Ronghua Tutorial: How to Make Silk Hibiscus Mutabilis Fu Rong Brooch

The Fú Róng—the hibiscus mutabilis—is a flower of quiet transformation. It blooms white in the morning, blushes pink by noon, and deepens into rose at dusk. Soft, graceful, and ever-changing, it carries a sense of warmth and renewal. In this tutorial, we’ll bring that gentle beauty into silk, petal by petal.

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 10 colours of silk to create 6 silk rows.  Refer to the colour diagram below for thread combination details.

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 6 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. 

The green row is for making the calyx. The calyx hides behind the flower and can’t be seen from the front, so you can skip this row if you want to save time.

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. 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 and start to stick to each other, 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 twsiting direction for the left and right end are opposite. 

The spacing should be as shown in step 1. 

The green row needs two sizes of silk strips. At the bottom, tie 10 thinner strips with copper wire spacing around 5 mm. Above them, the other strips have a spacing of 1.5 cm. Once the copper wires are tied, you can cut off all the strips. Try to cut each strip to the same length.

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. Flatten the Strips

Cut off the copper wire on the darker side of each strip. For the green strips, cut off the lighter side. Thin strips must be cut from the middle. Flatten all strips using a straightener. 

Then we need to soak the flattened strips.

Prepare your setting solution:

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

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

Step 9. Make the Petals

Now we can shape the petals. Before you start, we highly recommend you watch the video tutorial first, as we need to make different sizes of petals with different rows and it can be a bit confusing to explain with words.

1. Begin by bending the strips and shape the inner small petals. Bend the petal into an arc, pinch the left side inward with tweezers, push the right side outward, and add gentle waves. The shape should feel natural and slightly irregular. Once dried, trim lightly along the natural curve — just enough to clean uneven edges.

For other pink strips of the same size, simply spray with hair-setting liquid—no shaping needed. Make sure the strips stay completely flat. 

For strips spaced at 2 cm, also leave them unshaped; just apply setting liquid.

For the smallest strips, spray and let them dry directly.

2. Cut the smallest strip into a sharp triangle. Use the straightener to bend the shaped strip. 

3. Straighten the strips that were not shaped earlier. Trim the edges so they look clean and even.

Apply white glue along the edges of the strips. Use a copper wire tip to apply the glue neatly between two adjacent strips. Glue the strips together. Use a straightener to press them gently — this helps the glue bond more firmly. 

Three-strip petals are for the outer layer, and you only need 1–2 large petals of each color. The remaining strips should be glued in pairs to create small petals. All other pink strips follow the same method. 

Trim the top of those petals.

4. Dip the trimmed petals once more in hairspray. Light-colored petals may reveal the copper wire beneath — this is normal.

Shape the outer petals by bending the bottom inward and flipping the top outward. Pull the edge inward and add a few soft, irregular waves. These outer petals are the three-strip pieces. The inner petals are made from the two-strip pieces. You’ll have four colors for the outer layer (five petals total — one color has two), and you can choose which color gets the extra petal. Let everything dry.

Step 10. Make Stamens

Wrap fishing line around your thumb about fifteen times. Use copper wire to secure the bundle, then cut open the loops.

If you don’t have color-preserving copper wire, annealed wire works fine.
Make seven of these, color them with a yellow marker, and lightly burn the tips with a lighter to seal them.

Step 11. Assemble the Flower

Begin with the lightest color petals. As you assemble, pull the stamens slightly outward. Place the petals at a gentle outward angle. Use two to three petals of each color as you move through the gradient. Use stamens to fill larger gaps, then insert the small petals into the tighter spaces.

Continue adding stamens when there's empty space.

Once the inner structure is full, attach the outermost petals in order from light to dark. Use a medium-tone petal as the final outer piece for balance.

Add the finished leaves as well. (You can skip one of the leaves if it won’t be visible from the front.)

Wrap all exposed copper wires tightly with silk thread. Fold the wires back to shorten and secure them, then continue wrapping until everything is covered. Trim excess wire and tie a knot at the end. Cut the remaining thread cleanly. Turn the flower around to check the back.

Step 12. Attach the Piece to the Base

Use silk thread to bind the flower securely to your brooch base (or any accessory you prefer). Wrap tightly so there are no gaps.

To finish without trace, take a folded piece of silk thread and place it at the wrapping point. Continue wrapping to cover it, then thread your working silk through the folded loop. Pull the folded loop out — this hides the finishing thread inside the wrapping. Trim the excess thread and lightly burn the frayed ends.

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

Adjust the flower’s angle.

Your Fu Rong Hibiscus is complete!