondant and rub in your hands and over the work surface to collect as much lint as possible before you roll out your good fondant. It helps a lot but doesn't completely eliminate it.

Make sure you're drying your hands and tools with lint free towels. I prefer flour sack towels.

I agree with Diane! I always wash my fondant work surfaces (cutting boards, rolling pins, impression mats, etc) and my hands, drying thoroughly with lint-free paper towels before I start.

I end up washing my hands VERY frequently during whatever fondant project I'm working on, too. Seems I can't got more than 20 minutes without gathering lint/dust on my hands....GRRR.

But I'm also going to adopt the rubbing surfaces with the fondant ball, between washings! I hadn't considered that before. Thanks for that, Emily!

Apart from using an scrap piece of fondant to clean your board, knead it with your fingers and hands for a few seconds, even if you have just washed and dried them. From sink to table it's amazing how much dust we pick up!

Great tips re: fondant.

I find using old, washed calico coffee bags work the best, and they are the right size to slip over your hand to wipe up surfaces lint-free. I use one hand with a water mister - the other with the coffee bean bag (empty!)

(NB I buy gree coffee beans and they come in those calico bags, calico teatowels probably do the same job).

Also check what type of rolling pin you're using. The Wilton rolling pins, the non-stick white and yellow ones, both become somewhat static and attract the dust particles. A wooden rolling pin would be less "static".

I'm happy to find that I'm not the only one experiencing this problem. I have done everything to fix my speckled white fondant... washing hands, washing table, washing rolling pin, using white towels, then re-doing all this multiple times while I'm working. I even changed out the filters in my heating/AC multiple times.

I have a normal routine that I use when working with fondant/gumpaste... First of all, NO CEILING FANS!!

and, I NEVER wear a shirt that isn't a simple, plain, cotton t-shirt... and I put my hair in a 'bun' that's so tight I'm sure it's cutting off the blood supply to my brain...

I scrub my hands, finger-nails, and my arms, (if I'm covering a cake in fondant) with a finger nail brush!!!

For all of my work surfaces, I use isopropyl alcohol that you can find in the pharmacy... it's the same thing that has been used in medical and dental office for cleaning and sterilization for years (I've worked in dentistry for over 20 years) .... it removes any residue, as well as killing most types of germs, and evaporates quickly.... but doesn't requires a drying cloth. I use it on my counter top and on my rolling pins!
I have about a dozen, Walmart brand flour sacks/ towels that I use for various purposes in the kitchen... they also work well as a quick apron!!

Man the things we do to make a cake, lol, we must be nuts!

So many great tips, I'm going to do them all next time I cover a cake w/fondant. If people only knew what REALLY goes on to make great cakes, they'd understand why they're not cheap to buy. And I really wish you'd see more of that kind of things on cake boss or ace of cakes type shows, people seem to think that covering cakes in fondant, lol...

Wear synthetic shirts and pants. Jeans are the death of me. They make lint free scrubs and that's the next "Cake" purchase on my list