Giant faceted black stoneware chess knight with a four-lock mane beside a coffee mug, made from The Clay Hole paper template

Paper template 106, a hand-building pattern

The Giant Geometric Chess Knight

New: nobody has built this one yet

You can download this one with confidence. So far every template built and every template in progress has come out 100 percent perfect, and the same will likely be true for this one.

Every template starts out in my New Pattern Program, marked NEW, until someone builds it in clay and it checks out. This one should be sound and work as drawn, so use it at your own discretion and be ready to adjust on the fly if your project needs it. Pivoting mid-build is part of the fun of pottery.

Members: be the first to show me this one fully assembled and I’ll fire that piece free, with your name on its tile for good. See which templates are still up for grabs.

Made this one? Text it to the studio or tag @theclayhole on Instagram.

A 12 5/8 inch faceted Staunton knight with a four-lock mane, from 54 slab pieces. Finished: 12 5/8 in tall, 6 5/8 in across the base, about 4 lb at 12 percent shrinkage.

Part of the Giant Chess collection and the Games collection and the Showpieces collection.

  • Insane
  • About 14 hours over six sittings
  • About 7 lb of clay
  • 9 template sheets, 23 pages
$50.00 one PDF, 23 pages, yours to print as often as you like

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  • Delivered as a download link by email the moment the order goes through.
What you will make

A 12 5/8 inch faceted chess knight, built from flat slabs

The chess set's horse, head bowed, with a mane of four bold locks down his neck. Every facet catches the light as you walk past. Plan on about 7 lb of clay, about 14 hours over six sittings, and 14 inches of clear kiln height.

54 slab pieces from 36 numbered templates and two ears pressed in paper moulds, the floor 7 1/2 in across, every seam lettered and every bevel marked. Every piece is drawn at wet size for a 1/4 in slab, and the finished sizes are what comes out of the glaze kiln at 12 percent shrinkage, which is what most of the studio's stoneware does.

Height12 5/8 in
Base6 5/8 in across
Weightabout 4 lb fired
Kiln rooma 9 x 9 in shelf, 14 in tall
What is in the pack

23 pages. Every piece whole on its own sheet.

  • 9 template sheets, each piece printed whole at exact size, with a 1 inch check square and a 5 centimeter bar on every sheet so you can prove the print before you cut
  • A cover with the finished size drawn and labeled, so you know what you are building before you roll a slab
  • One page on printing, rolling, cutting and the seam method, the same on every template
  • Assembly in 46 numbered steps written for this piece, then drying, glazing, and the three things that go wrong and why
  • A size table at 10, 12 and 14 percent shrinkage, because 52 Buff, B-Mix and porcelain do not shrink the same

The pieces

  • Floorcut 1
  • Plinthcut 4
  • Covecut 4
  • Base ringcut 4
  • Base ring topcut 4
  • Shouldercut 4
  • Stemcut 4
  • Collarcut 1
  • Collar topcut 1
  • Neck, leftcut 1
  • Neck, rightcut 1
  • Lower neck, leftcut 1
  • Lower neck, rightcut 1
  • Mid neck, leftcut 1
  • Mid neck, rightcut 1
  • Upper neck, leftcut 1
  • Upper neck, rightcut 1
  • Neck top, leftcut 1
  • Neck top, rightcut 1
  • Throat, leftcut 1
  • Throat, rightcut 1
  • Throatlatch, leftcut 1
  • Throatlatch, rightcut 1
  • Jowl, leftcut 1
  • Jowl, rightcut 1
  • Poll, leftcut 1
  • Poll, rightcut 1
  • Crown, leftcut 1
  • Crown, rightcut 1
  • Brow, leftcut 1
  • Brow, rightcut 1
  • Face, leftcut 1
  • Face, rightcut 1
  • Muzzle, leftcut 1
  • Muzzle, rightcut 1
  • Muzzle endcut 1
Cover page of The Giant Geometric Chess Knight, a printable pottery paper template from The Clay Hole in Draper, Utah
The cover
The template sheets of The Giant Geometric Chess Knight shown small, a hand-building pattern from The Clay Hole
The template sheets, shown small
Why it works

Worked out from the finished piece backward

My standard for these is spot on, not close. A template that is close is worse than no template, because you trust it. So every number in this pack comes from the finished size, through the slab thickness and the shrinkage, to the flat shape that makes it. Then the finished file was measured to prove the shapes landed at that size.

1

Exact scale, with a check

Every sheet carries a 1 inch square and a 5 centimeter bar. Print at 100 percent, measure the square, and the whole sheet is right. If it is not, the print is wrong and you reprint before cutting anything.

2

Seams and bevels planned

Each edge that needs a bevel is hatched on the template and the steps say which way it leans. Mitered corners come out square because all four pieces come from one outline.

3

Tapers cut as fans

A wall that flares is drawn as part of a ring, not a trapezoid, so it closes into a cone with no pleats. The curves are worked out from the exact rim and foot sizes.

