How to Make Memorial Day Flowers
Almost any floral tribute can be used to honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, as long as it uses the right colors and is laid with appropriate ceremony. The red poppy became a Memorial Day symbol after Canadian Army Colonel John McCrae penned the poem "In Flanders Fields" in 1915. Formerly called Decoration Day, families repair headstones, weed graves and lay bouquets or plant flowers on Memorial Day to honor fallen soldiers of all U.S. wars. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Red, black, medium green and bright yellow felt or thin craft foam sheets
- 1-inch, 3-inch and 6-inch diameter plastic lids
- Sharpened scissors
- Tapestry needle and black embroidery floss or crewel yarn
- Floral wire
- Green floral tape
- Floral pins and picks
- 3-inch wide white satin ribbon
- Round or star-shaped floral foam, grapevine, wire or straw wreath base
- 3-inch wide blue or purple wired satin ribbon
- Silver, gold or copper fabric embroidery paint pen
Instructions
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Draw 2 to 3 dozen, 6-inch diameter circles on red felt or craft foam using plastic lids or other circle templates.
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Draw 1 dozen, 3-inch diameter circles on black felt or craft foam and 1 dozen, 1-inch diameter circles on bright yellow craft foam.
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Draw 4 to 6 dozen poppy leaves on green felt or craft foam. Poppy leaves alternate along a single petiole, which is a smaller stem that attaches to the main stem of a flower. They have jagged edges and deep grooves between each leaflet.
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Cut all flower parts from the felt or foam using sharpened scissors.
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Center one yellow circle on each black circle. Center those on top of three stacked red circles.
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Thread a tapestry needle with embroidery floss or crewel yarn matched to the yellow felt or foam and knot the ends.
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Hold the stacked circles in your nondominant hand, with your thumb on top of the center of the yellow circle and your forefinger underneath the stack at the center of the bottom red circle.
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Hold the threaded needle in your dominant hand. Push the needle through the center of the underside of the stack of felt or foam circles and pull the thread through until the knot tugs against the underside of the bottom circle.
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Push the needle back through the circles about 1/8 inch to the right of the first needle hole and pull tightly. Repeat three times, knotting the thread on the underside of the stacked circles each time after the first.
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Place one finger on the center of the top of the stitched-together stack of circles and use your other hand to push from the underside until the felt or foam ruffles around your finger. Pinch the flower about 1/2 inch from the center point on the underside to keep it ruffled.
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Stitch through each poppy at the pinch point before wrapping the thread around the flower several times and pulling tightly to keep the flower permanently ruffled. Wrap several turns of floral wire around each flower at the pinch point to make a stem.
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Wrap the other end of the floral wire stem around a floral pick. Beginning at the wire wrap on each poppy, wrap floral tape around the stem and the pinch point until everything is covered. Add a leaf after wrapping the wire about an inch. Add another leaf every 2 inches until each poppy has at least two but no more than four leaves.
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Wrap each wreath base in white satin ribbon, overlapping the ribbon by 1/3 its width each turn. Secure with floral pins. If using grapevine wreath, allow the wreath base to show between each turn.
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Attach your poppies to the wreath base using floral pins. Leave a 6-inch wide space at the top or bottom of the wreath bare, to accommodate a bow.
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Cut a length of blue or purple wire satin ribbon three times as long as the diameter of your wreath. Tie a bow with loops whose length is half the diameter of the wreath.
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Lay the bow flat on the table, shiny side up. Use a silver, gold or copper fabric embroidery paint pen to write a patriotic slogan on the trailing ends of the ribbon, beginning at the end of the left trailing ribbon and working toward the bow, then skipping to the right trailing ribbon and working from the bow to the end.
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Allow the fabric embroidery paint to dry overnight. Attach the ribbon to the wreath.
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Lay the wreath with appropriate ceremony, including the playing of "Taps" on a bugle or trumpet or "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes. Read "In Flanders Fields" at the graveside and stand at attention or with a hand over your heart during the music.
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Tips & Warnings
Papaver rhoes L., the corn poppy or Flanders Field poppy, should not be confused with Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. Despite a similar appearance, the corn poppy does not produce opium.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
