Tag: method

Tanabata, the Star Festival

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Every July 7th is the Star Festival, called “Tanabata” in Japan. The original story came from China and arrived in Japan during the Nara era (710 – 794). 

The story is like this:

A long time ago, there was a girl named Orihime, a daughter of one of the gods and a very good weaver. Her father was searching for a husband for her, and found a boy  named Hikoboshi, a cattle herder. 

They fell in love and got married. However, they became lazy after the marriage and did not work at all. Orihime’s father became furious about their complacency and set each on either side of the Milky Way as punishment. The pair was heartbroken and wept constantly. Feeling compassion for them, Orihime’s father gave the couple permission to see each other once a year on July 7th at night. 

But, it is said that they cannot meet if it rains, so we always wish for no clouds in the sky. 

There is a Japanese tradition of making decorations and putting them on bamboo branches for Tanabata. People also write their wishes on colorful rectangle papers and set them on the bamboo along with the decorations. Because Orihime was good at weaving, people usually wish to become skilled at something.

Bamboo is important for Tanabata, so today I would like to share how to make bamboo leaves with Tsumami-zaiku. 

By the way, bamboo is a very important plant for Japanese culture in general, not just on (hopefully) starry holidays. It is a bringer of good luck, along with plum and pine plants. We use it with many things like crafts and tools. Bamboo shoots are also a seasonal food eaten in spring.

How to Make Bamboo Leaves

It is very easy!

You will need:

  • three 1 inch (2.5cm) square cloth (green)
  • one ¾ inch (1.9 cm) round paper disc (thick paper is better)
  • glue
  • tweezers (You don’t need tweezers, but it’s much easier with them)
  • wet paper towels for cleaning your fingers

How to make:

1.Make three leaves from the green 1 inch square cloths with Maru-tsumami. (“How to make Maru-tsumami” link here.)

2. Cut the round paper disc into quarters.

3. Glue the bottom of the leaves and place them on the quarter paper disc. This time, place the round side of the leaf up.

4. Reshape the flower before the glue dries.

5. Let it dry completely.

6. Done!

You can make it with two-fold Maru-tsumami too (“How to make twofold Maru-tsumami” is in “Risshun, The First Day of Spring” page).

How to Make a Twofold Ken-tsumami

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Last time, we used a twofold Maru-tsumami to make a Japanese plum flower. Today, I’ll show you how to make a twofold Ken-tsumami. Actually, I think this is the easier of the two. I recommend using a thinner fabric for practice until you get used to it. 

You will need:

  • one 1 inch square cloth (orange)
  • one 1 inch square cloth (yellow)
  • glue
  • tweezers (You don’t need tweezers, but it’s much easier with them)
  • wet paper towels for cleaning your fingers

Instructions:

1.Make a single Ken-tsumami with an orange cloth. (“How to make a Ken-tsumami” is here.)

2. Fold a yellow cloth twice like the picture to make a ¼ size triangle.

3.Put the orange Ken-tsumami you made on the yellow ¼ size triangle.

4. Fold the yellow ¼ size triangle in half and sandwich the orange Ken-tsumami inside.

5. Glue the bottom part and let it dry.

6. Done!

Making a snowflake ornament with Ken-tsumami vol.2

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Creates about 3.5 inch (9cm) snowflake

Last time, I made a 2.5 inch (6cm) snowflake ornament. This time, I’m going to share a bigger sized snowflake ornament with the same shape. The way you make it is almost the same. I added one more color to the snowflake, and the cloth sizes are bigger.

You’ll need:

  • six 1.5 inch (3.8 cm) white cloth squares – (A)
  • twelve 1.5 inch (3.8 cm) green cloth squares – (B)
  • six 1.5 inch (3.8 cm) blue cloth squares – (C)
  • six 2 inch (5 cm) white cloth squares – (D)
  • one 3 inch (7.5 cm) white cloth square
  • decorations for the center of the flower (I use beads and craft flower stamens)
  • one 1 inch (2.5 cm) round paper disc (thick paper is better. I use a carton board I cut from things like cereal boxes)
  • one 1.5 inch (3.8cm) round paper disc (thick paper is better)
  • one 8 inch (20 cm) ribbon or string
  • glue
  • tweezers (You don’t need tweezers, but it’s much easier with them)
  • wet paper towels for cleaning your fingers

Instructions:

1. Make 6 white parts with (A), 12 green parts with (B), 6 blue parts with (C) and 6 white parts with (D) with the “Ken-tsumami” method.

2. Put glue on your 1 inch (2.5 cm) paper disc and place your (D) parts uniformly around the center.

(Hint: draw lines on your disc so you know where to place your petals.)

