Let's make a handmade hagoita! Fun ideas using milk cartons and cardboard
Why not try making your own hagoita (traditional Japanese battledore) for the New Year? In this article, we’ll introduce easy, handmade hagoita ideas that you can try using everyday materials.
By using recycled items like milk cartons, cardboard, or wooden boards from kamaboko fish cakes, you can create a one-of-a-kind original hagoita without spending much on materials.
Try drawing pictures or adding decorations to make pieces that are not only fun to play with but also enjoyable to display.
Enjoy the process of making them while experiencing Japan’s New Year traditions.
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Let's Make a Handmade Hagoita! Fun Ideas Using Milk Cartons and Cardboard (1–10)
A festive battledore decorated with cranes and the auspicious trio of pine, bamboo, and plum
This is a New Year’s hagoita paddle, perfect for the season, featuring a crane flying above auspicious pine, bamboo, and plum motifs.
You’ll assemble it by attaching decorative parts to the paddle; using craft kits for hagoita available at 100-yen shops makes it convenient.
Apply fabric to the paddle and attach the crane.
It’s also nice to use a crane ornament you’ve made yourself.
Please also add pine, bamboo, and plum made with mizuhiki cords or tsumami-zaiku (pinched-fabric) techniques to the paddle.
You might even replace the crane with a part representing that year’s zodiac animal.
By crafting something intricate with easily found materials sold at 100-yen shops and the like, you can create a wonderful piece.
Hagoita decorated in red and pink using spray techniques
Let’s make a gorgeous, elegant, and beautiful gold hagoita (decorative paddle) using spray paint.
First, color the base paddle with gold spray.
Arrange and attach artificial flowers and butterfly ornaments to the paddle in a well-balanced way.
For adhesion, try using a hot glue gun, which dries quickly and holds firmly.
If you apply washi-style masking tape along the edge of the paddle, it will become a piece perfect for the New Year.
When attaching the artificial flowers, build up the centers so they form a gentle mound, creating a hagoita with a three-dimensional look.
Mini hagoita made with dipping solution or nail polish
This is an art project that uses dip solution and nail polish to create translucent miniature battledores.
First, shape the battledore and flowers with thicker wire, then dip them into a dedicated dip solution to form a film that defines the battledore’s outline.
Once the solution dries, layer your favorite nail polish colors to achieve a glossy, dimensional finish.
Use a brush tip or cotton swab to refine the details and add a touch of flair.
Fix the finished pieces onto a base, such as a wooden stick, and they can serve as small ornaments.
The colors shift with the light, giving a glass-like impression.
Hagoita decorated with preserved flowers
This is a hagoita (traditional Japanese decorative paddle) made with preserved flowers, as if fresh flowers were arranged on it.
Decorate the paddle’s backing with your favorite preserved blooms.
Adding a ribbon along the edge of the paddle will make it look even lovelier.
The piece has a festive feel, so it’s perfect for New Year’s decorations.
A hagoita adorned with colorful flowers and leaves brings a fresh mood to the cold New Year season.
It also makes a great gift for guests gathering to celebrate the New Year.
Hagoita made with paper quilling and origami
Paper quilling is the craft of rolling thin strips of paper into coils and shapes, then combining them to create designs.
If you enjoy handicrafts or DIY projects, you might find this a fun way to make a decorative hagoita (traditional Japanese paddle).
Use the rolled paper to form parts like plum blossoms and shuttlecocks, and attach them to the paddle.
You’ll need a quilling tool to roll the paper; if you don’t have one, it seems you can substitute a toothpick with the tip cut off.
By making use of unique designs formed from rolled paper, you can create a piece with real originality.