Studio checklist
Guide

How to make a mug on the pottery wheel, step by step

A mug is the classic first wheel project for good reason: it teaches centering, pulling walls, trimming and joining in one piece you will actually use.

Updated November 2026 · 8 min read

Handmade glazed stoneware mugs on a counter
Photo: Martin Cathrae, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr
The short version
  • Throw a straight-walled cylinder with an even wall and a bottom roughly as thick as the wall.
  • Size for shrinkage. Clay shrinks as it dries and fires, so throw larger than the mug you want. At 12% shrinkage, a 100 mm finished height needs about 114 mm wet.
  • Trim the foot at leather-hard, then attach a pulled or extruded handle at the same dryness, scoring and slipping both surfaces.
  • Dry slowly under plastic, bisque fire, then glaze with a glaze that its maker lists as food-safe when fired as directed.
  • Leave the foot ring and the bottom ¼ inch unglazed or waxed so glaze does not fuse the mug to the kiln shelf.

Learning how to make a mug on the pottery wheel pulls together every basic throwing skill. You center the clay, open it, pull a cylinder, trim a foot, add a handle and glaze it for daily use. It is also a project you can repeat until your mugs match.

This guide walks through each stage in order, with the tools that help, the sizing math for shrinkage and the mistakes that cause cracked handles and wobbly rims. It assumes you can already center a small amount of clay; if not, start with how to use a pottery wheel.

What you need to make a mug

You need a wheel, a stoneware clay that matches the cone your kiln or firing service uses, a few basic tools and a glaze. A cone 6 stoneware is the most common choice for home and studio potters in the US.

  • Clay: a smooth, mid-fire stoneware such as a cone 6 B-Mix or white stoneware.
  • Wheel and bats: throwing on a bat lets you lift the mug off without distorting it.
  • Tools: sponge, soft rib, needle tool, cut-off wire, calipers, trimming tool, scoring tool.
  • Handle tools: your hands for pulling, or a handheld extruder for a consistent strap.
  • Glaze: one listed as food-safe by its maker at your cone, plus wax resist for the foot.
ProductClay bodyFiring rangeWeight
Rocky Mountain Clay B-Mix Cone 6 Stoneware, 50 lbSmooth white mid fire stoneware (B-Mix)Mid Fire Cone 650lb
Old Potters White Stoneware Clay, Cone 6-10, 10 lbWhite StonewareCone 6-1010 lb
AMACO A-Mix Stoneware Clay No. 11, 50 lb, WhiteStoneware, No. 11 A-Mix—50 Pounds
TORISING Mid-High Fire White Clay, Cone 6-10, 5 lbMid to high fire whiteCone 6-105 Lbs

Specs as listed by the maker or seller; check the listing before you buy.

AMACO's A-Mix listing gives the clay body but not the cone in our catalogue data, so check the bag or AMACO's data sheet. For a full tool rundown, see the best pottery tool kits.

How big should you throw a mug?

Clay shrinks as it dries and again as it fires. Mid-fire stoneware typically shrinks somewhere around 10 to 13% from wet to finished, but every clay is different, and the maker's data sheet or your own test bar gives the real figure. To hit a finished size, divide the size you want by (1 − shrinkage).

Three thrown cylinders on square bats with name tags
Thrown mug cylinders on bats; size them for shrinkage.Photo: Martin Cathrae, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr

Wet height needed for a 100 mm finished mug

Example math at four shrinkage rates: wet size = finished size ÷ (1 − shrinkage). Use your clay's own figure.

8% shrink: 108.7 mm108.7 mm8% shrink10% shrink: 111.1 mm111.1 mm10% shrink12% shrink: 113.6 mm113.6 mm12% shrink14% shrink: 116.3 mm116.3 mm14% shrink
Source: Calculated; method per Ceramic Arts Network, how to determine clay shrinkage

The same applies to diameter and to how much a mug holds. Because volume shrinks in three dimensions, a mug that holds 12 oz when wet will hold noticeably less when fired. Throw a few test mugs, measure them wet and fired, and note the numbers for next time.

Clay shrinkage calculatorEnter your clay's shrinkage and the finished size you want to get the wet size to throw.

Use calipers to make the rim of every mug in a set the same width, and a throwing gauge or a ruler to match heights.