3. Before the glue gets completely dry, place your (C) parts between the (D) parts. You might need to put some glue on the bottom of (C) parts if the glue on your disc gets dry.

4. Reshape it before the glue dries. (Because they may move around in the wet glue.)

5. Put glue over half of the bottom of your (B) parts, and place them on your paper disc between each (C) and (D) parts.

6. Put a little glue between the bottom of the (B) parts you just glued, and put them together by squeezing them a little.

7. Put glue on 1/3 of the bottom on your (A) parts and place them between the (B) parts you just squeezed.

8. Make a board for the back side. Put glue on your 1.5 inch (3.8cm) paper disc and place it on the center of your 3 inch (7.5 cm) white cloth square with glue side down.

9. Cut off the corner of the cloth so it becomes round, put glue on the cloth, and wrap it around the paper disc.

10. Fold your ribbon (or string) in half. Place its ends on the center of the board you just made and glue it.

11. Put more glue on the board to glue it on the back of your snowflake. You need to decide which side is up before you glue, so be careful!

12. Finally, put glue on the center of your snowflake and place it on your decoration.

13. Congratulations!!! Done!

This time, I made a 3.5 inch (9cm) snowflake ornament, but if you change the sizes of clothes, you can make it bigger or smaller. You can also make it into a pin or a hair ornament by using a pin or a clip instead of a ribbon or string. Enjoy your creation!

bigger snowflake: 3.5 inch (9 cm)

smaller snowflake: 2.5 inch (6 cm)

Making a snowflake ornament with Ken-tsumami

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Creates about 2.5 inch (6cm) snowflake

Christmas is coming! This time, I’m going to share how to make a snowflake ornament with Tsumami-zaiku. You need to make lots of parts this time, but the basic method is always the same, so don’t worry! You can do it!

You’ll need:

  • eighteen 1 inch (2.5 cm) white cloth squares – (A)
  • six 1 inch (2.5 cm) blue cloth squares – (B)
  • six 1.5 inch (3.8 cm) white cloth squares – (C)
  • one 2 inch (5 cm) white cloth square
  • decorations for the center of the flower (I use beads and craft flower stamens)
  • one 1 inch (2.5 cm) round paper disc (thick paper is better. I use a carton board I cut from things like cereal boxes)
  • one 1.2 inch (3cm) round paper disc (thick paper is better)
  • one 8 inch (20 cm) ribbon or string
  • glue
  • tweezers (You don’t need tweezers, but it’s much easier with them)
  • wet paper towels for cleaning your fingers

Instructions:

1. Make 18 white parts with (A), 6 blue parts with (B) and 6 white parts with (C) with the “Ken-tsumami” method. (“How to make Ken-tsumami” link here.)

2. Put glue on your 1 inch (2.5 cm) paper disc and place your (C) parts uniformly around the center.

(Hint: draw lines on your disc so you know where to place your petals.)

3. Before the glue gets completely dry, place your (B) parts between the (C) parts. You might need to put some glue on the bottom of (B) parts if the glue on your disc gets dry.

4. Reshape it before the glue dries. (Because they may move around in the wet glue.)

5. Put glue over half of the bottom of your (A) parts, and place them on your paper disc between each (B) and (C) parts. You should have 6 (A) parts left.

6. Put a little glue between the bottom of the (A) parts you just glued, and put them together by squeezing them a little.

7. Put glue on 1/3 of the bottom on your left (A) parts and place them between the (A) parts you just squeezed.

8. Make a board for the back side. Put glue on your 1.2 inch (3cm) paper disc and place it on the center of your 2 inch (5 cm) white cloth square with glue side down.

9. Cut off the corner of the cloth so it becomes round, put glue on the cloth, and wrap it around the paper disc.

10. Fold your ribbon (or string) in half. Place its ends on the center of the board you just made and glue it.

11. Put more glue on the board to glue it on the back of your snowflake. You need to decide which side is up before you glue, so be careful!

12. Finally, put glue on the center of your snowflake and place it on your decoration.

13. Congratulations!!! Done!

This time, I made a 2.5 inch (6cm) snowflake ornament, but if you change the sizes of clothes, you can make it bigger or smaller. You can also make it into a pin or a hair ornament by using a pin or a clip instead of a ribbon or string. Once I make a bigger snowflake ornament for my own Christmas tree, and I’ll share the plans with everyone! See you then!

