Wiring & Taping a Carnation
When it comes to learning how to arrange flowers there are some basic skills that are really helpful to master. Wiring and taping flowers is one skill that is important, especially for creating wearable flowers such as boutonnieres and corsages. There are some different methods of wiring different types of flowers; this tutorial is going to focus solely on a carnation.
First, Why Wire and Tape Flowers?
You may be wondering, why on earth would you cut a flower from its stem just to make an artificial one? Well, the purpose of replacing the stem with wire is to create a flexible stem that is thin and easy to bend or work with. This is really important when making boutonnieres and corsages. The wire is covered with floral tape to make the stem look as natural as possible and hide the wire.
A little about Carnations...
Carnations and miniature carnations are relatively easy flowers to wire and tape. They have a large calyx (see picture above) and are easy to pierce with wire. I tend to use miniatures a lot more than full size in boutonnieres and corsages.
Wiring and Taping a Carnation...
Materials Needed...
- Fresh carnation or miniature carnation
- Floral wire
- Green floral tape
- Wire Cutters
- Flower shears
Directions...
Trim Carnation off stem...
Trim the carnation below the calyx leaving only about 1/2 - 1 inch of stem.
Pierce calyx with wire...
Carefully push the wire straight through the flower. I usually try to place the wire about half way down the calyx.
Fold wire down...
Fold the wire down to create "stem". Be careful not to pull the wire down too hard or it could tear the flower.
Stretch floral tape out...
Floral tape is not like any other kind of tape. It becomes slightly sticky by being stretched out. You MUST stretch it out to use it to wrap stems so that it will stick to the stems and itself. Some people stretch it as they go, I like to stretch out what I need before I start wrapping.
Wrap stem with floral tape...
Start wrapping as close to the stem as you can. Wrap smoothly and tightly, overlapping as you go. Continue wrapping all of the way down the stem.
If you want some practice taping before working with real flowers check out my tutorial for making Flower Pens! I used to do this project with my students to help them learn taping skills.
The flower is ready!
Make as many as needed to create a corsage or boutonniere or other flower project!
To learn even more floral design check out my tutorials:
