Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Homemade Buttonhole or Corsage

I thought I would share with you a little 'how to' in making a buttonhole or corsage. Buttonholes are traditionally for men and a corsage for a woman. You would often find a buttonhole less fussy than this but you are in control and you can add or take away flowers as you please. This is how I would make one. It dose not involve wires, more professional finishes would.

I have used Astrantia x2, Rose, Lysimachia, Eringium (thistle) x2, Symphoricarpis (hedge berries)x2, Eucalyptus x3 sprigs.

You need to have in your mind that this is not a formal process. As you place each stem, you will be able to see how it fits and wether or not it looks right. I have placed each stem one at a time. What you need to think about is keeping the back flat and building around your main flower, a rose in this case. Start with the largest head then add you greenery. Begin to place each flower head in front of

and next to the large head. Slowly it will begin to come together and create a visual buttonhole. The more you add, the more you will see it clustering nicely. Keep it tight and even if you want to place stems further back, just slip it where you want it and hold tightly.

For a man's buttonhole, you might want less flowers so just don't use too many.

When you are happy with what you have made, you will need some pot tape to sucre the stems in place.

Once secure, I have used Raffia to bind the stems by wrapping it around a few times then securing with a knot. I then made a bow out of raffia by putting numerous stems together and making a classic bow. Then attach with a thin strand tying it around to the back of the corsage and knotting.