Ronghua Tutorial: how to Make August Poppies & Sunset Poppies Essential Oil Diffuser

Bold and fleeting, poppies are flowers of contrast—delicate petals paired with an unmistakable presence. In this piece, their light, fluttering form is captured in silk, celebrating both their softness and their intensity. 

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. You can use these color schemes for your poppies.

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 three 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.

 
Use a fine comb or dense brush to brush them again. Light shedding during brushing is normal. If there’s a lot of shedding, the copper wire wasn’t rubbed tightly.

Step 8. Flatten the Strips

Next, we’ll trim the tips of the silk strips. The goal here is simply to neaten them. Trim while slowly rotating the strip, and slightly tilt the scissors when cutting the ends. This creates a shape that’s fuller in the middle and narrower at both ends. You can clearly see the difference by comparing a trimmed strip with an untrimmed one.

Once trimmed, fold each strip in half. Align the base neatly and twist the two copper wires together. Use tweezers to smooth the threads, then gently push the top of the petal upward with the tweezers—this helps elongate the petal shape.

Heat the flat iron and press the strip from back to front. Always iron in this direction, never straight down from top to bottom. After ironing, the petal will look slightly shiny.

Once flattened, soak them in shaping liquid, or gently brush the liquid on if you’re worried about shrinkage.

Prepare your setting solution:

1. Use either hair spray, or
2. Diluted white glue with water or alcohol (1:1.15 or 1:1.2 ratio)

Soak the flattened silk strips, let them absorb the solution, then scrape off the excess.

After drying, clamp the petals once more with the iron. This step makes them thinner and flatter. Then trim the edges neatly, preferably using small curved scissors. This gives the petal a softer, more natural curve.

Step 9. Make the Petals

Apply white glue along the edges of the petals, making sure the wires align neatly. Clean away any excess glue, then stick three small petals together to form one large petal. Press them firmly so they bond well. Each poppy requires four of these large petals.

Next, trim the overall petal shape as shown here. Small gaps along the edges are normal. Trim all remaining petals the same way, then spray them lightly with hair gel.

Using tweezers, fold the base of each petal so it bends at about a 90-degree angle. Clamp the sides inward to create a gentle curl, smooth the back, and lightly pinch the edges to form soft waves. 

At this point, the petal shaping is complete. The inner and outer petals differ slightly: inner petals are tighter, while outer petals curve outward a bit more. After shaping, place them upright to dry.

Step 10. Make the Stamens

Now let’s make the stamens. Wrap fishing line around two fingers about twenty times, remove it, and secure it with a piece of copper wire.

Twist the wire tightly, then cut the fishing line in the middle. Color it evenly with a black marker, and lightly burn it with a lighter—the ends will puff up like tiny popcorn. Each flower needs three black stamens.

For the center, wrap gold copper wire around two fingers about thirty times. Cut off the excess, then cut the loop in the middle and straighten the wires. Secure them with double strands of silk thread, wrapping about 0.7 cm. 

Spread the wires apart, fold them downward, and secure them underneath.

Adjust the wires with tweezers so they fan out evenly, then attach the black stamens around the metal center. Lightly burn them again so all the stamens are the same height.

Step 11. Assemble the Flower

It’s best to assemble the petals while they are still slightly damp. Once fully dry, they become stiff and harder to adjust. If needed, spray a little hairspray to soften them. The flower has two layers of petals. The first layer consists of two petals placed face to face; shape them quickly while they’re still flexible to make them fuller.

The second layer also has two petals and is placed in the gaps of the first layer.

Wrap all the wires with thread to fully cover them. If the base becomes too bulky, trim some wires at an angle so the stem tapers naturally. If the stem is too short, add another wire to extend it—the ideal length is about 4.5 cm. Fold the wrapped wire in half, trim off the excess, and continue wrapping securely.

To finish, place a folded thread or thin copper wire against the stem and wrap over it a few times. Thread the silk through the loop, pull the folded thread out, and trim the excess. Lightly burn off any loose ends with a lighter.

You can watch our video tutorial for this step:)

One poppy flower is now complete.

Step 12. Attach the Piece to the Base

You can attach the finished poppy to any accessory you like, such as a hairpin, hair clip, or brooch—the attachment method is the same as assembling the petals. You can also turn it into a decorative ornament. 

For decorative pieces, make several flowers and extend the stems using iron or aluminum wire. Vary the heights of the flowers, arrange them in a vase, and you’re done. 

Go ahead and give it a try!