Singaporebrides | Essentials
June 2012
DIY of The Month – Wedding Blooms
Think you’re a hands-on kind of bride and want to make something really special for your wedding? It doesn’t have to be something elaborate; think small, simple yet significant. It could be a personalised Save-The-Date card, or a memorable wedding favour. You don’t even have to be very good at arts and crafts to make these wonderful mementos. SingaporeBrides shows you how to Do-It-Yourself.
The throwing of the flower bouquet is an important wedding tradition every bride and her single female guests will participate in, and you don’t intend to be an exception. In sunny Singapore, where flowers are in season all year round, picking the perfect bouquet is no difficult task. But, that wouldn’t make your wedding any different from others. Instead, opt for a handmade flower bouquet to set your big day apart from the rest and add a personal touch to your special day. Not only is a handmade bouquet more environmentally friendly, the lucky lady who catches your bouquet will be going home with a memento as well. Learn how to make one in under an hour with SingaporeBrides’ easy-to-understand tutorial.
Here’s what you need:
- Londy cloth (in two different shades of purple)
- Nylon thread
- Double headed bead
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Double-sided tape
- Green sticky tape
- Gold wire
- Thin stem
- 1.5m of thin light purple ribbon
- 1.5m of broad dark navy ribbon
- 1.5m of broad sheer purple ribbon
Time taken for each: 45 minutes
Average cost for each: $30
1. Begin by making the petals of your flowers first. Cut out a strip of golden wire 24cm in length and bend it to form a circle of 4cm in diameter. Secure the shape by twisting the two ends of the wire around one another at the point where they meet.
2. Then, stretch a piece of light purple Londy cloth over the piece of circled wire. Before you do so, cut a piece of cloth that is of the same size as the circled wire. Hold one end of the cloth down with your left thumb and pull the cloth over the hoop with your right hand.
3. With a firm grasp on both ends of the cloth, try to pull the cloth as tight as you can over the circled wire. Don’t be alarmed if the wire goes slightly out of the shape.
4. Using the nylon thread, secure the cloth by twining the thread around the bottom of the hoop several times. Pull the thread hard to ensure that it is tight. Once the cloth is securely fastened, cut off the excess thread using a pair of scissors.
5. Tidy the petal up by cutting off some of the excess cloth. Before you do that, give the cloth at the bottom of the hoop a slight tug to ensure that the cloth around the circled wire is taut.
6. When completed, this is how one of your petals should look like. Repeat Steps 1-5 to make another five petals in light purple for your flower.
7. Once you have six light purple petals, proceed to create the anther of a flower. To do this, gather seven stems of double headed beads and place them against one petal. Position the beads until they are centralised. Using the nylon thread, go round both the beads and the petal several times to secure them. Then, cut the thread off.
8. Repeat Step 7 with a second petal, so that the beads are sandwiched between the two. Before you tie the two petals together, remember to fold the bottom half of the two-headed beads up. Do note that the second petal is positioned diagonally opposite the first. Do the same for the remaining four petals, placing two on each side. When you’re done, you should have three petals on either side of the two-headed beads.
9. Give your flower a stem by inserting a thin green stick into the middle of the six petals. You might need to exert a bit of force to get the stick through. Ensure that the head of the stick is not visible from top down.
10. Once you’ve succeeded, twist the golden wires of the petals around the green stem.
11. To give your handmade bouquet depth and dimension, contrast the light purple petals with a darker shade of purple petals. Create six dark purple petals by repeating Steps 1-5. Make them slightly bigger than the light purple ones. You should have six strips of golden wire, each of 34cm in length, to create circles of 5cm in diameter.
12. Once you have completed six dark purple petals, attach them to the light purple ones. Do so by positioning one dark purple petal above a light purple one, and secure at the base with the nylon thread, as demonstrated in Step 7. Once it is secured, cut the excess thread off.
13. Repeat Step 12 for the remaining five dark purple petals. Arrange them so that there are three petals on each side as demonstrated in Step 8.
14. The next step is to give your petals some shape for a more realistic resemblance to real ones. Pull on the petals gently to arrange them into a circular shape. Then, slightly bend the wires at random angles for a more realistic texture. Try to pull the dark purple petals upwards to create an illusion of them enveloping the smaller light purple ones.
Here’s a tip: the petals don’t have to be in perfect circles; the more odd-shaped they are, the more realistic they look.
15. Proceed to cover up the excess cloth and white thread by going round the bottom of the flower bud with green sticky tape. Wind the green tape around the bottom of the flower bud and down the stem. Some patience is required before you can fully hide the sight of excess cloth and thread. When you’re done, you’ve completed one stalk of flower for your bouquet.
A tip: Pull slightly on the tape as you go round for a more secured hold. Also, it is not necessary to tape the entire length of the green stick; just 1/3 will do.
16. Complete your bouquet with another five more stalks of flowers. To do so, repeat Steps 1-15.
17. For your flowers to look more like a bouquet than separate stalks, arrange the six completed stalks of flowers in a circular fashion. Then, slowly twist the stems around one another to keep them in position. Twist until you have 1/3 or half of the stem left.
18. Then, use a pair of scissors and cut the last 1/3 of the stems off individually. Take note not to have anyone standing next to or in front you, as the stems may fly off in any direction due to the force of the cutting!
19. Beautify your bouquet by covering the stems with a broad ribbon. Attach a piece of double-sided tape onto the underside of the ribbon and go around the stems. Start at the point where the stems start to come together, and not at the base of the flower buds.
Tip: Use a dark-coloured ribbon to accentuate the colours of your flowers.
20. Layer a thinner ribbon over the broad one to add some details to the bouquet. Tie a cross knot twice at the base of the bouquet to secure it first.
Tip: For this, use a ribbon in the same shade as the light purple petals to complement your flowers.
21. For a whimsical and romantic pattern, tie a ballet lace around the stem. End the thinner ribbon at the point where the broader one began. Secure with a cross knot.
22. Use a third ribbon to conceal the start of the navy blue ribbon. Use one that is broader than the navy blue one. Secure the ribbon by tying a cross knot over the navy blue one.
Tip: For a fanciful touch, use a sheer ribbon.
23. Finish off by tying a bow. When you have a bow of the desired size, snip off any excess ribbon using a pair of scissors.
Don’t be put off by the number of steps. Once you get a hang of things, you’ll see that the effort and time required to complete a bouquet is half the number of steps. Play with the colours and the number of stalks you want in your bouquet. Play up a simple gown by going with a bigger bouquet, or dress down an elaborate gown with a smaller bunch like this. And the best part? You can finish one within your one-hour lunch break and still have time for a quick bite. Or, if you have more time on your hands, you can make more and use them as table centerpieces or bouquets for your bridesmaids and flower girls.
Perfect for Table Centerpiece, Bridal Hand bouquet, Flower girl bouquet, Bridesmaid bouquet
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