Handmade hair accessories for Shichi-Go-San! Ideas using tsumami-zaiku and artificial flowers too
How about adding a splash of color to your child’s special Shichi-Go-San day with a handmade hair accessory? Hairpieces that make a kimono outfit even more festive are actually surprisingly easy to create! In this article, we introduce a variety of recommended DIY hair accessories for Shichi-Go-San—from traditional designs made with tsumami-zaiku to modern styles using artificial flowers.
Many can be made easily with materials from 100-yen shops, so try choosing your favorite supplies together with your child.
Celebrate your child’s big day in grand style with a one-of-a-kind hair accessory found nowhere else in the world!
Handmade hair accessories for Shichi-Go-San! Ideas using tsumami-zaiku and artificial flowers (1–10)
Chirimen ball hair ornament
When your hair accessory feels a bit lacking, add this as a plus-one! The cute, round, bouncy shape makes it an adorable item.
You’ll need: chirimen fabric scraps from a 100-yen shop, round Styrofoam balls, 6 cm of wire, 10 cm of floral tape, craft glue, and scissors.
Cut and adjust the chirimen scraps to fit the size of the round Styrofoam.
Matching the colors to your kimono, or choosing your child’s favorite colors or patterns, will make it even more fun!
pink flower hair accessory
These are hair ornaments made using artificial flowers.
We’ll use artificial dahlias, mums, chrysanthemums, and more to create them.
Prepare wire, beads, and a hot glue gun; use only the flower heads of the artificial flowers, thread them onto wire, and cover the wired sections with floral tape.
Making the dangling accents with chirimen crepe fabric can be a bit mind-numbing, but you can get almost everything at a 100-yen shop, and despite the time and steps involved, it’s worth making.
Above all, it’s a detailed project that lets you enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from crafting something by hand.
Yume-kawa Princess Hair Accessory
It’s great that you can buy everything at a 100-yen shop! Let’s use yuzen chirimen fabric to make cute, pastel-colored hair accessories.
You’ll need: yuzen chirimen, foam parts, your favorite fabric scraps, colorful bang clips, printed fabric tape, cat’s eye beads, 4.5 g of mini diamonds in blue and pink, a mixed set of colored beads, and ribbon bang clips.
Adjust the size to suit your hairstyle on the day, and customize the colors to match your kimono.
It would be wonderful to wear a handmade hair accessory on a day you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
Tsumami-zaiku dangling bead hair ornament
Let’s try making a beautiful handmade piece that looks like it could be sold in a shop.
You’ll need chirimen fabric, adhesive, scissors, a ruler, tweezers, wire, metallic yarn, floral tape, a compass cutter, Styrofoam balls, a pearl set with bead caps, a comb, U pins, and more.
There are many detailed steps, so some people may feel it seems difficult, but the video explains everything carefully, and you’ll end up with a gorgeous, cute hair accessory! Give it a try!
Hair ornament made with Tsumami Kanzashi (sword-pinch style)
Here’s an easy hair accessory idea for beginners using square fabric and a technique called “ken-tsumami.” Prepare fabric squares that are 2.5 cm.
While gluing, fold the fabric into a triangle twice, then fold it once more.
Pinch the 90-degree corner and glue only the part where the corner splits into two.
Once you shape it, the petal piece is complete.
Simply attach these to a base to create a flower.
Add wire to the base, then assemble the half-kusudama or small flowers you made to finish.
Manicure flower hair accessory
Manicure flowers are made by shaping blooms with wire and coloring them with nail polish.
For Shichi-Go-San hair ornaments, tsumami-zaiku is the mainstream choice, but this is recommended if you want something a bit more sophisticated and unique.
Once you’ve created your favorite flowers with wire, color them to match the kimono.
Using beads and other components will make them even more glamorous.
You don’t have to stick to flowers—beautiful creatures like butterflies also make lovely motifs.
Try making them together with your child!
Hair accessory with a white ribbon and flowers
A hair accessory idea that’s perfect for Shichi-Go-San kimono: a large white ribbon adorned with a cute plum blossom.
Traditional Japanese hair accessories may seem difficult, but they’re mostly repetitive fine work—so give it a try! Make the base ribbon from white chirimen crepe, then create the flowers using tsumami-zaiku techniques with the same chirimen fabric.
These days you can even find chirimen at 100-yen shops, and fabric stores sell remnants as well.
Use Edo cord to form an additional ribbon, attach everything to the white ribbon, and finish by adding a hair clip—done!