The paper must be twenty-eight inches long and five and one-half inches wide. In order to fold it evenly it should be ruled across with lines one-half inch apart, as shown in diagram of butterfly ([page 179]). When the paper is prepared the pattern can be copied from the diagram, which is half of the butterfly. By counting the lines and using them as guides for obtaining the proportions, an exact reproduction of this pattern can be made. The outlines being drawn, the paper must be plaited, one fold on top of another, until twenty-seven plaits have been laid. Smoothing out the paper again, the butterfly should be painted with water-colors in flat, even tints.
The lower part of diagram is the body of the insect and is of a light-brown color, also the space just below the head, which is surrounded by a strip of black.
Handle.
The head and eyes are black, the eyes having a half-circle of white to separate them from the head. The main part of the wings are a brownish purple, next to which comes a border of very dark purple with light-blue spots. The outer border is light yellow. When the paint is quite dry the extra paper at the top of the butterfly is to be cut away. Again the fan must be plaited in the folds already formed, and the plaits fastened together at one end with a strong needle and thread, as shown in diagram (Fig. 123). Fig. 124 shows the shape of the handles, two of which are required; they should be about nine inches long, one-third of an inch wide, and one-eighth of an inch thick. A handle must be glued to the last fold at each end of the fan (see Fig. 125). The fan should be kept closed until the glue is dry, when it may be opened and used at pleasure.
Our next sketch is that of the Mikado fan, and represents a Japanese lady who, with her fan held aloft, is making a bowing salutation.
This fan is made of the same paper as that used for the butterfly, and is cut the same width; there are, however, twenty-nine plaits instead of twenty-seven, as in the other. The diagram gives the pattern in two parts, and the colors it is to be painted; the face and hands should be of a flesh-tint and the features done with black in outline. The directions for putting together the butterfly apply as well to the Mikado fan.
Pattern of Mikado Fan.