
How to make a herringbone from ribbons in Kansas technique, master classes of creating Christmas trees from sharp and round petals, ways of creating ornaments for miniature Christmas trees
This article will offer several masterclasses on creating Christmas trees using the kanzashi technique. The history of this art of silk origami began more than 400 years ago. It was during this period of time that Japanese beauties changed their hairstyles. Smooth, straight hair was replaced by high and intricately styled strands. To hold all this beauty, various combs, hairpins and sticks made of wood, tortoise shell or ivory, gold and silver were used. Since the traditional attire of Japanese women was very closed and did not allow wearing bracelets or necklaces, hairpins became the main element of decor and decoration. Craftsmen began to fold flowers of amazing beauty and grace from small pieces of silk, they turned ordinary combs and hairpins into works of art. It is silk ribbons, thanks to the richness of colors and shades, that allow you to create masterpieces. Hair decorations made of silk flowers also played an important social role. They were a reflection of a woman's position in society. Looking at her hairpins, one could easily determine whether she was married or single, how many children she had, even her age. Beautiful hairpins (kanzashi) with flowers demonstrated the refined taste and financial status of their owner. Often, such hairpins could exceed the cost of even a silk kimono embroidered with precious threads. Such amazing, beautiful and delicate art is still used. Of course, kanzashi no longer have the same significance as before. Now they are just beautiful hair decorations. At the same time, the imagination and creativity of needlewomen found application for small petals in a variety of directions, for example, using the kanzashi technique, you can make a New Year's tree. Decorate it with beads, rhinestones and bows. Such a beauty will be a wonderful interior decoration or a wonderful gift. The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree came to us from the pre-Christian era. In ancient times, evergreen trees were considered especially beloved by the gods. People, seeking to gain prosperity and good luck, gave offerings to the spirits and gods on the days of the winter solstice (the period from December 25 to January 8). Garlands of vegetables, fruits and ears of corn were hung on the most beautiful and fluffy Christmas tree. In this way, people asked the spirits for a harvest in the coming year. Now the celebration of the New Year is just a fun and hectic time, and a beautiful Christmas tree occupies an important place in it, along with gifts, outfits, home decoration and treats. A beauty made of ribbons in the kanzashi technique will definitely become a decoration for your home, and we will tell you in detail how to make it. New Year's tree made of satin ribbon in the kanzashi technique of sharp petalsYou will need:
- Satin ribbon width 5 cm and length 15 m, the color of green needles;
- Cardboard green;
- The paint is green (if you do not have a green cardboard on hand, but just plain white paper);
- Candle or lighter;
- Sharp scissors;
- Tweezers;
- Adhesive gun or glue moment crystal;
- Elements for decoration (beads, rhinestones, etc.).
You need to roll and glue a cone out of cardboard.If necessary, paint it green. Now you need to take a piece of satin ribbon along the length of the cone base and glue it as in the photo. One edge of the ribbon should go along the inside of the cone. For now, put aside our blank Christmas tree base and start creating needles. In order to conveniently glue the petals to our base, you can draw lines (rows) on the cone.We roll the future branches into sharp petals.We will need from 250 to 320 pieces, depending on the size of the cone. Of course, the number is approximate. You can make a Christmas tree of a larger or smaller size, and the number of petals will change accordingly. In order to make a sharp petal, we need a square of satin ribbon. Cut out the blanks and start folding the petal. For more accurate work, it is better to melt the edges of the squares over the fire. This will prevent them from fluffing up. Take a square and fold it diagonally with the shiny side outward. The fold line is located at the top. You get a triangle with the base at the top and the apex at the bottom. Now fold the right and left corners. All that remains is to melt the lower part over a candle or lighter and the petal is ready.
When all the blanks are done, we take our cone andwe begin gluing the very first row of petals along the lower edge of the cone where the tape is glued. We apply glue to the melted edge of the petal (see photo).
The second and all subsequent tiers must be glued in a checkerboard pattern relative to the previous row.
To form the top, you need to glue 4 petals together.
Once the glue is dry, you can startdecorating the Christmas tree. Glue bright red and transparent rainbow beads to the tips of the petals. You can arrange them diagonally or in artistic disorder. In any case, the tree will turn out festive and elegant.
If you don't have beads at hand, you can use ribbons. Tie beautiful bows and glue them to the petals. You can also change the top, for example, make a bright ball.
To make the bows beautiful, neat and identical, there is a little trick - they are tied on a fork. You will need:
- Thin ribbon;
- Fork (usual, from a kitchen locker with 4 teeth);
- Scissors;
- A lighter or a candle.
