This may be what we think of when the word "bouquet" comes to mind. If you have wedding plans in the mix, though, you may be just as concerned with ways to tie your bouquet! This is a tutorial for a very basic way to tie and wrap your bouquet to create the lovely handle seen below.
This handle is simple in that it is simply overlapping ribbon with some decorative corsage pins inserted in a line down the back.
Here are some supplies you may find helpful in doing this tutorial yourself: Ribbon, floral tape, scissors, corsage pins, and floral wire (you will of course, also need a lovely bouquet of flowers).
To start, arrange your bouquet in any way you most prefer. For this tutorial I used real flowers, but I love the versatility of using paper flowers with wire stems, so be sure to check back for a tutorial that is more specific to handmade flowers with wire stems later on. You will want to remove most of the leaves on the stems that are located where you will be making your handle. Leaving the stems on makes a lumpy surface for tying your ribbon.
Once you have your flowers arranged, tightly wrap your stems together with floral tape. This will hold your bouquet together tightly and be a good "canvas" for your decorative finish. If necessary, you can use a piece of floral wire, or some rubber bands to hold your stems together while you tape them tightly.
I recommend taping your stems as far down as you plan on wrapping your ribbon, as you can see above. At this point, you can trim the bottoms of your stems to an even length, or you can wait until you are all done with your pins and ribbon. Just make sure that your final piece has stems that are all one length, or your finished bouquet will look a little sloppy.
Now you are ready to wrap your ribbon around your stems. I generally start by using a piece of waterproof tape and taping the end of my ribbon up at the top of my stems and wrapping the ribbon downward. GO as slowly as you need, just try to wrap your ribbon tightly around the stems to avoid puckers and gaps. Once I get to the end of where I want my stems wrapped, I work my way back up to the top with a second layer of ribbon wrapping. This ensures a more even coverage and leaves you with both ribbon ends at the top of your bouquet. Since the bottom of your bouquet is most likely to be seen, it helps your finished look by having all ends at the top.
Now, you will add your corsage pins. It isn't necessary to pin all the way down, but it can give a nice finished look. TO space evenly, I lined up my pin tips with the tip of the leaf in front of it. It can take some practice to get a straight line (I'm not used to using shaped pins, so as you can see mine could use a little work). If you are just starting out, simple pearl corsage pins are easiest to line up.
Voila! Here is a bouquet all tied and pinned! You can use any color and width of ribbon you prefer, along with any color and shape of pins you can find. If this seems a little plain for your taste, be sure to check back over the next couple weeks as I will be giving tutorials on several ways to embellish your bouquet handles, and different materials you can use for tying them all up.
