Helen only learned about kanzashi maybe two years ago, I think? Before that, she made barrettes and various sorts of hair flowers in other ways, mainly using what she calls "singed fabric technique" for the flowers. This means cutting synthetic fabric into shapes, mostly circles and ovals, occasionally triangles, and searing the edges with a candle flame. Sounds easy, and it is easy and fun, except when it's not.
Every fabric behaves differently. Some are more volatile than others. you can take steps to be careful with all that pyromania, but careful often means "boring". We want our shape to resemble a flower petal, so it's better if it's not completely flat. We want some curves and cup-shapes, but not too much. Get the picture? It's a trial and error situation each time.
Helen uses lots of satin, crepe, and other formal looking things, but it's the translucent fabrics such as chiffon and organza that everyone seems to love. Here are some faves:
Brown organza with crystal beads anchored by gold glass seed beads https://www.etsy.com/listing/107125906/brown-flower-hair-pins-bobby-pins ....
....Turquoise organza with Swarovski crystal teardrop beads....
....Pink chiffon with gold glass seed beads https://www.etsy.com/listing/27411077/pink-flower-fascinator-hair-clip-comb-or....
There are plenty more of these. Blatant commercial: they're at www.empressbarrettes.etsy.com
For years, Helen wanted to make a fabric morning glory, and couldn't figure out a good way. There is a kanzashi method that sort of works. After making kanzashi for a while, it dawned on Helen how to make a singed fabric morning glory, gluing petals together the way you would a kanzashi flower. Here's her latest version:
No comments:
Post a Comment