The best polymer clay kits
Earrings, charms, tiny animals and key rings from a box of bright clay that hardens in an ordinary oven: five kits compared on colours, tools and ages.
Polymer clay doesn’t dry out in the air like air-dry clay: it stays soft until it goes in the oven, so a model can be left half-made and picked up again later. A kit gives you a rainbow of small blocks, a few shaping tools and, in most, the findings to turn finished pieces into earrings, key rings or phone charms. FIMO, the best-known polymer clay, takes its name from ‘Fifi’, the family nickname of the German doll maker Käthe Kruse’s daughter Sophie, who developed it.
All five are made for beginners, children included, but baking is an adult’s job for younger children. Each maker gives its own oven setting in its instructions: the ones that publish it here say 120 to 130°C for 10 to 30 minutes. Most say not for under-3s because of the small parts, and Ixiaoyoo says 4 and up.
What matters
- How many colours: 50 is plenty to start, and blocks are usually 20g.
- What’s in the box: shaping tools, plus earring hooks, beads and key rings for jewellery.
- The maker’s oven temperature and time, with an adult doing the baking for younger children.
- Ages: most are 3 and up because of small parts.
#1 of 5
Best overall
Aestd-ST Polymer Clay Kit (50 colours)
£20–£30 Price range
Fifty colours, each block sealed in its own bag, packed with the tools, accessories and a guide in a two-layer plastic case that keeps the whole kit together between sessions: handy for school projects as well as rainy afternoons.
What owners say: Owners like the bright shades and the neat case with everything in it, and say it keeps children happily modelling for hours.
Heads up: Aestd-ST gives its oven instructions in the user guide in the box, so keep the leaflet with the set.
A closer look: Oven baking is what the maker recommends, with a hair dryer for small pieces of one to two inches, and it says boiling doesn’t work with this clay. Seal each block back in its bag after a session so the colours stay clean and free of fluff, and leave the baking to an adult when younger children are making.
- 50 colours
- Each block in its own bag
- Two-layer storage case
- Tools, accessories and a guide
- Meets ASTM D-4236, says the maker
Best for: An all-round starter kit
- Clay
- 50 colours
- In the box
- Tools, extras, 2-layer case
- Age (maker’s)
- 3+
#2 of 5
Most colours
Ixiaoyoo Polymer Clay Set (60 colours)
£10–£20 Price range
Sixty colours, the most of the five, in 20g blocks, which means less mixing to match a shade for an animal, a character or a little ornament. Fourteen tools and accessories and a storage box come with it.
What owners say: Owners love the spread of bright colours, find the clay good quality and fun to shape, and say children stay absorbed in it.
A closer look: Ixiaoyoo’s oven setting is 130°C for 10 to 15 minutes, with boiling or a hair dryer as options for very small pieces. The maker says it isn’t suitable for under-4s, a year older than most kits here, so it suits school-age children better than toddlers.
- 60 colours, 20g blocks
- 14 tools and accessories
- Storage box
- Oven bake at 130°C for 10–15 minutes
- EN71 and ASTM D-4236, says the maker
Best for: The widest choice of colours
- Clay
- 60 colours
- In the box
- 14 tools and extras, box
- Age (maker’s)
- 4+
#3 of 5
Best budget
Artecho Polymer Clay Set (50 colours)
£10–£20 Price range
The lowest-priced set here, and aimed as much at grown-ups as at children: 50 colours in 20g blocks, five sculpting tools and 31 accessories for turning finished pieces into jewellery, charms and small home decorations.
What owners say: Owners are taken with how vivid the colours are and call it a fun, creative way to keep children busy.
A closer look: Artecho’s bake is 120 to 130°C for 15 to 30 minutes, with a hair dryer for pieces of one to two inches and boiling for miniatures. Each block is about 5 by 3 by 1cm, so bigger models mean blending two or three colours, and the accessories cover earrings, key rings and phone charms.
- 50 colours, 20g blocks
- 5 sculpting tools
- 31 accessories
- Oven bake at 120–130°C for 15–30 minutes
- Non-toxic
Best for: Lower price, adults too
- Clay
- 50 colours
- In the box
- 5 tools, 31 extras
- Age (maker’s)
- 3+
#4 of 5
Best for young children
Shuttle Art Polymer Clay Kit (50 colours)
£10–£20 Price range
Shuttle Art says this kit conforms to EN71, the European toy-safety standard, and suits children from 3. Its 19 tools and ten kinds of accessories, from bells and beads to earring hooks and a key ring, turn models into things to wear or hang up.
What owners say: Owners say the range of colours and the easy-to-shape clay keep children creatively busy for long stretches.
A closer look: Set the oven to 130°C for 10 to 15 minutes, as Shuttle Art advises; boiling works for very small pieces and a hair dryer for ones of an inch or two, but never the microwave. The silicone gem mould presses out stones for the ring and hair-slide holders, and the whole kit packs back into its box.
- 50 colours, 0.7oz (20g) blocks
- 19 clay tools
- 10 kinds of accessories
- Oven bake at 130°C for 10–15 minutes
- EN71 and ASTM D-4236, says the maker
Best for: Young children, from 3
- Clay
- 50 colours
- In the box
- 19 tools, 10 kinds of extras
- Age (maker’s)
- 3+
#5 of 5
Best for jewellery making
Bridokit 54-Piece Polymer Clay Set
£10–£20 Price range
Made with jewellery in mind: 20 earring studs, 10 silver ear hooks, two gem moulds and 30 needles for piercing beads, alongside 19 tools and 54 blocks of clay, so a first pair of clay earrings needs nothing else from the craft shop.
Heads up: As Bridokit itself says, the clay is stiff straight from the pack: break off small pieces and knead them until soft before shaping.
A closer look: The tutorial book shows the basic shapes, and oven baking is the maker’s recommended way to harden finished pieces, with blow-drying or boiling as alternatives. Bridokit doesn’t give an age, so treat the needles and tiny findings as grown-up kit around younger children.
- 54 blocks, plus spare white and black
- 19 clay tools
- 2 silicone gem moulds
- Earring studs, ear hooks and phone straps
- Tutorial book
Best for: Making earrings and charms
- Clay
- 54 blocks + 2 extra
- In the box
- 19 tools, 2 moulds, findings
- Age (maker’s)
- –
How they compare
| Feature | #1Aestd-ST 50 colours | #2Ixiaoyoo 60 colours | #3Artecho 50 colours | #4Shuttle Art 50 colours | #5Bridokit 54 blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Most colours | Best budget | Best for young children | Best for jewellery making | |
| Picked Rating | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.5 |
| Price | £20–£30 Price range | £10–£20 Price range | £10–£20 Price range | £10–£20 Price range | £10–£20 Price range |
| Clay | 50 colours | 60 colours | 50 colours | 50 colours | 54 blocks + 2 extra |
| In the box | Tools, extras, 2-layer case | 14 tools and extras, box | 5 tools, 31 extras | 19 tools, 10 kinds of extras | 19 tools, 2 moulds, findings |
| Age (maker’s) | 3+ | 4+ | 3+ | 3+ | – |
| Best for | An all-round starter kit | The widest choice of colours | Lower price, adults too | Young children, from 3 | Making earrings and charms |
| Check price | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon |
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