Ronghua Tutorial: How to Make Gentian Flower Hairpin

The gentian flower is known for its deep, luminous blue. Blooming late in the season, it carries a calm, resilient beauty—cool in tone, yet rich with presence. In this piece, the gentian’s slender petals and upright form are translated into silk, capturing the feeling of stillness and clarity it brings.

Preparation: What You’ll Need

If you’ve purchased our Ronghua Toolkit, you already have everything required!
If not, prepare the following tools:

1. Bristle brush (Medium to soft hardness)
2. Flat iron (the one you use to straighten your hair)
3. Tweezers
4. At least 2 pairs of Scissors
5. wooden sticks / pencils / chopsticks
6. Hair spray or diluted white glue (1:1.15–1:1.2 ratio)
7. Big clips (around 15cm)
8. Twisting boards and wooden blocks (for even tension)
9. Anti-slip powder (optional but helpful)

Full Tutorial Video

Step 1. Align and Arrange the Silk Threads

Start by untying your silk threads. Locate the knot at one end of each bundle and cut it open carefully. This project uses 7 colours of silk to create 3 silk rows. 

Step 2. Group and Prepare the Threads

Each silk bundle consists of tiny strand-like structures — these are your individual strands. 

Align all strands neatly and tie them around a thin stick, keeping the ends even. Avoid uneven lengths — this ensures consistent texture later on.

Step 3. Make Silk Rows

Repeat the above process to create 3 silk rows in total. Remember to refer back to the data provided in the diagram for the following rows, as each will differ slightly. Below are the finished silk rows we made.

Step 4. Brush the Silk Rows

Fix one silk row onto your stand using big metal clips - if you don't have the wooden ronghua stand, that's totally fine! You can refer to our video about alternative solutions to the stand.

Hold the ends of the threads with one hand and brush gently but firmly from top to bottom. Don’t lift the brush midway. A light mist of water will prevent static. You can apply some pressure — silk threads are stronger than they look! Make sure to brush both the front and back sides until the row looks smooth and fluffy. 

Everyone uses a different brush and hand speed, so the time it takes to complete this step is also different. Taking my situation as a reference, it took me about 10 minutes to brush this silk row. When you feel the hair is soft and fluffy, you can stop and check. When there is no complete linear distinction between the threads, it's ready:) 

Step 5. Attach Copper Wires

When you feel that the silk is brushed enough, secure its tail with another big clip to your table or anything that can help stretch it taut. Take out one copper wire from the folded end of the row and straighten it. Twist the folded part into a spiral of about 3 cm. Clamp the silk threads between two copper wires and twist the opposite side tightly. Pull both wires taut and continue twisting until they merge into one. Remember, the twisting direction for the left and right end are opposite. 

The spacing should be as shown in step 1. 

If you have anti-slip powder, it will be much easier to dip your fingers in it and twist it. 

We highly recommend you watch the video tutorial for this step:)

Once done, remove the silk row from the stand and lay it flat.

Step 6. Cut the Silk Strips

Trim the row’s end neatly, then cut between each pair of copper wires to create even silk strips. When cutting, the scissors must be placed in the middle of two copper wires, otherwise the width of the silk strips will be inconsistent.

If threads stick to your scissors, clean them — it’s usually caused by static or residue. Cut quickly and cleanly for smooth edges. Don't touch the wire or it may get displaced.

Step 7. Center and Twist the Strips

Align the copper wire to the middle of each strip using a flat surface or wooden block.
Once centered, twist both hands in opposite directions to tighten.

Next, place the copper part between the twisting boards and continue twisting in the same direction. Stop when the wire feels firm — twisting too far may cause it to break. How do you know if it is tightened enough? If tightened properly, the copper wire should only faintly show. If the copper wire is very visible, it’s not tight enough.

Step 8. Shape the Strips

Next, we’ll start shaping the pointed tips of the silk strips. Trim the strip while gently rotating it in your fingers. Begin by smoothing the edges, and when shaping both ends, slightly tilt the scissors. The finished strip should be wider in the middle and taper to a point at both ends.

You’ll need a total of 15 light blue silk strips. Once one strip is finished, trim the remaining ones into the same shape. In addition, prepare 25 dark blue silk strips and 8 yellow silk strips, all trimmed in the same tapered form.

Step 9. Make the Petals

Now begin grouping the strips. Assemble the yellow silk strips in pairs, making a total of 4 groups. Next, assemble the light blue silk strips in pairs as well, for a total of 5 groups. For the dark blue silk strips, assemble 5 groups of three strips, and then prepare another 5 groups made from two dark blue strips each.

Apply glue to the inside of the strips, glue the strips together and tie up the other ends with silk threads.

Step 10. Make the Bud

Next, we’ll make the flower bud. The bud uses 5 light blue silk strips. Align the tops and bottoms of the strips neatly and tie them together lightly so they don’t fall apart. Gently spread the strips open, apply white glue to the center of each strip, then gather them back together and tie them tightly. Apply white glue again to the center and secure the other end with silk thread. 

Finally, twist the flower bud into a soft spiral. Once the glue dries, you can cut off the excess copper wire on the darker colored end.

The remaining petals are made in the same way, making sure the tops of the strips are always aligned evenly. After the glue dried, cut off the excess wire on the darker ends of the petals.

Step 11. Make the Flower Center

After all the silk strips are glued, we can make the flower center. Take a piece of copper wire and start wrapping silk thread from the middle. Fold the copper wire in half and continue wrapping, moving downward about 2 cm. One flower center requires 5 of these wrapped copper wires. Tie all five together, then bend them outward to open up the shape. 

Tighten the gaps between the wires, bend them downward, and gently curve the outermost wires outward. 

Step 12. Assemble the Flower

Now let’s assemble the flower. Each petal must be tied tightly with silk thread as you go. You’ll need 5 large dark blue petals for the first layer. Adjust their shape gently—handle the silk lightly and avoid pinching it flat.

This flower has two layers: after finishing the first layer, assemble the second layer of smaller petals in the gaps between the first layer, using a total of 5 petals. This completes one flower.

The second flower is made in the same way, but it only requires one layer of light blue petals.

Step 13. Assemble the Piece

Next comes the overall assembly. Start with the flower bud, using 3 or 4 strands of silk thread for wrapping.

Make sure the threads are smooth and not tangled, and assemble everything following the order shown here.  

Once assembled, trim the copper wire at the base. Remember to use separate scissors for cutting copper wire and trimming petals.

Wrap the silk thread down to the base of the copper wire, then wrap it back upward. Fold the tail end of the copper wire in half and continue wrapping until the wire is completely covered.

To finish, take a 3 mm copper wire, fold it in half, and wrap silk thread around it. Thread the remaining silk through the copper wire loop, pull the copper wire out, and cut off the excess.

You can watch our video for this step:)

Step 14. Attach the Piece to the Hairpin

Finally, attach the finished silk flower to the hairpin. First, decide on the placement, then secure the silk thread onto the hairpin before positioning the flower. Pull the thread tight and avoid leaving gaps. 

Finish it the same way as before, lightly burning off any frayed edges with a low flame. Adjust the flower’s position, gently curve the leaves into an arc, and apply a small amount of hairspray to the wrapped thread area to prevent slipping.

And with that, your piece is complete.