How to make a mug step by step

Work through the stages over two or three days. The clay needs time to firm up between throwing, trimming and handling.

Unfired mugs with handles and carved words
Unfired mugs with handles attached and names carved in.Photo: Martin Cathrae, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr
  1. Wedge and weigh the clay

    Wedge the clay until it is free of air pockets and even in texture. Weigh each ball so a set of mugs comes out the same size; many beginners start with about a pound and adjust. A kitchen scale is fine for this.

    Penguin Pottery Wedging Board, 12x18"
  2. Center on a bat

    Attach a bat to the wheel head, slap the clay ball down near the middle and center it with wet hands and firm, steady pressure. Coning the clay up and down once or twice helps align the particles.

    LEOLIO 12" HDF Pottery Wheel Bats, 4-Pack
  3. Open and set the floor

    Press your thumbs or fingers down the center, stopping about ¼ to ⅜ inch from the bat. Check with a needle tool pushed straight down. Pull the floor out to the inner width you want, then compress it with a finger or a rib to help prevent S-cracks.

    Xiem Needle Tool, Porcelain (Green)Mudtools Shape 1 Kidney Rib, Red Very Soft (R1)
  4. Pull a cylinder

    With the wheel at medium speed, pinch the clay at the base between your fingers and lift slowly to the top. Make three or four pulls rather than one big one. Aim for a straight wall of even thickness from bottom to top. Sponge out water that pools on the floor between pulls.

  5. Shape and finish the rim

    Use a soft rib inside and out to straighten the wall and remove throwing lines, or leave them for texture. Compress and round the rim with a damp chamois or a folded strip of plastic so it is comfortable to drink from. Check the rim width with calipers.

    Kemper Aluminum Calipers, 10"
  6. Cut and set aside

    Run a wire under the mug while the wheel turns slowly, lift the bat off and set it somewhere draft-free. Cover loosely with plastic so the mug firms up evenly.

    Mudtools Mudwire Standard Cut-Off Wire, 15"
  7. Trim the foot at leather-hard

    When the mug is firm enough to hold its shape but still cool and slightly damp, flip it onto the wheel head, center it and secure it with clay lugs or a trimming chuck. Trim away the extra clay at the base to form a neat foot ring. Tap the bottom: a hollow, even sound means the floor is close to the wall thickness.

    Mudtools Do-All Trimming Tool, Kanna & LoopXiem Titanium-Fused Trimming Tool, Small TeardropGiffin Grip Model 10 Trimming Chuck
  8. Make the handle

    Pull a handle from a carrot-shaped lump of clay with a wet hand, or cut a strap with a handheld extruder. Let it firm up until it bends without cracking. Shape it into a curve that fits two or three fingers.

    DiamondCore Handheld Extruder 4-Pack, Set 1LittleChip Coil Dies for Handheld Extruders, 6 pc
  9. Attach the handle

    Mark where the handle meets the mug. Score both the mug and the handle ends, add slip and press firmly. Blend the joins with a finger or a small tool. The mug and handle should be at a similar dryness so they shrink together.

    DiamondCore Extendable 5-Prong Scoring Tool
  10. Dry slowly

    Cover the mug with plastic for a day or two so the handle and body even out, then uncover it gradually. Fast drying is the main cause of cracks where the handle meets the body. See why pottery cracks.

  11. Bisque fire

    Once the mug is bone dry, bisque fire it. Bisque is often fired around cone 06 to 04; your studio or kiln manual will name its schedule. See bisque vs glaze firing.

  12. Glaze and glaze fire

    Wax the foot and the bottom ¼ inch, then dip or brush the glaze evenly inside and out. Fire to the cone the glaze and clay are rated for. Watch the kiln with witness cones if you fire at home.

    AMACO Wax Resist, 16 ozOrton Junior Pyrometric Cones, Cone 6, Box of 50
Good to knowIf your mug keeps going off center or collapsing, the clay may be too soft or the wheel too fast for the pull. Slow the wheel as the walls get taller and thinner, and use less water.

Glazing a mug for food and drink

A mug touches your mouth and holds hot, sometimes acidic drinks, so glaze choice matters more than on a vase. Pick a glaze that its maker lists as food-safe when fired as directed, and fire it to the cone the label states.

