Hair Tie with a Kanzashi Flower

Step 1

Kanzashi are Japanese decorative flowers made from silk ribbon. Traditionally, these flowers are used to make various hair clips, but modern crafters use them wherever possible—to decorate greeting cards, pillows, and accessories.

Making a hair clip like this is very simple. We will need:
• satin ribbon, 5 cm wide;
• fine-tip tweezers;
• matching thread or a hot glue gun;
• matching hair tie;
• a piece of thin felt;
• fishing line and beads;
• scissors;
• a lighter.

Cut the ribbon into 5x10 cm pieces and begin folding the flower.

Illustration 2

Step 3

First, fold the upper right corner down at a 45° angle. Then fold the lower right corner of the ribbon in the exact same way.

Illustration 4

Step 5

Fold the resulting corner once more, this time perpendicularly, and fold the ribbon in half along with the folded corners.

Illustration 6

Step 7

Turn the ribbon right side out, shaping the petal. Trim the corner and seal it with a lighter. Fold the edges of the ribbon into a neat, even pleat.

Illustration 8

Step 9

Trim the excess ribbon from the back of the petal and seal the edges. Make 6 petals this way.

Illustration 10

Illustration 11

Step 12

Now you can assemble the flower itself. The petals can be neatly stitched together with a blind stitch or glued using a hot glue gun.

Illustration 13

Step 14

Form the center of the flower from fishing line and beads. Melt the fishing line with a lighter or secure it with hot glue to create a firm stem. Glue this center in between the petals.

Illustration 15

Step 16

To attach the flower to the hair tie, take two small pieces of felt or another non-fraying fabric and sew them to the hair tie from both sides.

Illustration 17

Step 18

Attach the flower to the felt using a hot glue gun or sew it on neatly. Finished.

Illustration 19