Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Weave a long lasting (without using floral foam) in a vase floral design basket
- 29 January 2020
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Place your grass that you want to weave on a flat working surface.
See below for the foundation Weaving with foliage Tutorial in the Tutorial section. If you want to learn more about weaving with grass you will find all the information, including design examples in my book
Weave a basic over and under pattern. Again if you are looking for ways to "step up" your weaving and try a few more unusual patterns see my book on page: 226 where I talk about Mastery.
Measure your container to make sure you have a big enough section of woven grass to fit and curve in the container.
Design note: be generous with the weave allowance. You need more strands woven together than you think. Much more, in all directions.
Place the grass weave on your container...
Press it down into the container...
To line the inside of the container.
Design note: The moment you place the weave in the container some of the blades of grass pops out because the edges are left unfinished. This actually helps the flat weave curve along the container at the sides. Simply remove those.
Gently curve the grass around the shape of the container to form the basket.
This week’s version of this design is done at a fraction of the time than the one I showed you a while back. If you want to craft a neat basket that slides in snugly to follow the corners of your container I have linked the other design with it’s Tutorial in the Design section below.
Fill the container with water... now here is where the fun starts. This is where you add your own creativity. If you want to explore and develop your own effortless style this is where the latter part of my book comes in.
Place the flowers in the water. The wild strands of grass give the flowers just the right amount of support to keep them firmly in place.
Newsletter subscribers: I have a great tip for you this week! Before you curl (next step) the grass have a look. If you are not yet subscribed sign up in the section below the Tutorial. I send out a once a week only advance notice of when the latest design is available with a tip each week highlighting what you will learn this week from the design.
Manipulate the leaves to add right on trend soft short curls to the design.
See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to manipulate grass. For another version of how to do this that is more ringlets than curls see my book. Page: 288 where I talk about manipulating grasses.
Sprinkle in the lightest dusting of artificial snow...
To turn the light and airy result you get from not using floral foam as a design mechanic for your flower design basket into a focus (and talking!) point.
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Tutorials
For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in...
Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl.
Artificial snow can be very "chemical" and flowers deteriorate quickly when exposed to it. It also dissolves in water. I use candle wax as "snow"
Once you figure out how to do the corners weaving a diagonal shape is actually not that hard to do.
Pebbles are a great way to weigh down or keep your floral material in place. Here's a way to dress them up a bit
My block design is shaped around a Styrofoam block. It is bulky but lightweight and a great way to reuse packaging.
Wrap grass around a flat wire shape to create a delicate bridal basket design
Favourite Flowers
Dutch Iris or widow iris are the best known varieties used as cut flowers
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