We turn the fork so that the convex side is facing us.Take the ribbon with the front side and put it on top so that the short edge looks at the lower right corner. In the photo it is marked as end A. The second end (B) goes around the fork from the concave back side. We wrap it to the front from right to left. The ribbon goes over end A. Now you need to thread end B between the middle teeth of the fork and then thread it through the loop formed by end A on the front side and end B on the back side. Do not tighten it too much yet. Now we need to thread end B from the bottom up into the loop formed during the very first turn of end B to the front side. Now you need to tighten it tightly, and the bow is ready.All that's left is to cut off the excess ends of the ribbon, melt the ends of the bow so they don't fray, and you can glue it to the tree. New Year's trees in the kanzashi technique from round petals
To create this tree you will need the same materials and tools as for the first tree. Materials:
- Cardboard for the base;
- Satin ribbon is green;
- Golden ribbon for decoration;
- Beads for decoration;
- Candle or lighter;
- Scissors;
- Glue.
The difference with the previous product is how it will bepieces of satin ribbons are folded. If in the first Christmas tree we used sharp petals, then in this one we will also use one of the round petal options. Take a square of satin ribbon and fold it diagonally with the shiny side outward. Place the fold line on top. Now take the right and left corners and bend them to the bottom corner. For reliability, you can apply a drop of glue to this corner or melt it over the fire so that all the corners hold together. We got a figure similar to a diamond. Take the right and left corners of this diamond and bend them back. If you look in profile, you get a figure similar to a right triangle. Now take scissors and cut off this very right angle. Melt the edges of the workpiece over the fire and get a round petal.Now we roll the piece of cardboard into a cone,glue it and wait until it dries. Similarly, glue a piece of tape along the base of the cone. The next step is to attach the petals. Alternate round and sharp petals, as in the photo. Or come up with your own system and options. After the glue dries, decorate the tree with beads and bows. You can also make a bow on the top. You can make a leg-stand for the tree. Any plastic bottle or even a cup will do for this purpose. Just cut them to the desired height and decorate. You can glue them with fabric, colored paper or ribbons, wrap them with laces, twine or sisal. Another important point in creating such crafts is the ability to work with children. The next option for folding the petals can be entrusted to children. Of course, it is important to make sure that they do not smear glue all around, and leave the melting of the edges of the petals for themselves. Perhaps not all the "branches" will be even and neat, but this is not the main thing. It is important that the baby will get a lot of pleasure from creating the craft. In addition, such activities develop fine motor skills in children, which has a positive effect on the right hemisphere of the brain, responsible for speech, imagination, memory and creativity. And while making crafts, children learn perseverance, accuracy and the ability to concentrate. And of course, a Christmas tree created by children's hands will be a great gift for grandparents or godparents.
To make such a Christmas tree together with the kids, you will need all the same materials and tools:
- Cardboard for the cone base;
- Green ribbon for twigs;
- Glue;
- Candle or lighter;
- Elements of decor (beads, bows). For the top of the Christmas tree, you can also use hugs for jewelry and small Christmas toys.
We begin to roll up the ribbons as if forround petals. First, diagonally in half, and then the right and left corners down. You can apply glue to this lower corner so that all layers of the workpiece are fastened. Your child can do all these manipulations independently. Help will be needed only when melting the edges.And then, using the already familiar technology, onglue a piece of tape to the base of the cone and attach the petals in a checkerboard pattern. The tree does not necessarily have to be green. If you want to use it as an element of the room decor, nothing prevents you from making it blue, red, white or gold. If you have created a tree with a stand, such a product can be decorated with cotton wool to imitate snow. Make gifts from tiny pieces of foil and you will get a whole New Year's composition in miniature.
Beautiful kanzashi Christmas trees can be made not only from ribbons. Any fabric that can be cut into squares and folded into petals will do. Felt Christmas tree using kanzashi technique
This soft tree can be used as a Christmas tree decoration or part of a garland. You will need:
- Felt. For the cone-base, it is better to take a thicker one, for the petals the thinnest (it is better to give preference to acrylic or viscose felt);
- Threads and needles. For sewing, “denim” threads and needles with a narrow eye are well suited.
We roll and sew a cone from thick felt.Roll up sharp petals from thin felt, as shown in the first master class. When you have made 3 - 4 petals, measure how many blanks are obtained in one tier and how many tiers will be needed to cover the entire cone. Now that you have the number of petals for each tier, string them on a thread like beads and close them in a circle on the cone. Sew this tier and start on the next one. String the petals on a thread again and sew them to the cone. Do not forget that the petals in each subsequent tier should go in a checkerboard pattern relative to the previous one. At the end, you can decorate to your taste. Advice! If you want to decorate the Christmas tree in a new way every New Year using the kanzashi technique, instead of gluing on decor in the form of beads, bows and sparkles, use pins. They are also called jewelry pins. They are pins with different heads. There are loops, beads and caps, like nails. You can string beads and beads on them and stick them directly into the petals. You can even make compositions. For this, you will need tools for working with wire: round-nose pliers and nippers. We string a bead or a bow on the pin. We measure out another 0.7 - 10 mm of the pin, and cut off the rest. We wrap the end in a loop and we get a full-fledged Christmas tree toy in miniature. Such decorations will be removable, they can be attached using the same pins, hooking them onto the loop.