4

Fits that are already solved

Lids, flanges, saucers and ridges carry the clearance built in, at wet size, so the parts still fit after they shrink together in the kiln.

MeasurementWet, on the template52 Buff, 10 percentMost stoneware, 12 percentPorcelain, 14 percent
Height14 3/8 in12 15/16 in12 5/8 in12 5/16 in
Base, across7 1/2 in6 3/4 in6 5/8 in6 7/16 in
Collar, across5 1/4 in4 11/16 in4 5/8 in4 1/2 in
Head, across the cheeks3 3/16 in2 7/8 in2 13/16 in2 3/4 in
How to use it

Print, check, roll, cut, build

Print at 100 percent

Actual size, never Fit to page. Plain copy paper works. Card stock survives a wet slab and can be used again.

Measure the square

A ruler on the 1 inch square settles whether the sheet is right. Thirty seconds that saves a whole piece.

Roll 1/4 in

Every clearance assumes it. Let the slab firm up to soft leather hard before you cut, so it holds an edge and still bends.

Cut the count, then build

Lay the paper on the slab, cut straight down just outside the edge, bevel where the hatching says, and follow the 46 steps. Score, slip, press, compress, every seam.

A string around your finger

The final lap is yours

I drew these so the fiddly part is already solved. The seams line up, the lid fits, and the piece comes out the size the pack says. That’s my part. Everything after the last seam belongs to you.

Press a texture into the slab before you cut it. Carve or pierce it at leather hard. Give it feet, a knob or a handle I never drew. Glaze it in something I would never pick in a million years. Two people can build the same template side by side and walk away with pieces that look nothing alike, and that’s exactly how it should go.

  • Texture the slab first
  • Carve, pierce or stamp
  • Add feet, knobs or handles
  • Sprigs and slip trailing
  • Glaze it your way

One thing to keep in mind: leave the bones alone. Thinning a wall that carries weight, cutting through a seam or piling extra clay on a lid changes how the piece holds together in the kiln. Decorate the skin as much as you like.

Picked for this one

Other templates you may also love

If this one is your speed, these are the ones I’d point you to next: the same set or collection, a step up when you’re ready for it, and a couple of wild cards. Or browse all 136.

Giant faceted black stoneware chess king beside a coffee mug and books, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSame collection The Giant Geometric Chess King Insane, $50, free for members Giant faceted black stoneware chess queen with a pointed coronet beside a coffee mug, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSame collection The Giant Geometric Chess Queen Insane, $50, free for members Giant faceted black stoneware chess rook with square battlements beside a coffee mug, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSame collection The Giant Geometric Chess Rook Insane, $50, free for members Giant faceted black stoneware chess bishop with a slotted mitre beside a coffee mug, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSame collection The Giant Geometric Chess Bishop Insane, $50, free for members Giant faceted black stoneware chess pawn with a gem-cut ball beside a coffee mug, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSame collection The Giant Geometric Chess Pawn Insane, $50, free for members A stoneware chess set with six-sided pieces on a cream and charcoal board, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSame collection The Chess Set Insane, $40, free for members A 22 inch teal faceted stoneware ginger jar lamp glowing on a side table by a sofa, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSomething different The Faceted Ginger Jar Lamp Insane, $50, free for members Faceted leaf green stoneware origami chameleon on a brown branch, its tail curled, made from The Clay Hole paper templateSomething different The Origami Chameleon Insane, $30, free for members
Or all 136 at once

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$1,353.25$2,706.50All 136 templates in one order: 136 PDFs, 1527 pages, yours to print as often as you like.

Delivered as download links by email the moment the order goes through. Members get five templates free a month, one at a time: log in.

Questions

The ones that come up

Do I need a membership to buy this

No. It is $50 for anyone. Members get five templates free every month, along with everything else a membership includes.

How do members get it free

Log in with the email your membership is under and claim it at a $0 checkout. Then the download is right here on this page. Every membership comes with five free templates a month.

Can I make it bigger or smaller

Yes. Print every piece of the pack at the same percentage and the parts still fit each other. Anything over about 115 percent runs a piece off the page, so check the sheet before you cut.

Which clay

Any of the studio's stoneware. The template is drawn for a 1/4 in slab and the sizes assume 12 percent shrinkage. 52 Buff comes out a little bigger, porcelain a little smaller, and the size table in the pack covers both.

Can I sell what I make from it

Yes. The pots are yours. The template file is for your own use and is not to be shared, which is the whole of the terms.

What if a piece does not fit on my printer

Every piece sits whole on one letter sheet with a 3/8 inch margin, which every ordinary home and office printer reaches. Landscape sheets print landscape. Let the printer rotate the page rather than scaling it.

Members

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136 templates now and more as they are drawn, and current members of The Clay Hole pick five free every month. Print one tonight and bring it to your next session. I’d love to see what comes out of the kiln.

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