6.4 How to make a Ronghua Lotus

27 januari 2026

The lotus rises from the mud yet remains unstained by a single speck of dust, elegant and pure, honored as the "flower of the gentleman." The Song Dynasty scholar Zhou Dunyi, in his masterpiece *"On the Love of the Lotus,"* highly praised the lotus for "rising from the mud yet remaining unstained," profoundly depicting its transcendent and noble character. The lotus in this example is formed by adhering 2-3mm velvet strips. When crafting, readers must strive for meticulous work, ensuring the velvet strips are evenly distributed to enhance its beauty and elegance.

Production Steps

01 The color arrangement is as shown (remember to blend colors). The quantities from left to right are:

a: 5 thread groups, velvet row width 2.5cm, wire spacing 2mm;
b: 7 thread groups, velvet row width 3.3cm, wire spacing 3mm;
c: 12 thread groups, velvet row width 4.8cm, wire spacing 4mm;
d: 16 thread groups, velvet row width 6.5cm, wire spacing 4mm.

02 Trim the 'a' velvet strips to 1.5mm thickness. Group three together to form one set, making 5 sets in total.

03 Combine the five sets assembled in the previous step with the clay lotus seedpod.

04 Cut off the excess wire and use tweezers to curve the velvet strips. One component is complete. Make 3 such components using the same method.

(Text in image, units in mm):

Small petals: 8 total (6 inward-curving, 2 outward-flaring)
Medium petals: 4 total (3 inward-curving, 1 outward-flaring)
Large petals: 3 total (2 inward-curving, 1 outward-flaring)

05 Combine the 'b', 'c', and 'd' velvet strips to form three different sizes of petals, each with distinct shapes. The forms and arrangement data are as shown. The adhesion and shaping here are slightly more complex. Readers who need it can click the link to watch the accompanying video tutorial for this example: https://youtu.be/hJg6m-Urr6g

06 Place 5 small petals in the first layer: 4 inward-curving and 1 outward-flaring.

07 Second layer: Place all four medium petals.

08 After placing the second layer, add one more small petal at the position indicated by the tweezers to create a visually staggered and irregular petal effect.

09 Place the 3 large petals in the third layer.

10 The irregular large lotus flower is complete.

11 Use 1 inward-curving and 1 outward-flaring small petal to combine with a lotus seedpod, making a small lotus flower.

12 There is 1 large lotus flower, 1 small lotus flower, and 1 lotus seedpod component in total.

13 Assemble these three components together as shown in the diagram.

14 The lotus leaf color arrangement is as shown (remember to blend colors). Quantity: 15 thread groups. Velvet row width: 5.5cm. Wire spacing: 1.8cm. Use 0.2mm copper wire.

15 After trimming the velvet strips, cut off the wire at the head, flatten to set the shape, and trim both sides clean to remove any burrs.

16 Adhere the velvet strips one by one. Please refer to the lotus leaf making method from the previous chapter for the adhesion technique.

17 The lotus leaf does not need to be completely closed; leave a small gap for assembly with the lotus flower. Insert the lotus flower into this gap. Adhere several simulated dewdrops onto the leaf surface.

18 Combine the floral form with the wooden hairpin, and add a binding wire.