Cutting Bottles

1. Draw all your cutting lines first. Wax (china) pencils work well because they don’t smear and can easily be removed. Use a permanent marker if you want lines that last.
2. It's helpful to use a box lid (like a paper box lid) to aid with marking. You can steady the bottle along one side, and then hold your marker in one place while rolling the bottle around to make the mark.
3. Use a safety razor or utility knife to begin your bottle cuts. Finish the cut with scissors. For some reason the bottles cut better with the top arm of the scissors inside the bottle. Snip away ragged edges once the bottle is in pieces.

Basic Cuts

There are four places where bottles are usually cut:

1. Above the shoulder
2. Below the shoulder
3. Above the hip
4. Below the hip

To make tapered ends, cut above the shoulder (Cut 1) or below the hip (Cut 4). To make straight ends, cut below the shoulder (Cut 2) or above the hip (Cut 3).

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