The purple flower and leaves are made from cotton quilting fabric - a fat quarter will go a long way depending on the size of the project - while the white flower is a polyester material I rescued from the clearance table at Hancock Fabrics. I suggest at least looking at what they have if you happen to be there, since you can get some nice deals on fabric.
I have found during my attempts to create some pieces for my niece that there is definitely a difference between the fabrics. Some might take a look at the two options and shrug, saying, "Well, cloth is cloth - it should work the same, right?"
It doesn't. As I worked with them more and more, I found that the cotton cloth may not be the most suitable for some of the flowers, especially when making a Kanzashi flower. While the cloth is sturdy and less expensive than some of the heavier fabrics such as the polyester material I used on the white flower or the red cherry blossoms I made as part of another piece for a friend's kimono, some of the required folds might not hold their shapes as well as a heavier fabric. Some of the pointed leaves/petals do form nicely with cotton, but they can be difficult to work into the right shape when you are stringing all of the petals together.
As for some of the "ribbon flowers" that I have experimented with, cotton cloth definitely does allow for more flexibility and malleability, so it might be ideal so long as you remember to take steps to make sure the edges are kept from fraying. Heavier duty fabrics do hold shape well, but they can definitely be a little more difficult to wrangle into shape, and some materials may require a hot iron or lighter of some kind to seal the edges, or else the fabric will fray and try to come apart due to how it's woven. A liquid fray check sealant such as Dritz or Keepsake Fray Check can be used, but be careful of the smell - there are some pretty strong fumes, and if you're working with a lot of material, you may need a fan or other source of ventilation.
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