How to Craft a Corsage

Corsages are a wonderful way to acknowledge a special part someone is playing in an event you have planned.

Flowers add beauty and a touch of class to every event. Corsages have long been a rite of passage for young people attending proms and wedding party members. Corsages also denote positions of importance such as serving as pallbearer for a funeral. Corsages are singularly beautiful in that they can be worn on the bodice of a dress, as a bracelet around a wrist or carried as a sachet. Any of these corsages are simple to make and add a statement of your own personal style to your event.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors
• Wire cutters
• Flowers
• Floral or craft wire
• White or green floral tape
• Glass water vials for sensitive flowers like orchids
• Ribbon preferably organza or fabric with wired edges no wider than 3/4-inch
• Grosgrain or taffeta ribbon no wider than 2 inches with no wire edging
• Needle and thread
• Pearl tipped corsage pins

Instructions

Making a Wrist Corsage

1. 

   Daisies, mums and peonies are not good flower selections for a wrist corsage.

   Select the flowers you want to use for your wedding, prom or other event. Choosing heartier flowers with stronger stems are better for wrist corsages because of the possibility of the corsage bumping something during normal wear. Flowers such as daisies, smaller breeds of orchids and rosebuds are not the best for a wrist corsage. You will need at least five flowers for a nice, full wrist corsage.

2. 

   Roses are a good flower to use for corsages, especially after reinforcing with wire.

   Trim excess leaves and additional branches from your flowers. Make the stems long enough that you can work with them without breaking the flower off when it comes to wrapping floral tape around the stems.

3. 

   Crafting or floral wire and wire cutters are necessary for corsage making.

   Wrap floral wire around the base of the flower where it connects to the stem. Wrap and re-wrap until you are satisfied that it is significantly reinforced and if for some reason the bud should break away from the stem, the wire will hold it in place.

4. 

   White or green floral tapes work equally well for a corsage.

   Wrap the white or green floral tape around where you reinforced the connection of the stem and the bud of the flower. Stretch the tape as you wind it around the base of the bud and the stem to release the sticky properties that make the tape adhere to itself as you wrap it. Wrap it all the way down to the end of the stem and use a pencil to give it a little tail at the end.

5. Repeat these steps with the remaining flowers and set all of them aside.

6. 

   Use ribbon for your corsage that compliments the colors for your event.

   Trim at least six lengths of ribbon at 1/2 yard each. You will need six lengths of ribbon for each corsage. Use wire no thicker than 3/4-inch wide and wire edged ribbon is easier to shape after you make your bows.

7. 

   Create floral bows for your corsage by folding the 1/2-yard of ribbon back and for the over each other until you have no ribbon left. Take a 6-inch piece of floral wire and wrap it around the middle of the bows and twisting until they are secure. Spread out the ribbons to make them larger and fuller.

8. Cut lengths of ribbon that will easily fit a wrist and be able to be tied on. Fabric ribbon like grosgrain or taffeta is best as the flowers can be sewn onto it easily. There are many ways to secure flowers for a wrist corsage, but sewing the flowers into place is the strongest and most versatile way of doing it. Position your main flower onto the ribbon and use a basting stitch from the underside of the ribbon to secure the flower sewing through the floral tape and not the flower itself.

9. 

   Flowers can be sewn onto a wrist corsage easily and without stitches being seen.

   Secure the remaining flowers and ribbons to your wrist ribbon. Once the ribbons are in place, you can spread them out to cover any bare spots that are in between the flowers. The corsage can be tied to the recipient's wrist without any stitching being able to be seen.

Making a Pin-On Corsage

1. 

   Pin-on corsages are more versatile than wrist corsages and most flowers can be used.

   Follow the majority of the steps used for creating a wrist corsage. Trim your flowers and stems to a workable length. One difference between the wrist corsage and the pin corsage is that you can use any flower for a pin corsage as delicate flowers can be placed in water vials to make sure they do not begin to wither.

2. Reinforce the stem and the connection of the flower to the stem with wire and then a good covering of either the green or the white floral tape, twisting the ends into pigtails.

3. 

   Pin your corsage with pearl-ended floral pins.

   Create your ribbons that will go between your flowers. The difference between connecting the flowers for a pin-on corsage is that you will use craft wire and floral tape to connect the flowers once you arrange them into the position you want them in. Secure your flowers carefully into the arrangement you want and use pearl-ended corsage pins to secure into place.

References

• Wedding Flowers and Receptions Ideas: How to Make Wrist Corsage
• Youtube.com: Make a Corsage in Five East Steps
• Elegance In Bloom: Corsage Instructions