How to make a buttonhole

The wedding season is nearly in full swing and final plans and preparations are now frantically underway by engaged couples all over the country to make that special day just perfect. Attention will now be turned to the finer details such as seating plans, logistics of the day, weather checks (fingers crossed) and of course the flowers. 

Flowers are a huge focal point for a wedding and they really help to focus the theme for the whole day, whether it’s soft and romantic, bright and bold, vintage or the classic ‘green and white’ flowers (as we have just seen with Harry and Meghan), flowers are integral to shaping the look and feel of the day.

So if you are feeling creative or have always wanted to get involved with the wedding flowers but are just a little bit nervous, how about making the buttonholes? Just follow these easy peasy steps  to make your own traditional buttonholes for a wedding.

Materials

1 Rose, 1 stem of foliage (this can be anything from a large flat leaf, to eucalyptus or rosemary, anything really which is being incorporated into the rest of the wedding flowers), florist wire (0.71mm is a great thickness to use), florist tape.

Method

1. Remove the leaves and any thorns from the rose stem and cut the stem to the length that you would like it to be for the buttonhole (Tip – cut the stem slightly longer at this point as you can always trim it down to size later. Remove any lower leaves from the stem of foliage.
2. Insert a piece of the wire up through the stem of the rose (you can see in the picture the stem is sticking out slightly, just trim this off). The wire will help give the stem some support or alternatively you can wrap the wire around the stem of the rose if its proving a bit tricky to push it up the stem.
3. If you are using a large flat leaf, take a piece of wire and make a ‘stitch’ through the leaf with the ‘stich’ showing in the front of the leaf. Make sure the ‘stitch’ is about a third of the way up the leaf so that it won’t show when the leaf is positioned over it.
4. Next position your rose on top of the leaf, making sure the leaf is covering the ‘stitch’ and then carefully wrap the wire from the leaf around the stem of the rose. If you are using other foliage just position the foliage next to the rose so that it is slightly to the side, behind the rose.  

5. Take your tape and starting from the top of the stem of the rose, wrap it neatly all the way down the stem of the rose ensuring all the wire and stems are concealed.
6. It’s now ready to wear! Don’t forget your pins to attach the buttonhole to the lapel.

Top Tips – make the buttonholes last thing the day before the wedding or if you have time, on the morning of the wedding. Make sure the flowers and foliage you are using have had a good drink before you start working with them and keep them in a cool place out of direct sunlight.

If roses don’t fit with the wedding theme don’t worry because many other flowers, foliage, berries and even feathers are used in buttonholes these days.

If you are using flowers other than roses they are very simple to make, just make a tiny posy with your chosen flowers, carefully positioning them so that they face forward, (Top Tip – just think about the size of the flowers you are using and you will only need a few as you don’t want to make the buttonhole too enormous or too small when worn!). Use florist wire to help support the posy stems and hold them in place before you use the florist tape to secure the stems together.

You can use twine, beautiful ribbons or even velvet ribbon to wrap around the stems and give that extra detail, the world is your oyster! 

We hope we have inspired you to have a go and get creative with some floral fun fit for the wedding celebrations and are feeling a little less nervous about making beautiful buttonholes!