How to Make “Ken-tsumami”

Published on by Haruka WilleyLeave a comment

You will need 

  • square cloths (1.5 inch squares are easy to start.)
  • glue ( I use Aleene’s “Fast Grab Tacky Glue,” but you can use any glue that works for fabric )
  • tweezer (you don’t need them, but they make things a lot easier. )
  • wet tissue (for cleaning your fingers after using the glue)

Making “Ken-tsumami”

  1. First, make a triangle by folding a square cloth half.

2. Next, fold it in half again to make a smaller triangle.

3. Fold it half again to make an even smaller triangle.

4. Glue at the bottom.

5. Wait until the glue dries enough. (It doesn’t need to be completely dry, just enough to keep its shape.)

6. Shape the petal.

7. Extra! This depends on what kind of flower you are making, but you can open up the bottom part to make a petal wide.

8. Now, just repeat the steps until you make as many petals as you need for your flower. 

Now that your petals are ready, you’re ready to make beautiful tsumami-zaiku!

How to Make “Maru-tsumami”

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You will need 

  • square cloths (1.5 inch squares are easy to start.)
  • glue ( I use Aleene’s “Fast Grab Tacky Glue,” but you can use any glue that works for fabric )
  • tweezer (you don’t need them, but they make things a lot easier. )
  • wet tissue (for cleaning your fingers after using the glue)

Making “Maru-tsumami”

1. First, make a triangle by folding a square cloth half

2. Then, fold it in half again to make a smaller triangle.

3. Fold it half again, but both ways this time.

4. Glue at the bottom part.

5. Wait until the glue dries enough. (It doesn’t need to be completely dry, just enough to keep its shape.)

6. Shape the top round part to make a petal.

7. Extra! This depends on what kind of flower you are making, but you can open up the bottom part to make a petal wide.

8. Now, just repeat the steps until you make as many petals as you need for your flower.

Now that your petals are ready, you’re ready to make beautiful tsumami-zaiku!

Japanese plum “Ume”

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“Ume”, which is in my family name, is a very familiar plant for Japanese. We love not only flowers but also fruits.

“Ume” is a Japanese plum. It came from China about 1500 years ago. After that, there have been breed improvements, and there are more than 300 breeds now. “Ume” blooms and flowers even in the cold weather of the end of winter and tells us the arrival of spring, so “Ume” is also familiar as auspicious in Japan.

The fruit is edible. However, the underripe fruit is toxic so you need to do the processing. “Ume-boshi” is one of the most famous Japanese traditional foods and it is made by salting. We also make plum wine and syrup.

“Ume” fruit is rich in organic acids. People in the past treated it as a medicine sometimes because they knew its effects of recovery from physical exhaustion and disinfection.

To make a “Ume” flower, you need to prepare 5 petals with “Maru-tsumami”.  (Click here for my post on how to do maru-tsumami!)

You can make it double or triple by putting a smaller flower inside of it. You can arrange the direction of your smaller flower inside. You can put your smaller petals in the same place as bigger petals or between bigger petals.

I think that the stamens are the most important part to make a “Ume” flower. You need to have more stamens, finer and longer one than other flowers. Then lay them down in all directions. These steps make it more like an “Ume” flower.

Tsumami Zaiku Basic Techniques

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Tsumami zaiku is a traditional Japanese craft that is accessible to everyone. Its accessories are beautiful and delicate, but they are not difficult to create. You just need a bit of patience.

When I first saw these beautiful Japanese hair ornaments, I did not think I could make one myself. But after learning the basic method, I discovered that it was actually really simple.

It begins with a cloth square. The size of the square determines the size of the hair piece. Most squares are 0.75 to 1.5 inch size, but I recommend using 1.5 inch size squares when you are just beginning, since it is easier to practice the folding techniques with larger ones. I mentioned patience, but when you make your squares, precision is very important. In this way, it is a lot like origami. In order to get a perfect square, recommend to use a cutting mat with scale on and a rotary cutter.

A basic tsumami zaiku flower uses 5 squares, but it differs depending on what you are making.

Then, it’s just tucking the square cloth and gluing it down, which creates the shape of a flower petal. There are 2 main tucking methods:

One is called “Maru-tsumami.” “Maru” means round in Japanese, so the edge becomes round using this way.

The other is “Ken-tsumami.” “Ken” means sword, so the edge becomes sharp like a sword.

Traditionally, starch was used for glue, but modern tsumami zaiku craftspeople buy their glue at the store. You can use regular glue, but I find that Aleene’s “Fast Grab Tacky Glue” works better on fabric and oparation.

After you have created the individual flower petals, you arrange them together to make the flower itself. You can make infinite kinds of creations with different combinations of tucking, colors, sizes, and arrangement.

The process of making the petals and arranging them is not difficult, but it does take patience. I find the process meditative and use it to clear my mind. Tsumami zaiku, like many traditional Japanese crafts, can be used to calm and center oneself. I hope after trying it yourself, you will come to love making tsumami zaiku accessories as much as I do!