Simple Boutonnière

This is Erin with Rosehip Flora, and today I’d like to share a how-to on a smaller scale. Let’s look at making a simple and sweet boutonnière or corsage for your sweetheart. Ladies and gents alike can’t complain about a handcrafted gift for a special occasion. The first time I cooked dinner for my last boyfriend (now husband), I had some blooms on hand and fashioned a lovely little boutonniere for him to wear. It was a welcoming gift – welcome to my home, welcome to my life, welcome to my heart. He had never been presented with such a gift before, and I certainly have no regrets about making this sentimental gesture. Keep reading for the step-by-step instructions… For this project I used a small succulent plant, Paranormus (the soft spikes), which I’ve never seen before but now love enormous (ha!), red and white variegated Waxflower, and a lone Gardenia leaf as a backdrop to the whole ensemble. Tools include floral wire, floral tape, straight pins, pearl headed pins, wire cutters, scissors and ribbon to wrap.

  1. I began wiring the succulent and gardenia leaf by hair pinning the floral wire and feeding into the center of both elements.
  2. Those wires are then finished with floral tape. It’s important to stretch the tape out as you wrap to reveal it’s ‘sticky’ side. Wrapping the stems will help seal in their moisture. The paranormus and waxflower do not need to be wired in this scenario because they are hardy and can stand alone.
  3. I cleaned the little leaves off the stems of the paranormus to make the wrapping and combining easier and cleaner.
  4. Holding the gardenia leaf, I placed the paranormus stems, one at a time, and wrapped these pieces together with the green floral tape.
  5. Next I placed the succulent at the base of the paramorus and taped its wire into place. Then the waxflower filled in spots around the succulent and was taped into place. The third and final piece of paranormus was taped lower in the arrangement.
  6. The raw stems of the paranormus and waxflower were cut to the desired length with scissors and wired pieces cut with wire cutters.
  7. The floral tape then wraps and covers all stems and wires – pull and twirl – to make a single ‘stem’ for the boutonniere.
  8. To finish the look, I choose a burlap ribbon to hide the floral-tape stem. Wrap the ribbon overlapping itself and leave a little tail behind. Secure the ribbon to the stem with a straight pin. Then I fanned out the ribbon for a rough burlap look.
  9. Last, pin with a pearl-headed pin by pushing the pin into the fabric from front (protecting with your hand from the back/inside of fabric) and feeding the pin through the entire stem of boutonniere. The point of the pin should then re-enter the fabric so the point is not visible. Ideally this would be through a lapel, which is doubled and the pin can rest between the ‘fold’ of the lapel.

Now stand back and admire your handiwork! And have fun! Enjoy.

Tutorial by Erin Knipp of Rosehip Flora, photos by Julie Cope Photography for Perpetually Chic

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