To write properly with an icing it is most important to use a thinned down icing or a piping jelly. By using a thin icing it is possible to draw out thin lines without having the lines break. Before attempting writing, you must realize that it is possible to write very beautifully on a cake and still have a very bad script with a pen. In writing with a pen we normally use the fingers for our various curves and lines. Using the tube, we move the entire arm.

Every decorator, after he becomes fairly efficient in tube writing, will have a recognized style of his own. Before attempting to write on a cake you will find it much easier to practice on a hard surface, such as a cookie pan.

Take a small cone and fill it with a thinned down white icing. If you care to, you may use a small brush. Dip it into a bright paste color and run a small line of paste color down the inside of the cone. Then add the icing. This will give you an unusual two-tone effect and will help your writing look more attractive. The icing is squeezed down to the bottom of the cone and a very tiny opening is cut. If you care to, you may use a No. 3 tube for the tip instead of cutting your cone. The tube is held with the thumb and the first two fingers. The first practice steps should be a series of long easy back and forth motions as illustrated. For these practice movements and practice writing, we suggest that you begin by resting your cone on the pan at an angle. Then move it back and forth very lightly always touching the pan to help you to obtain a smooth even line. Later on when you become efficient in your writing and various curves and swings, you may lift the tube up very slightly. In order to do fine writing on a cake top, it is necessary to glide your tube over the icing very lightly without digging in. If you lift your cone completely off the cake top, it is impossible to do the fine type of writing.

After you become efficient in making these lines by resting the cone on the cake lift it slightly and glide it very gently over the top of the pan. This is the technique that is necessary when working directly on a cake top. After becoming efficient with the back and forth motion on the down stroke, make a slight pause as you come down to obtain the built up effect as illustrated. Going up use a steady pressure. On the down stroke use a slight back and forth motion. This will give you the attractive built up effect. The next thing to practice is a series of small "c's." Move the tube down in a graceful easy curved swing without stopping. After practicing one or two pans of this type of curve, the next type is a continuous capital "E". This type of tube writing will help you obtain neatness and uniformity. After practicing these various curves, circles and lines, the next step is the "Happy Birthday", the most common example of tube writing. We suggest that the inscription be put on the cake first and followed by the floral spray. In writing the "Happy Birthday" you must realize you have a very limited space and often too much writing must be crowded into the small space. By keeping your letters in the "Happy" long and very narrow with only a small amount of space between each letter, your writing will look fancy and will not take as much room on a cake top. In the writing of 'Happy", the first line of the "H" is made. The second line of the "H" is brought down very close to the first and is crossed. The "A" is started as close to the "H" as possible and made long and narrow. We come straight up to the "P" and straight down. Then we pick it up and finish off the "P." For the next one, straight up line and straight down, then we pick the "P" up and finish it off at the top. The "Y" is made and as you come down start an easy, graceful flowing line to finish the "Happy."

The "Birthday" you will find is a little more difficult because of the number of letters that must be made. If you bear in mind that these letters must be long and narrow and when finishing off a letter to use a nice gracefully curved line, you will help give it the fancy effect.

If you care to, you may first write very simply. Then after the inscription is placed on the cake, you may go over it to achieve the built up effect. We suggest that this build up should be done as you write each letter. On the "Happy Birthday" in the "H" as you come down on the straight line for the "H", a slight back and forth motion is maintained to create that build up. In working the "A" on the down stroke of the "A," a back and forth motion is maintained and the same with the two "p's" coming on the long down stroke using the back and forth motion. This is a time saving method. After becoming proficient in writing "Happy Birthday," you may then go on to "Mother" and then "Congratulations," "Sweet Sixteen," etc. We suggest that you spend five minutes a day for four or five days on each inscription.

LETTERING

In an effort to familiarize the student with what may be considered good lettering design for cake decorating purposes, we have devoted the next few pages to three representative styles with complete alphabets. The letters are large enough to be traced directly or they may be used as guides to prepare alphabets in other sizes.

Individual letters in a word may be evenly spaced, but the lettering will be more pleasing to the eye if the spacing is adjusted according to the open space in and around each letter. For example: O's and C's have large open spaces and may be placed more closely to adjacent letters, while I's, M's, N's, etc., should have more space.

As far as technique is concerned, we feel that almost any style of lettering can be mastered by the student with moderate practice.

The student might begin with the following method: Lay a piece of waxed paper over any of the examples of lettering illustrated on these pages. Then using a cone with the proper sized tube, the letters beneath the waxed paper may be used as guides. Some styles ' such as the Old English will require two tube sizes for the thick and thin lines, while the Free Script and Modern Block styles may be rendered with a single tube size. After you are satisfied with your proficiency, the wax paper may be abandoned and you are ready to work directly on the cake.

OLD ENGLISH

This beautiful style dates back to early medieval times when it was employed in many variations in religious writings. This lettering style will probably require more practice than any other because of the variation in stroke thickness, but the handsome effect is well worth the effort.

FREE SCRIPT

There may be as many variations of this continuous script style as there are individuals using it. In fact, after the student acquires some measure of skill, his own handwriting will have a noticeable influence on the results.

MODERN BLOCK

This bold, easy to read lettering style will be easy to master and lends itself admirably to almost any requirement. Careful attention to spacing is necessary for best results.

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