Basically, it entails folding cloth and gluing pieces together to make flowers typically used in hair ornaments. I grew up doing origami and can make a crane out of 2 inch paper. (Which takes a needle and some skill.)
Since tsumami kanzashi involves the assembly of many pieces, the cloth size you start with is typically quite small. It is recommended to start with a 2 inch square... each of which makes a petal or leaf.So I followed most of the instructions I found online, and improvised a bit on the glue and wire base. (Hey, I'm into beading, and you need SOMETHING to be in the middle of all these petals.) Not bad for a first try, but as you might be able to tell, instead of starting with more expensive silk chirimen cloth, I chose polyester.
It was still a bit pricey, as I bought the material from a craft store in Japan. I think next time, I'll go with variegated colors without the distracting print. Although I cut enough squares to make 3 similar sized flowers plus two smaller ones (presumably for a comb or full sized head piece), I might just call it a day with this one and make a different style of flower with the rest of the squares.
As you can tell from the 2nd photo, this flower is pretty huge. Personally, I prefer dainty... however, this is large enough to make a pretty cool headband or cover for a large spring loaded barrette. Maybe I'll make the rest of the flowers and make a larger, funkier head piece. Instead of the traditional metal bira bira and wisteria falls, I've got tons of ribbon and (of course) beads!
I guess technically, since I'm using fabritac glue and nylon, this is actually a lower end flower. We'll see how this all turns out.
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