My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Zig zag Palm Dragonfly

Split a palm leaf or blade of grass in three

Split a palm leaf or blade of grass in three, right along the hard vain. You will need two blades for each dragonfly

The body of the dragonfly is made up of the traditional zig zag pattern of a Palm Sunday craft technique to make a lantern. See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions.

Place the two blades together and start the zig zag folding pattern

Place the two blades together and start the zig zag folding pattern

As you go along, slightly stretch the fold to create a thinner shape

As you go along, slightly stretch the fold to create a thinner shape

With the body part done split the blade open

With the body part done split the blade open, letting the softer blades flop over and the two harder veins extend

Fold the blades two to each side

Fold the blades two to each side...

And tie a bow

And tie a bow...

The loops form the wings and the bow ends the legs

Knot the veins once to create the body

Knot the veins once to create the body...

And two knots more for the large head

And two knots more for the large head. Cut any dangling pieces short

Cut the stem end at a sharp angle

Cut the stem end at a sharp angle

Palm leaf dragonfly ready to design with

Palm leaf dragonfly ready to design with

Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.

Tutorials

5 January 2011 Palm leaf Hopper-flies (grasshoppers and butterflies)

Weave grasshoppers or butterflies (or fireflies) from palm leaves

17 July 2012 Guacamole Green Coiled Grass Chameleon

My Chameleon is mono-botanical. Made from coiled grass

18 February 2015 Grass Spiral Snail

Fold a foliage snail

24 September 2014 Folding a Frog

Fold and weave a frog from grass

6 February 2013 Fold a Foliage Fish

Fold and weave a fish from two blades of grass

21 July 2011 Weaving a bird

I wove my bird from shaved wood but you can also use flax, coconut palm (more traditional) or paper or ribbon

1 February 2012 Love Bug

Heart shaped rosery vine and pine love bug

Related Designs

17 June 2015 This Summer

Weave slip on summer sandals

21 June 2017 Playing Favourites

A quick and easy Kenzan design

31 October 2017 Mr Twig-or-cheat

An extra Almost-a-Design for Halloween this year

1 July 2020 Oh yes, The Hornet of Tranquility

A minimal... but then with a tiny bug detail... design that is perfect for warm summer designing.

14 April 2021 a Yay! You

A tiny Spring detail to add to a cute little floral design.

19 July 2023 … And his little flower

Easy support for a single flower... and knot a special secret admirer just to keep it company.