Materials and Tools for Making Ronghua(Velvet Flowers)
Good materials and tools can significantly enhance the efficiency and quality of making Ronghua(Velvet Flowers). Below are the commonly used materials and tools in the process of making Ronghua(Velvet Flowers).
- Materials
- Natural Mulberry Silk Threads(绒丝): The primary material for Ronghua(Velvet Flowers). It is refined silk derived from raw silk, characterized by its distinct texture, smooth feel, and lustrous appearance.
- Brass Wire(铜丝): Serves as the skeleton of the velvet strips and plays a crucial role in their creation. To ensure sufficient toughness, the copper wire needs to be annealed at high temperatures before use. The ideal thickness is 0.2 mm.
- Silk Thread(丝线): Used as an assembly material when creating the flowers.
- Dye(染色剂): Acidic dye for silk, requiring high-temperature boiling for dyeing.
- Stamens(花蕊): Another assembly material used in flower making, often made of plaster and cotton thread. Stamens come in various colors and are either single-headed or double-headed. Double-headed stamens need to be folded in half when used.
- Hairpin and Brooch Materials(发簪主体和胸针材料): Used to make hairpins or brooches, usually metal products with gold plating.
- Tools
- Talcum Powder(滑石粉): Applied to the thumb and forefinger to increase friction with the brass wire and reduce finger strain.
- Silk Twisting Board(搓丝板): Consists of wooden boards with a rough surface, one large and one small. The large board has nails to secure it to a table. The brass wire of the velvet strip is placed between the wooden blocks, and the small block is used to twist the wire tightly until the velvet fibers are fully opened.
- Tweezers(镊子): Auxiliary tools for shaping flowers. Since silk is delicate, adjusting the flower shape with fingers can damage its appearance and precision, so tweezers are used for assistance.
- Scissors(剪刀): Two types are essential for making Ronghua(Velvet Flowers). Large scissors (about 30.5 cm) for cutting velvet strips and small scissors (about 23.2 cm) for trimming the tips of the strips.
- Auxiliary Clip(辅助夹): Not a traditional tool but suitable for non-professional enthusiasts to use at home. It is simple and convenient, made of a food sealing clip and a large stationery clip, used to assist in laying the velvet.
- Bristle Brush(棕毛刷): Mainly used to organize silk, comb out the silk, and remove broken and excess fibers from the velvet strips.
- Ruler(尺子): Convenient for measuring the length of the velvet strips to ensure the precision of the flowers.
- Clip Board(夹板): Used in the making of flattened Ronghua(Velvet Flowers). After being pressed with a high-temperature clip board, the velvet strips become thin sheets, making the flowers more three-dimensional.
- Setting Liquid(定型液): Made by mixing white glue and water in a 1:4 ratio and stored in a spray bottle for easy use.
- White Glue(白乳胶): Used to bond the velvet strips and prepare the setting spray.
- Material Box(材料箱子): Can replace the velvet flower wooden frame to hold the silk strips. The dimensions of the box I use are 28 cm in length, 20 cm in width, and 17 cm in height.
- Ronghua Frame(绒花架): Used to straighten the silk velvet strips and facilitate tying the copper wire. The dimensions of the frame are 40 cm in length, 20 cm in width, and 60 cm in height.
- Lighter(打火机): Used for finishing touches. After tying and cutting the silk thread, all velvet flower creations need to be singed at the end with a lighter to seal the thread ends.
