6.2 How to make a Ronghua Money Tree

2026年1月26日

The inspiration for this floral design comes from a cultural artifact in the collection of the Palace Museum, cleverly integrating auspicious traditional motifs such as copper coins, gourds, and swastikas. As the artifact may have become misshapen over time, the author has extracted its essence for secondary artistic creation. Readers can freely combine these elements according to personal preference during the making process, enjoying the fun of free arrangement.

Preparation

The velvet row color arrangement is as shown. The data from left to right is as follows:

a. Yellow cloud pattern: Quantity 11 sets. Velvet row width 4cm, wire spacing 3mm.
b. Green leaf: Quantity 16 sets. Velvet row width 6cm, wire spacing 4~5mm.
c. Red small velvet strip: Quantity 7 sets. Velvet row width 3cm, wire spacing 2mm.
d. Small flower velvet strip: Quantity 7 sets. Velvet row width 3.5cm, wire spacing 3mm.
e. Large flower velvet strip: Quantity 13 sets. Velvet row width 5cm, wire spacing 3mm.
f. Coin velvet strip: Yellow + red (the last two rows). Quantity 12 sets each. Velvet row width 4.8cm, wire spacing 2~3mm (2mm is preferred).

All the above velvet strips use 0.2mm or 0.18mm copper wire.

Production Steps

For convenience, we will divide the entire floral form into four parts for production: leaves, flowers, cloud patterns, and coins, followed by assembly.

Leaf Section

01 First, prepare 9 leaf velvet strips, all tapered in half.

02 Group three strips together. Fold one in half at the center point, and cut the other two in half.

03 As shown, bind the velvet strips according to the data.

04 Use tweezers to curve the strips along an arc, adhering the leaf tips to the previous strip.

05 All adhesion points are on the back of the leaf. Make 3 leaves in total.

06 Taper both ends of 6 red velvet strips, keeping the middle flat.

07 Fold the strips into the shape shown and cut off the wire at both ends.

08 Overlap and splice them, gluing at the overlap to form a "swastika." Make 3 in total.

09 Paste the completed "swastikas" onto the leaves for later use.

Flower Section

(Text in image: Trim a concave curve in the middle / Normal trim)

01 Trim 15 large flower and 15 small flower velvet strips each, shaping them as shown. Try to trim the middle of the large flower strips to create a concave curve.

02 Fold the small flower velvet strips into loops, grouping 5 together.

03 After folding a large flower velvet strip, use tweezers to push the middle outward slightly.

04 Fold the large flower strip, forming a ring in the middle. When pulling it taut, use a finger to lightly press from below, making the ring closure tighter.

05 Use tweezers to curve the strip below the ring inward, closing it at the bottom.

06 The large flower velvet strip is complete. (Also group 5 together.)

07 Assemble the small flower strips into a small flower, 5 per group.

08 Place the large flower strips in the gaps between the small flower strips, i.e., assemble by interlocking.

09 Take one cloud pattern velvet strip, cut a small section, and roll it up to serve as a flower stamen.

10 Paste the rolled stamen into the center of the completed flower. Trim the stamen size according to preference. The author trimmed three sizes for reference. Three flowers are now complete.

Cloud Pattern Section

01 Trim 12 velvet strips, with a gentle curve on top and a point at the bottom.

02 Pair two strips, offsetting them vertically by 0.6cm, and secure with silk thread.

03 Perform bending and shaping. Six cloud patterns are complete.

Coin Section

(Coin making is special; quantity is not specified here. First, learn how to make a coin.)

01 First, trim the yellow velvet strips into the shapes shown. Strip 1 is the outer contour, Strip 2 is the inner contour. Both are essential. Strip 2 consists of two halves, each tapered.