I imagine that when last week’s bright, oversized bouquet tutorial went up, approximately half of our readership breathed a sigh of relief and thought to themselves, it’s about time, APW. Where were you during my trial run six weeks ago? The rest of you, I imagine, cocked your head sideways and said, fat chance that’s ever going to happen, APW. Do I look like I’m made of magic? If you fall into the latter group, this follow-up tutorial is for you.
We understand that there are usually 2.5 reasons people choose to DIY (or DIT) something:
1. You want something something that nobody really makes, so screw it you’re making it yourself.
2. You want something you can’t afford, but you want it anyway, so screw it you’re making it yourself.
2.5. You don’t want to spend money on something you don’t care about anyway, but it would be lovely if you didn’t hate the outcome (it’s only a fraction of a reason because of the aforementioned lack of interest).
Enter the one-flower bouquet. When executed properly, one-flower bouquets can look both effortless and edgy, in an IDGAF kind of way. And best yet? They take almost no time to put together, so they are a perfect option if you’re DIT-ing flowers for a whole mess of folks. For this tutorial, the only ingredients you’ll need are:
- Your chosen flower (We used Feverfew here, and a tiny bit of Maidenhair on the outside. Which technically makes it two flowers. Shhh…)
- Floral tape
- Ribbon
- Corsage pin
- Something to cut stems and ribbon with
Since the internet is full of tutorials on Baby’s Breath, we asked the lovely and talented Natalie of Belle-Flower in Oakland to show us an alternative flower that’s just as easy and pretty as Baby’s Breath, but not quite as popular. Not only does Feverfew look like you plucked it straight from a field, but the internet also tells me it’s good for migraines.
- Prep your Feverfew by plucking off any extra foliage from the stems. Then, as with the big bouquet, you’re going to gather a few stems to create your base.
- Continue adding stems, keeping the shape of the bouquet round (adding stems diagonally will help keep the shape round.) Then add some Maidenhair to the outside, just underneath the Feverfew blooms.
- We didn’t talk about this in the previous tutorial, but Natalie says one of the best things you can do to make sure your bouquet is turning out all right is simply to look in the mirror, with the bouquet at waist length, and make sure the size and shape are in check.
- If all looks well, wrap with floral tape.
- Cut your stems to length.
- Wrap with ribbon.
- To create the ribbon finish like Natalie, fold the ribbon back and pin it in place with a corsage pin. To make the pin hold extra firm, push it up vertically into one of your stems.
- You can use this tutorial to create just about any single-flower bouquet. While we were in Natalie’s shop, she put together a baby’s breath bouquet using the same steps (below).
- Something I learned from watching Natalie is that one flower bouquets can go both edgy and classic. If you want an edgier, more trendy bouquet, keep your stems long and your wrap simple (like the Feverfew bouquet). For a more classically-inspired bouquet, cut your stems a little shorter and do a full wrap (like the Baby’s Breath bouquet.)
Photos: Allison Andres / Flowers: Belle-Flower
How To Make A Recycled Watercolor Jar Centerpiece
How To Make A Simple Colorful Tablescape
How To Turn Grocery Store Cakes Into Wedding Cakes
