Buttonholes and corsages
Welcome to Emma's Flowers August newsletter, containing a tutorial on how to create a buttonhole. If you're going to a late summer wedding, have a go and make your own personal buttonhole or corsage.
Also see photos from my garden veg patch, and lets just say that I have been able to enjoy the fruits, well veg of my labour!
A brief history of buttonholes also known as boutonnieres.
Stories differ as to how the tradition of pinning flowers to your lapel started, but some say that buttonholes date back to ancient Greece. The male wedding party members would wear a small bunch of flowers, usually mixed with fragrant herbs, pinned close to their heart in order to ward off evil spirits.
The word boutonniere derives from the French word for "buttonhole flower". It was also used to keep bad scents away and was believed to protect against diseases.
How to wear a buttonhole
The groom is the quintessential wearer of a buttonhole but nowadays the best man and groomsmen, as well as the fathers and grandfathers of the bride and groom often wear them. Placed on the left lapel of the jacket, the groom's buttonhole usually mirrors the flowers in the bride's bouquet, symbolizing the unity of the couple.
Corsages which are more delicate than buttonholes are worn by the mothers and grandmothers.
For the gents, traditionally, the buttonhole should be worn on the left-hand side, above the heart, and pointing towards the left shoulder. For the ladies, the corsage should be worn on the right-hand side.
How to make a buttonhole.
What you will need
Focal flower e.g a rose
Secondary flowers, I used achillea and a freesia bud
Foliage such as pittosporum
String
Floral tape
Scissors
Wires
Buttonhole pearl headed pin
Other flowers you could use
Carnations, spray carnations, eustoma, spray roses, gyp, waxflower. Eucalyptus, ivy, leatherleaf.
How to make it
Ensure you are working on a clean work surface, I often work on a piece of kitchen roll.
Cut some thin floristry wire into lengths of no more than 1". These will be used to position the sepals of the flowers to prevent the rose from opening further.
Cut the rose stem to approximately 2" in length at a 45 degree angle.
Now fold the small pieces of wire you cut earlier in half as shown below.
Press each end of the wire into the sepal of the flower pushing it until it is flush against the green foliage and secure.
Position the foliage being used, behind the rose, and adjust the length to the desired effect/proportion.
I next added the freesia bud also behind the rose with the pittosporum.
Further foliage and flowers are now added the front right side of the rose.
Taking a piece of long wire and leaving a shorter end of approx 2", wrap the longer length around the stems twice firmly to secure but not to tight to damage the stems. Twist the short and longer end to secure the wire and with the remaining length twist it around the remaining stems as shown below,
Apply the floral film to the stems working from just underneath the flowers to the bottom of the stems. Ensure you stretch out the tape so it is almost see through. Cover the ends of the stems which should all be cut to different slightly staggered lengths, leaving ah finer stem overall. See picture below.
News from my veg patch 🍅🥒
As you may remember I had a veg/cutting patch made last year and this year I decided to grow some veg.
Fruit and Flowers from the garden 🍏 🌼🌼
Thank you once again for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, if you did please forward this newsletter to anyone you know that loves flowers, so they can subscribe too!
Love Emma x