The hand-tied bouquet is a bit challenging to master as it may seem like you don’t have enough hands! Though it looks like this bouquet is just a bunch of roses, the rounded shape is dependent upon creating a teepee shape with the stems so the flowers won’t be squashed together. Finish the bouquet with a collar of tulle or baby’s breath and a braided ribbon-wrapped handle or bow.
To make this bouquet you will need:
1 dozen roses, about halfway open, leaves and thorns removed
green floral tape or waterproof foam tape
2 1/2 yards of 6″ tulle cut into 22″ pieces
1 1/2 yards of ribbon for the handle
Take 2 roses and cross them as shown. Add the remaining roses, keeping them apart with your fingers. Wrap around the binding point several
times with floral tape, stretching and pressing so it adheres. Squeeze the stems together and wrap tape around the center portion of the handle for a
few inches. Press the tape tightly at the end. Leave the flowers in water until just before you need to use the bouquet.
Dry the stems with a towel, then apply your ribbons.
To make a ribbon-wrapped handle, center the ribbon underneath the bottom of the stems. Pull the ribbon around to the front, cross one side
over the other, then pull it back underneath, keeping the ribbon snug. Wrap to the front and cross again, and so on, up to the binding point, where it will be tied into a knot. Tie tulle bows onto the handle to fill in at the top. Pearl-head floral pins can also be inserted into the ribbon handle, if you like (angled down, not straight through).
I really like this idea but I am not fond of roses. Can this bouquet be made with other kinds of flowers? Or a mixture of flowers so it has more of a garden style?
Hi Cynthia. Yes! You can use any type of flower you like to make a hand-tied bouquet. Be sure to choose flowers that can survive without a source of water like you have with a bouquet holder. Ask your flower merchant about this before you place an order. Good luck!