Glazes for mugs in our catalogue

GlazeFiring range as listedFood-safe as stated by maker
Penguin Pottery Glossy ClearCone 5-6✓ When fired to the specified cone
Penguin Pottery Off White MatteCone 5-6✓ When fired to the specified cone
Penguin Pottery Specialty Series Set #1Cone 5-6✓ When fired to the specified cone
Mayco Stoneware Glaze Kit #4Cone 5/6-10~ Not stated in our listing data; check Mayco's label

Source: Clay at Home catalogue, product listings

Food-safe depends on firingA glaze listed as food-safe can still leach if it is under-fired, applied too thick, mixed with other glazes or used on a clay it was not designed for. The FDA regulates lead and cadmium release from ceramic ware for food use. If you sell or give away mugs, consider lab leach testing.Source: FDA, lead-glazed pottery Q&A

Glaze the inside first by pouring glaze in, swirling and pouring out, then dip or brush the outside. Wipe the foot clean even if you waxed it. For more, read how to glaze pottery, see the best food-safe glazes and browse the food-safe hub.

Firing temperatures for a mug

Most stoneware mugs go through two firings: a bisque firing to harden the clay and a glaze firing to melt the glaze. Orton's cone chart gives the temperatures at a medium heating rate of 108 °F per hour.

Typical mug firings (Orton cones, medium rate)

FiringTypical coneTemperature
Bisque (common range)Cone 06 to 041,828 °F to 1,945 °F
Low-fire glazeCone 06 to 041,828 °F to 1,945 °F
Mid-fire glaze (stoneware)Cone 5 to 62,167 °F to 2,232 °F
High-fire glazeCone 102,345 °F

Source: Orton Ceramic Foundation, cone temperature equivalents

Orton cone temperature chartSee every cone at three heating rates in °F and °C.

If you fire at home, budget the power with the kiln firing cost calculator.

Common mug-making mistakes

  1. Thick bottoms. A floor much thicker than the walls makes a heavy mug and can crack. Check with a needle tool before you pull.
  2. Uneven walls. Thick at the base and thin at the top means the rim can warp. Pull from the very bottom every time.
  3. Attaching a wet handle to a dry mug. They shrink at different rates and crack apart. Match their dryness.
  4. Skipping score and slip. Pressing a handle on without scoring rarely holds through firing.
  5. Drying uncovered. Handles dry faster than the body. Cover the mug for the first day or two.
  6. Glazing the foot. Glaze on the foot fuses to the shelf. Wax and wipe.
  7. Forgetting shrinkage. Throw bigger than the mug you want, or it will come out small.

For more beginner gear, browse pottery wheels, the beginners hub and the best trimming tools.

Clay shrinkage calculatorConvert between wet and fired size by your clay’s shrinkage percentage, find the right scale-up factor, and…Orton cone temperature chartOrton self-supporting cone temperatures for cones 022 to 10 at slow, medium and fast heating rates, in °F…

Questions

How much clay do you need to make a mug?
Many beginners start with about a pound of clay per mug and adjust once they see the results. Weigh each ball so a set comes out the same size.
How do you make a mug on the pottery wheel?
Center and open the clay, pull a straight cylinder, shape the rim, cut it off, trim the foot at leather-hard, attach a handle with score and slip, dry slowly, bisque, then glaze fire.
When should I attach a handle to a mug?
When the mug is leather-hard and the handle has firmed up enough to hold its shape. Both should be at a similar dryness so they shrink together.
Why did my mug handle crack?
Usually the handle and mug dried at different rates, or the join was not scored and slipped. Cover the mug with plastic for a day or two after attaching the handle.
How thick should mug walls be?
Even thickness matters more than an exact number. Most potters aim for walls that feel sturdy but light and a floor close to the wall thickness.
Is a handmade mug food safe?
Only if the glaze is listed as food-safe by its maker and fired correctly on a compatible clay. Sellers should consider lab leach testing for lead and cadmium.

Sources

  1. Ceramic Arts Network: How to determine clay shrinkage and make a shrink rule
  2. Orton Ceramic Foundation: Pyrometric cones
  3. FDA: Questions and answers on lead-glazed traditional pottery
  4. Digitalfire: Leaching tests