Wood fan sticks might just be one of the most versatile crafting supplies you didn’t even know you needed. They have tons of useful applications for crafters of all skill levels — even uses that have nothing to do with making beautiful hand fans!
In this guide, we’ll explore the many creative uses of wooden hand fan sticks, including how to make your very own wooden fan, as well as other cool crafts you can create with these simple yet stylish pieces of wood!
What are wooden fan sticks?
If you’ve ever eaten a popsicle, then you’re probably familiar with the basic idea — wood fan sticks for crafting are just a little bit fancier! These sturdy wooden sticks are long and flat, with a wavy design that double dips on functionality. Not only does it look more elegant than a straight-edged stick, but it’s also ergonomic, making it much easier and more comfortable to hold. If you opt for wooden fan handle sticks from Woodpeckers, you can expect sticks made of high-quality wood, available in both unfinished natural wood or pre-colored varieties.
While exact sizes and shapes can differ, you can generally expect wooden fan sticks to be about 8 inches long and 1.25 inches wide. This elongated size gives them more versatility for crafting and DIY projects, ranging from wedding preparations to classroom activities for kids — and everything in between!
How to craft a wooden fan with sticks
When you’re using craft sticks for fans, the difficulty of the project will depend on the type of fan you want to make. There are essentially two popular types of hand fans: folding fans and paper paddle fans. Paper paddle fans are often the easier option, which makes them a great choice if you’re making fans in bulk or you want to enjoy a fun crafting project with the kids. Alternatively, wooding folding fans take a bit more nuance and can have a much more elaborate and even glamorous aesthetic.
In the sections below, we’ll go through the steps to make both so you can choose the best option to fit your crafting skills!
Wooden Folding Fan
A wooden folding fan requires more patience, but the result can be a stunning, highly functional fan that you fold up and carry with you. You can also quickly unfold it for dramatic effect! If you want to make a folding fan of your own, here are the steps to follow:
- Gather your materials - To make a foldable wooden fan, you’ll need at least 8 DIY fan sticks, thin decorative fabric (rice paper or silk work well), small screws, brads, or string (for the hinge), craft glue, scissors, as well as any decorative materials like paint or markers for personalized embellishments.
- Lay out the fan shape - Standard fan handle sticks are about ⅛” thick, which means that 8 stacked on top of each other will be one inch thick. You probably won’t want your foldable fan to be more than an inch thick, so you’ll need to stack them on top of each other, and then holding one end of the stack together, spread out the other end. This will show you how much space you have between each stick and let you measure how big you want your fan to be.
- Decorate the fan sticks - Next, you can use whatever materials or colors you want to decorate your fan sticks. Woodpeckers offers fan sticks that are blank (natural wood color), black, blue, red, orange, purple, yellow, and green. We even have multi-colored rainbow packs if you want a couple sticks of each color!
- Create the hinged base - Once your fan sticks are dry (assuming you colored them on your own), you’ll need to create the hinge at the base. Stack the wooden sticks and make sure they’re all perfectly even with each other. Then, use a small screw, brad, or piece of string to fasten the bottom of the sticks together. You’ll want to make sure they’re tight enough to stay together at the bottom, but loose enough to fold out into the fan shape with ease.
- Attach the fan material - Since standard hand fan sticks are a little too thick to make a fan entirely of wood, you’ll need to add fabric that will actually allow your fan to catch air and cool you off! With the fan sticks spread out, glue the straight edge of your fabric to the semi-circle. Make sure the material is evenly distributed across the entire fan. Then, glue the material down to each stick, ensuring that it is taught. Finally, cut off any excess material, wait for the glue to dry, and take it for a test wave!
Paper Paddle Fan
A paper paddle fan is much easier to make, which is why we recommend it for classroom settings or crafting days with kids, grandkids, or nieces and nephews. To make a paddle fan, you just need sturdy paper material (think construction paper or something similar), scissors, craft glue, and one stick per hand fan. You can always use stickers, beads, paint, or markers to personalize the fan, but the process of putting it together is a cinch.
Just cut the paper to the size and shape you want. If you’re unsure how big or small it should be, a circle or oval about the size of your face will work! Then, decorate the paper however you like. Once it’s finished and dry, line up the fan stick so that one end is in the very center of the paper fan and the other leaves enough room to be firmly gripped with one hand, then glue it to the paper. And voila! You have a functional and customized paper paddle fan!
What else can hand fan sticks be used for?
While hand fans are a fun crafting project, there are plenty of other ways to put your craft sticks to good use. Here are just a few of our favorites:
Wedding programs
Fan sticks are great for wedding programs, especially if you’re planning an outdoor wedding in the summer. Rather than having flimsy paper programs that can get easily lost or torn, you can turn your wedding programs into multi-functional fans for all of your guests!
Auction paddles
Auction paddles are another fun and functional crafting project with wooden fan sticks. The process is the same as it would be with paper paddle fans, but you can decorate each paddle with a unique name, number, letter, or code for each auction participant. It’s an easy and cost-effective way to prepare for virtually any type of auction!
Handheld masks for kids
If you need a quick and fun activity for kids, wooden fan sticks are perfect for creating handheld masks. These can work for Halloween parties, school plays, or just an afternoon of fun around the house. Each fan stick serves as a handle to hold the masks up, and you can use light paper masks to decorate as different animals or characters.
And there you have it! There are so many things you can do with Woodpeckers’ wacky and wavy fan sticks. The only limit is your imagination!
Did you enjoy our wooden fan sticks guide? Be sure to check out our wood fan sticks craft shop to find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one!
