How to Design Straw Fans

Oriental straw fans are simple and decorative in design.

Straw fans have been made by the Chinese for more than 3,000 years. A great many types exist from circular, embossed to flat varieties. Some are woven using plain straw while others are highly decorative for special festive occasions. So, the choice is yours --- to design a plain straw fan where the pattern is contained in the weave or to interweave ornate patterns of color.

Things You'll Need

• Sketchbook
• Pencil No. 2
• Eraser
• Pencil sharpener
• Ruler
• Color medium
• Tracing paper

Instructions

1. Open your sketchbook. Pick up your pencil and draw a series of six boxes on the page. Make the boxes equal in size. Use a ruler to draw and measure straight lines, if you want to create neat boxes.

2. Create a page of similar pattern designs. Be spontaneous in your approach. Start in box 1 to draw an interesting pattern containing geometric shapes, curves, lines, or any design that springs to your mind. It could be other recognizable shapes like flowers, leaves, insects or any given motif. Use elements of chance, if necessary. For instance, tear up some random shapes out of paper, throw them down and look for a pattern within the scattered shapes.

3. Move to box 2. Draw another pattern but using symbols from your first box, but create a different pattern shape. Add a new element to the design. Repeat this exercise with the rest of the boxes on the page so each box shares similarities in design but also each looks different from the others. In creating a series of pattern designs in this way, you can create many design possibilities.

4. Apply color to your page of designs. Use a color medium of your choice: art marker pens, colored pencils or paint.

5. Turn to a new page in your sketchbook. Draw six more boxes on the page, as you did on the first page. Draw a different fan shape in each box.

6. Choose a pattern design from your first page. On the third page, draw a box the same size as the boxes on the previous pages. Return to the first page. Trace your chosen pattern onto some tracing paper. Transfer the traced pattern to your sample box, on the third page. Retrace over the pattern tracing of the drawing. Fill in the engraved pattern on the page in pencil, if necessary. Apply color to the sample pattern.

7. Choose a fan shape design from your second page. On the third page, beside your sample pattern box, draw a larger version of your chosen fan shape design.

8. Draw the pattern design into the fan shape to create your straw fan design. Remember that the fan is made from straw, so some lines should indicate straw weave in the pattern. Apply color.

9. Design the reverse side of the fan if you wish the two sides of the fan to look different.

Tips & Warnings

• Be experimental with your fan designs but also design a variety of plain straw fans, focusing on the pattern of the weave. Create a portfolio of straw fan designs as a design project for your portfolio in an attempt to apply to art college to train to be a textile designer. Or use your portfolio of designs to try to gain employment as a designer or to interest a company in producing your straw fan designs.

References

• ChinaA2Z: Pujiang wheat straw weaving fan
• My Chinese Learning: Chinese Fan Culture