Handmade Uchiwa Fan Ideas: Perfect for kids’ crafts, cheering, and supporting your favorite idols!
A handheld fan comes in handy when you’re out and can’t use an air conditioner or electric fan.
They’re often given out for free at festival venues.
Recently, there’s also growing demand beyond just beating the heat—like cheer fans for school sports festivals and “fansa” fans used at concerts to get performers’ attention.
In this article, I’d like to share some DIY ideas for making your own uchiwa (handheld fans)!
I’ll introduce several ways to create original fans, so if you’re thinking about making one yourself, please feel free to use this as a reference.
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[DIY Uchiwa Fan Ideas] Perfect for kids’ crafts, cheering at events, and supporting your faves! (21–30)
heart-shaped fan
@sana.ilv I believe in a tomorrow that shines brighter than memories ✨#06#fyp#ljkGraduation#UchiwaDeco
♬ Original Song – Yuurin – Yuurin
Perfect for anyone who loves cute motifs! Here are some heart-shaped fan ideas.
When you think of uchiwa fans, the round shape is the standard, but how about showing your personality with a heart-shaped one? These ideas are recommended for those who say, “I want to make a cute fan!” or “I don’t want the same thing as everyone else!” Uchiwa are highly customizable—you can apply holographic sheets, decorate with ribbons, and more—so you can fully express your own aesthetic.
It would also make a great memory to make fans with close friends by putting each other’s photos on them.
Make Pikmin your face
@hin_kun49♬ Hey Song – milet
Let’s transform into characters! Here’s an idea to turn yourself into a Pikmin.
Pikmin are known for their cute shapes and designs, so why not edit your own photo to make your face into a Pikmin? It could be fun for a close-knit group to assign colors and match with each other.
On the front of the fan, you could design and decorate it with your name.
Being able to enjoy a design on both the front and back is a unique perk of using a hand fan.
Fluffy cat ears
@kimiiro.12 NEWS Grand Assembly ✨ Kato-oshi attending. I tried the cat-ear forehead style I’d always wanted to try 😺 But apparently Shige-chan is allergic to cats… They kept saying the former members’ names a lot and it was really funny!!!#NEWS Grand Assembly #NEWSKato ShigeakiKeiichiro KoyamaTakahisa Masuda#Cat-eared Shige
♫ Original song – Momonga – KumaGoshimu
Even a flat uchiwa fan can become a cute, three-dimensional design just by sticking things on! Here’s an idea for fluffy cat ears.
It’s perfect for when an idol fan or a fan made with your printed photo feels a bit lacking.
By attaching fluffy, three-dimensional cat-ear parts to the fan, you’ll get a cute and impactful finish.
You can buy cat-ear parts online, but they also seem easy to make by hand.
How about customizing them with items like ribbons or little bells?
brand logo
@chinep_q I made YamaChine all sparkly 💫 I was short on time and one mishap after another almost broke my spirit, but they were happy with it, so I’m glad I worked hard on both pieces 🥲🥲Deco Uchiwa#heysayjump#Yuri Chinen#Ryosuke Yamada#pullup#IWantToConnectWithJumpFansI want to connect with Johnny’s fans
Original song – 𝓗♡ – 🩶🎀
Customize your photo and background to create a standout uchiwa fan! Here’s an idea featuring brand logos.
It involves editing your photo’s background with a design based on a brand logo.
This is perfect for anyone who thinks, “The photo is cute, but the background is too simple!” or “I want to boost the vibe with my favorite brand logo!” You’ll need a uchiwa fan, a photo with a customized background, rhinestones, adhesive, and tweezers or a pointed tool.
Having rhinestones in different sizes lets you adjust the balance as you go—give it a try!
ribbon
@maaaririn29 DIY Uchiwa (hand fan)#JUNONBE:FIRST#Junon-kunJuto Ikegame#Junon-kun is the best#MyFavIsSoPrecious#MyBiasIsTheBest#MyBiasHasAWinningFaceChampionPrince#ILoveItMy number one favorite#BE:FIRST stan (supporting the whole group)#GeniusFace#MessageDIY Uchiwa (hand fan)#TransparentUchiwaSeriaSeria uchiwatranslation#BESTYI want to connect with BESTY.
♬ Message – BE:FIRST
Stand out from the crowd! Let’s make a stylish fan using a clear uchiwa! Here are some ribbon ideas.
This is perfect for anyone who wants a unique design that won’t look like everyone else’s.
You can get all the materials at a 100-yen shop, so have fun focusing on the design.
What you’ll need: a clear uchiwa, lace, pearl stickers, ribbons, rhinestone stickers, photos, letter stickers, and glue or a hot glue gun.
Print your favorite photo, cut it out, and place it in the center of the fan.
Decorate around it with stickers and ribbons, and attach lace around the edge of the fan for a cute and elegant finish!
Uchiwa made with paper-cut art
@papipupu3939 The cut-paper fans my younger sister makes for me are insanely good.#SuperTokimekiPromotionClub#TokiSEN#UchiwaMakingKirie (paper-cut art)#fan service uchiwa
Original song – Kanako – Kanako
Create borders around your illustrations to make your design stand out! Here are some paper-cutting ideas for crafting decorative fans (uchiwa).
This is a great idea for anyone who, after sticking on a hand-drawn or printed character, feels like “something’s missing” or wants to make it pop more.
Try using black construction paper to emphasize the outline of your illustration or character.
Cutting it out with a craft knife should give you a clean finish.
When attaching it, work slowly and carefully so the thin borders don’t tear.
With crisp, defined edges, you’ll end up with a fan that really makes an impact.
a single Chinese character
@kochou.shodo Shimekake Tatsuya is such a cool name, isn’t it?!Travis JapanRyūya Shimekake#travisjapanI tried writing itCalligraphy
♬ BO$$Y – Travis Japan
Let’s make a cool uchiwa fan by deliberately keeping it simple and painting with a brush! Here are some ideas for single-character kanji.
Adding intricate details to the fan is nice, but a one-kanji design has impact, is simple, and tends to be memorable.
You could use a character related to your name or one that symbolizes your group.
In the video, they write kanji on the fan with a calligraphy brush, which gives the characters a powerful, cool look.
Give it a try!