Rangiku kanzashi experiment process

I have recently been trying to figure out how to make an unusual type of kanzashi I saw on the internet, A spider mum pattern (I think the name for it is rangiku? but I'm not sure.) I've seen many made out of wire or mizuhiki, but very few tsumami kanzashi. I have only a few pictures to go on, so it's been difficult for me to reconstruct the technique. This is not quite a tutorial, it's just the process I went through working it out. Maybe others can learn from my mistakes.

Here are the examples of this type of kanzashi I've found. I don't think any of them are homemade.

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The petals of this pink kanzashi don't appear to have the slant at the end you would see in normal round petals, so I've been wondering if they might just be rectangle strips that have been folded in half twice? I have no clue at all how the buds are made. Finding that out will be a project for later.


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White and purple

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Worn in someone's hair

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You may need an account to view this page. There's an example about a third of the way down. All sorts of other beautiful kanzashi are pictured as well.




My process:

I started with large squares of fabric in three sizes, enough for 8 single petals in each layer. I wasn't certain how many layers to use at this point. They were folded into round petals, and I cut the bases very thin to make them look long and narrow.


1. In the middle of starching the petals here. Each set of petals was starched to curve in the opposite direction from the last. I dyed each layer of petals a different color so I could see the positions clearly. (the lilac tipped petals on the far right are for another project.)


2. The best I can figure, the petals are layed out in a swirl design, with each layer going the opposite direction. I had to reposition some of the petals a few times, it's hard to keep the swirl pattern even. To begin with, I used small pieces of felt between the petals, but I switched to card stock in later attempts.


3. I think doubled petals would probably make a better shape, the single ones are too skinny. But I didn't have that much fabric to play with this time.


4. I could see by the last step the pattern was wrong. The layers have to be positioned so there are no gaps. These are too on top of one another, so I pulled the flower completely apart to start over.

5 and 6. the view from the front looks slightly better, although it's still off, but from the side it looks like a small Christmas tree. Way too tall, and the last layer is going in the wrong direction anyway.

7. I could not get the petals apart this time, so I cut them as close to the base as was possible. very uneven and lots of hot-glue where it doesn't belong.

8. I re-glued the ends, cut the petals much thinner, then re-starched them. The teal ones were too torn up, so I used the spare blue ones in the next attempt.

9. the petals are quite dead by this point. they've been pulled apart and put back together too many times. But they'll do well enough for the experiment, although the resulting flower will be kind of sloppy.

10 and 11. What I ended up with. Not very crisp, clean or even, but overall not too bad. I think I have the idea down.
I can retry with fresh fabric now that I have practiced the technique.

The petals could be a bit more compact, but I think it's acceptable. I chose not to use felt between the layers to minimize the height. The center is a strip of rolled quilling paper.

Please download to see details better.

Finished flower clip: [link]