Comments on: The Dragon Boat Wrapped Holiday Ornament Tutorial

By: jennifer

jennifer — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:09:34 +0000

Wow, Carol. Thanks for sharing the great tips. I will try your method the next time I made these. Have you posted photos of your ornaments on the web? I’d love to see what you’ve been making. All the best! – Jennifer

By: Carol Chan

Carol Chan — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:08:57 +0000

Hi Jennifer- Thank you for creating your video– I’ve never been able to find this project anywhere on the web until now!
I’ve been making these ornaments for years & teaching the project to my geometry students. I learned how at a Chinese crafts fair about 30+ years ago. I recently found the “real” thing online– they are called “Zhong-zi” or “Zong-zi” which is also the name of the sticky-rice treats (wrapped in lotus leaves) that are popular during the Dragon Boat Festival. The zhong-zi treat is similar in shape to the ornament– hence the name! (You can google it to see PIX of the actual ornaments in China.)
I use a longer strip of cardboard to form the shape– I make the length be 7-1/2 times the width. This allows the shape to wrap double– much stronger. I also use four tassels: 3 small ones at the pointy corners and a larger, longer one at the bottom. If you leave long “handles” on all those tassels, they can all pass through the interior of the zhong-zi and emerge at the top, forming the handle (rather than taping one on). Then I start the wrap by blending that strand into the handle. After wrapping, the END of the strand also gets gathered into that handle– so no tape required! I usually tie a fat knot at the top to hold them together; some of my students like to braid the rest of it. Also, I encourage my students to use two contrasting color strands, which wrap simultaneously, making the wrapping much faster, and accenting the color. We also add small jingle-bells to the interior before we close up the shape.
I agree that it makes a great holiday gift. Thank you for sharing!

By: Charles Regino

Charles Regino — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:23:33 +0000

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By: Stacy Sews - Diary of a Fabric Junkie » Blog Archive » Linky Thursday On Friday

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:30:16 +0000

[...] Seeing that we’ve gone to a ‘toddler safe’ tree this year, I think these Dragon Boat ornaments would definitely spruce up our little pine. If you love The Fabric Fairy as much as what I do, [...]

By: Donna

Donna — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 06:37:43 +0000

I made some of these with embroidery floss years and years ago. It was from a Carol Duval show I think. Anyway, I gave them all away and have been looking for the template and directions every year for quite awhile. I was thrilled when I came upon your excellent instructions. I didn’t know they were called dragon boats. Using the embroidery floss gives them a bit of shine and, with the many colors available, the colors combos are endless. Thank you so very, very much for ending my search – not to actually make them again!

By: jennifer

jennifer — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:30:11 +0000

Hi Diane. The dragon boats are easier to make than they look. I used variegated yarn, so no color changes were required. I love how the stripes form without any extra effort on my part. I hope this helps. Have fun with it!

By: Diane

Diane — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:26:51 +0000

Thank you for your instructions. Unfortunately, I am not super crafty, but I’m on a dragon boat team and I would love to make these.
In your figures 3, 4 & 5, are you alternating colors between yellow and orange after every rotation? I like the two colors and would like to try it.

By: Sandra

Sandra — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:29:25 +0000

Thank you! The ones I first loved also had ribbon and glitter incorporated in the wrap.
They are all beautiful and unique.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:15:29 +0000

Thanks for this tutorial. My daughter learned to make the earlier this week, but i didn’t have the template, so i could play too. Thanks so much for providing this.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:14:34 +0000

Wow those are awesome, and great tutorial!