Ordinary cardboard and floral fabric make a stunning fan—see our easy tutorial
Accordion-folded cardboard turns into a lovely summer-day accessory when you cover it with a piece of floral fabric. A decorative ribbon adds the finishing touch.
Fabric-covered fan—supplies:
2 sheets of thin A4-size cardboard + a small scrap of cardboard
about 30 × 65 cm of lightweight cotton fabric
paper glue and hot glue
scissors
marker pen
about 60 cm of fabric ribbon (3–4 cm wide)
about 30 cm of thin decorative or silk ribbon
wooden bead
Fabric-covered fan—instructions:
1. Fold 15 pleats into each sheet of cardstock. Fold the long edge in half, then into quarters and eighths. Finally, fold each eighth in half.
2. Glue the folded sheets into one long strip. Use paper glue to nest the outermost pleats of the two sheets together. Make sure the final pleats at each end point downward. If one end points up, trim off that outer pleat.
3. Unfold the cardstock and cut the fabric to match, leaving about a 1-cm margin on all sides.
4. Cover the accordion with fabric. Spread paper glue on the cardstock and press the fabric in place. Work a few pleats at a time and refold the fan between steps. Add a little hot glue along the edges to keep them secure, then trim the excess fabric.
5. Finish the top edge—the wide side of the accordion—with fabric ribbon. Lay the ribbon over the top edge and glue it in place on both sides. Trim the excess.
6. Squeeze the accordion together and shape it into a fan by squeezing a dab of hot glue inside each pleat near the bottom edge. Work one fold at a time.
7. Finish the bottom edge. Cut a strip of cardstock as wide as the bottom of the fan and about 10 cm long, then cover it with fabric. Tie the silk ribbon in a tight knot at the center of the strip. Spread hot glue along the bottom edge of the fan. Glue the strip to the center of the bottom edge first, then along the sides so the silk ribbon stays in the middle. Knot the ribbon ends to form a loop that fits around your wrist and add a wooden bead for decoration.
