HOW TO... Make your own floral delights! The Buttonhole.

In our latest series, we show you 'How To'...

Make your mam think you're such a good boy by turning up to Sunday lunch all smart and buttonholed; 
Recycle a dress you wore to a wedding last year by accessorising with a fancy hair pin or wrist corsage;
Whack on 6 Music and pretend you're at a festi in the comfort of your living room wearing a floral head crown.

Last year, our absolute fave workshop was the Floral Delights evening where we taught you how to make all the above.  So, we thought we'd break it down for you here in black and white (with some coloured photos) so you can all have a go yourselves. 

This week..

HOW TO...Knock up a right nice buttonhole

Ingredients:

Wire (fine - medium gauge) 

Ribbon of choice, slim / small amount

Pin x1

Floral Tape

Stems of choice / Small foliage of choice x3-5 ingredients. (Bear in mind weight and size for buttonhole. Nothing too huge, or too heavy.) 

*You can get any of these specialty floristry items at New Covent Garden flower market and at Amazon (boooooo Amazon, you're so evil and convenient).

Method:

Cut down all your flowers and foliage of choice leaving around 3cm of stem below the head.

We want to create a fake wire stem for all these boys, to allow for flexibility when building your buttonhole. 

The exact wiring technique depends on the stem and the weight of the flower, so we have three examples which we call;

1. Up the bum (good for roses and other woody / heavy stems) - just as it sounds! A heavy gage wire is poked up the stem into the seed packet.  Finish with a 'through the middle' for security.

2. Through the middle (good for medium weight roses or other sturdy stems) - wire is poked through the dense seed packet, then wrapped around the remaining stem and other length of wire.

3. Wrap around (good for light-weight foliage or filler) - wire is hooked over a strong 'arm' of the flower or foliage and then wrapped around the remaining stem and other length of wire.

This should cover most stems. Beware of using wire which is too heavy, or a method which might behead the flower.  We're after a wire stem which allows movement and holds the flower head up. 

Choose a method above suitable for the stem and then gutter your wire stems with the floral tape by pulling it very thin and taut so it sticks to the base of the flower head.  Keep pulling the tape taut whilst wrapping it around the length of the wire.

Using the main flower, place the others in to build the desired shape, bearing in mind the front of the buttonhole and how it will be worn. The sticky floral tape will help to hold the shape. 

Tape the stems together as one from top to bottom using the floral tape.

Wrap ribbon as you like and tie off, cut neatly and place your pin through.

Et Volia - a fine buttonhole ready to pin on and show off!

If you prefer an open buttonhole (i.e not wired and taped but with open stems for a more natural vibe)...

Cut your stems to around 6 inches and prepare (removing any low leaves)

Place your stems together to build the desired shape

You can use the tape as you go, to hold together a pair, to add in a third and so on. Or you can tape together your final 4-5 items at once. Tape only the middle section to be covered by ribbon, or twine. 

Ribbon, or twine over the centre, tie off and cut neatly. 

Cut all the stems to one pleasing length below the ribbon (usually a few inches). 

Place your pin through and you're set!