HOW TO... Make your own floral delights! Create a wrist corsage

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... Create a wrist corsage

Ingredients:

Wire of medium to heavy gauge (needs to be malleable but support your stems) 

Floral Tape - the green, plasticky, 'guttering' kind

Stems of choice / Small foliage of choice (bear in mind weight and size - small and light is best.  You can go for big blooms - the same principals apply - but small, hardy flowers are easier to work with and will last longer with all that clapping / dancing.) 
A length of ribbon / fabric of your choice.  Needs to be a decent width to ensure the corsage stays in place.

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

Method:

You will only need one wire for a wrist corsage.

Tape down the entire length of the wire.  Keep pulling the tape taut whilst wrapping. 

Shape the wire into a 'figure of eight', wrapping the ends around each other and secure to complete the figure.  

Twist the wire in the middle of the figure of eight so that the centre point has a double twist.  This makes your base more robust.

Tape over where the two ends have been twisted to join, for maximum security.

None of this foundation structure will be on show, so don't worry too much about neatness.

Cut your chosen flower and foliage stems down to around 3cm. 

 For hardier stems or big blooms, you may need to wire these up to make them malleable enough to tape onto the figure of eight.  

See our How to... Knock up a right nice Buttonhole for instructions on wiring up your stems.

Start taping each stem or piece of foliage onto the figure of eight.  

The idea is to cover as much of the base as possible, leaving the 'top' and 'bottom' of the eight clear as this will be where your ribbon threads through.

Keep building up your flowers and foliage in as natural a way as possible - having all your flowers pointing in a similar direction will help with this.

Fill any gaps with foliage.  

We've used alchemilla mollis, however something with larger, closely-spaced leaves may be easier to work with.  Have a root around your garden and experiment!

When you are happy with your corsage, add your chosen ribbon or fabric.

Thread through your figure of eight, leaving space to pop your hand in, double looping around your 'top' and 'bottom' for extra security.

Tie nice and tightly around your wrist in a knot or a bow and volia!