How to wire and tape a silk leaf

When making a bouquet from silk flowers, you will often want to use silk leaves, to make the bouquet look more natural.

When using silk leaves, we need to wire them, because it helps give the bouquet structure and form, and also allows the leaves to be manipulated into positions to create the right shape for the bouquet.

You will need:

• Silk Leaves
• Thick Wire
• Stem tape

Step 1: Poke the wire through

Take the silk leaf and push the wire through the fabric...

Pass the wire behind the stem of the leaf, and poke it back through the other side...

Step 2: Bend back the wire

Bend the wire down to meet the long wire, and to form a loop at the back of the silk leaf.

Step 3: Tape the wire

Now tape the silk leaf to the wire. Do this by starting near the loop, and working your way down until all the wire is covered.

Step 4: Flare the silk leaf

To give the silk leaf a more natural appearance, flare it out near the stem tape...

That's it! One wired and taped silk leaf...