Miniature Printed Fan

This example is 12th scale
Fans come in all shapes
and sizes.
The example I am going
to make here is a
printed version of a
hand-painted fan.

To make the miniature version I used •a sharp knife
•a metal ruler
•a pair of scissors
•100 gsm
matt inkjet paper
•200 gsm card
•a fine paintbrush
•gold paint (water-based)
•cotton embroidery thread
•a fine needle
When I make fans for sale, I have them professionally
printed.

First I cut out the fan.
(I used scissors)
It is easier to see the
shape from the back.
NOTE: I have left the
right hand guard stick
attached

Then I folded the guard stick
back.
I could have used a
blunt knife to score the
fold-line, but I didn’t.

Then I folded some more First, edge to edge, so
that there was a central
crease.

And some more This time, the central
fold to the edges.
2
1
2

And some more Always edge to edge,
so that the folds were
as regular as possible.
Until…

Until…
I had a neatly folded
fan.

Then I flattened the fan out
again and started to cut
some sticks from the
200gsm card.
NOTE – I cut the sticks
a little bit longer than
they need to be.

The guard sticks are 1.25 mm wide.
The sticks for the main body
of the fan are about 1mm
wide.
They bent a bit when I cut
them, but I could straighten
them out with my fingers so
this did not matter.
NOTE – I cut the sticks a
little bit longer than they
needed to be.

Working on the back - and starting with the guard
stick, I began to glue the
sticks in to place.
(I placed them next to an
upward facing crease.)
NOTE – the sticks project past the top
of the fan. I find it easier to trim them back
than to try and stick them to fit exactly.

Then When all the sticks were
glued in place, I cut off the
projecting pieces at the top.
NOTE – how the end of the sticks
makes a fan shape too. I use this shape
as a guideline, when gluing the bottom of
the fan together.
If I can see two fan shapes, I know that the
sticks must be in about the right place.

Next -

Only a very small amount of glue is needed.

Using a tiny amount of glue,
I glued the lower end of the
sticks together.
NOTE – Too much glue, at
this stage, will result in a
soggy mess.
This fan is going to have painted sticks
and the paint will stiffen the card and hold
the sticks together.

Then I let the glue dry completely When the glue was
completely dry, I trimmed
the end of the sticks, so that
they were a neat, fan-like,
shape – and got out my
favourite (water-based) gold
paint.
NOTE – there was either brilliant sun,
or torrential rain, this morning.
One of these days, I am going to have just
the right sort of weather and a camera that
can take close-ups.

While the paint is drying Let me show you another
way to make a fan.
First, glue the picture to a
thin piece of card, or a thick
piece of paper and let the
glue dry completely.

Then Cut off the guard-stick.
(I used a knife for this.)

Then Cut the fan into small, fanshaped, segments.
(The neater the segments
are, the neater the finished
fan will look.
I cut these roughly and
erratically on purpose.)

Then overlapping them slightly,
glue the segments back
together again.
(This is when you will
discover if you managed to
keep all the bits in order – or
not…)

Then When the glue is
completely dry, apply some
gold paint.
Note – I used gold paint on the fans, not
just because I love it (although I do !) but
because they are very small and a border
of paint gives them an outline and adds
definition.
Note – Look at the roughly cut fan. The
end sticks are not the same length !
Is there anything I can do to rescue this
disaster?

Finishing the fans Is very much a matter of
choice.
I like tassels and a simple
bow.

Tassels are easy to make I used six-stranded
embroidery cotton.
I wound this three times
round my left index finger.

Then Using one, separate, strand
of the embroidery thread, I
made a couple of stitches,
to hold the loops together.

Then I took the thread down and
through the loops.

Then to make the top of the
tassel, I twisted the single
strand tightly round the loop.
Then I made a couple
stitches, through the tied
part, so that it stayed in
place.

Then I took a stitch that brought
the thread up to the top of
the tassel.

Then I repeated the process at
the other end of the loop.

When The tassels had been cut to
length, and the ends had
been fluffed up a little, they
looked like this.
(actually, they looked better
than this, but the sun chose
this moment to come out.)

And then When I had glued the
tassels in place (I tucked the
end under the guard-stick)
and added a bow.
Note - I glued the bow to the tassel
cord on the top two fans, but I
“cheated” on the third fan.
The bow isn’t stuck on centrally. This
deceives the eye and the fan looks a
much better shape than it did
previously.

After Thoughts…
The paper that is used
to make fans like this
makes a huge
difference to the
outcome.
Dyes vary and
embroidery thread
varies in thickness.

It is important to let the
glue and the paint dry
completely before
handling the fan.

Miniature Printed Fan

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