How to Make a Wrist Corsage With an Elastic Band

Create an elegant wrist corsage.

Creating a wrist corsage takes time, effort and skill. When finished, your end result will be tailored to match your outfit and wear to a formal occasion. When making a wrist corsage, you don't need to have your entire wrist covered with the elastic. Less elastic allows a cleaner, more formal look. It's also more comfortable as the elastic can bite into your skin the longer you keep it on your wrist.

Things You'll Need

• 3 inches of 1/2-inch elastic
• 1 foot of 1-inch ribbon
• Spool of florist tape
• Spool of 1/4-inch colored jewelry wire
• 4-inch piece of Styrofoam
• Needle
• Thread
• Flowers
• Filler
• Greenery
• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks

Instructions

1. Choose three flowers. Real ones dry well, making a treasured keepsake forever if you keep them after the occasion. Silk looks attractive, but has limitations, depending on how you feel about artificial flowers. Choose light weight blossoms, such as tea roses.

2. Cut the filler, such as baby's breath, and greenery so that the stems are a 1/2-inch below the last leaf or blossom. Cutting them to this length allows you to adequately secure them in the corsage.

3. Slightly gather 6 inches of ribbon at the middle in small, accordion-like pleats. Hand sew the pleats with matching tread.

4. Place the sewn ribbon on the elastic piece with the pleats on top. Use the pleated side to apply your corsage, not the elastic side. Sew the pleated material to middle of the elastic, pulling the elastic slightly as you sew, so that the ribbon drapes slightly on either side of the elastic.

5. Wind each stem and tip of the flowers and greenery with green florist tape.

6. Wrap all of the stems several times with the florist wire. Leave enough wire at both ends to secure these to the Styrofoam piece, about a 1/2 to 1/4-inch.

7. Position the flowers, greenery and baby's breath on a flat, oblong piece of Styrofoam. When you like the arrangement, pierce the Styrofoam with the stem of the flowers and greenery. Then wrap the remaining wire around the Styrofoam to secure the flowers and greenery.

8. Use a glue gun to secure the Styrofoam and flowers to the pleated ribbon sewn onto the elastic. Let the corsage dry. Refrigerate it until the event.

9. Carefully trim the ribbon to fit your wrist and tie a small bow.

Tips & Warnings

• If you will be giving the corsage the day it is made, trim the ribbon before giving it as a gift.

• Sparingly, spray cold water on the flowers if not using the corsage immediately.

• The purchase of the items and the time you spend making this corsage can be more expensive than buying one from the florist, FTD is a wonderful place to search for this already made item. Just knowing you made this, the receiver will appreciate it so much.

References

• Martha Stewart: Two-Minute Corsages