Since I’ve been feeling restless, I decided to make do with the materials on hand and try my hand at some Kanzashi barrettes. I seriously have to get ahold of the things I actually should be using for this, but these turned out okay anyway. They’re a bit messy, and a bit larger than I had planned on them being, but I like them. I was aiming for something sweet and small enough to wear on a daily basis, but it just didn’t look right any smaller than these. As you can see from the second photo, they don’t look too bad in hair either. I plan on making some nice blue ones once I get the actual materials I need to use.
What I have:
Polyester fabric – too heavy and unflexible
Frabri-tac glue – Too thick and dries too fastWhat I should be using:
Habotai Silk, 5mm – Here. Thinner, easier to work with
Nori Paste – Here. Very slow drying but quite sticky. Allows for repositioning.
Since Kanzashi are becoming more popular again, I thought I’d share some videos I stumbled across back in October of 2004. Edo Hair Ornaments. 5 movie files showing how these things are made. The vocals are in Japanese, but it’s still quite interesting. Here is a site full of real Maiko Kanzashi. You can see how intricate these things get. Gaijin Geisha also makes Kanzashi with a bit more of a modern flair. She makes barrettes too, but they’re the clip-in kind and don’t do well in longer or heavier hair like mine. I wish I could afford to buy one of her more elaborate pieces, but they’re priced at around $100 (And rightfully so! These things are tough to make!).