Monday, July 1, 2024

Carnation Boutonniere



How to Make Ready a Carnation Boutonniere

Making a carnation boutonniere is a lovely and straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create one:

 Materials Needed:

1. **Carnation**: Choose a fresh carnation in the color of your choice.
2. **Greenery**: Optional, but you can add small sprigs of greenery like ferns or baby’s breath for contrast.
3. **Floral Tape**: This is a special tape that sticks to itself when stretched, used to bind the stems.
4. **Floral Wire**: Thin wire, used to reinforce the stems and support the boutonniere.
5. **Corsage Pins**: These are pins with decorative heads used to attach the boutonniere to clothing.
6. **Scissors**: To trim stems and cut tape.

  • - Gather all your materials on a clean work surface.
  • - Cut a piece of floral tape and floral wire, each about 6 inches long.
  • - Trim the stem of the carnation to about 3 inches in length, using sharp scissors.
  • - Remove any leaves or thorns that would be below where the boutonniere will sit.
  • - If you’re using greenery, trim a small piece and position it against the back of the carnation stem.
  • - Take the piece of floral wire and wrap it around the base of the carnation stem, just below the flower head. Twist the wire gently to secure it in place. This will reinforce the stem and help support the weight of the flower.
  • - Begin at the top of the stem, just below the flower head.
  • - Hold the floral tape at a slight angle and stretch it as you wrap it around the stem and wire. This stretching activates the adhesive in the tape, making it stick to itself.
  • - Continue wrapping down the stem until you reach the end of the wire. Cut off any excess tape and press the end firmly to secure it.
  • - Trim the bottom of the stem to your desired length, usually around 2-3 inches.
  • - Check the boutonniere for balance and aesthetics. Make any final adjustments to the flower and greenery if needed.
  • - Insert a corsage pin through the back of the boutonniere stem, near the bottom.
  • - Ensure the pin is secure but not poking out from the front of the boutonniere.
  • - **Choose Fresh Flowers**: Ensure your carnation is fresh for the best appearance and longevity.
  • - **Practice Makes Perfect**: If you’re making several boutonnieres, practice with one or two beforehand to get the hang of the process.
  • - **Keep It Simple**: A single carnation can be elegant on its own, but you can also add small accents like greenery or baby’s breath for variation.


 Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. **Prepare Your Materials**:

2. **Prepare the Carnation**:

3. **Add Greenery (Optional)**:

4. **Secure with Floral Wire**:

5. **Wrap with Floral Tape**:

6. **Trim the Stem**:

7. **Final Adjustments**:

8. **Attach the Corsage Pin**:

By following these steps, you’ll create a beautiful carnation boutonniere that’s ready to be worn for any special occasion!

Pulled in closely to the buttonhole

I’ve watched videos online about the boutonnière, the flower for the buttonhole in your jacket lapel.

Sadly, none of the videos communicate how to insert the most important lapel flower, the carnation boutonniere, properly.

You see, a carnation boutonniere should sort of grow naturally from the buttonhole in your lapel. That’s what I like based on tradition. Check photos of Cary Grant, Noël Coward, The Duke of Windsor and the rest.  None of them carries a carnation swaying on the top of the lapel or sticking out from the lapel buttonhole. They all wear a carnation that has been pulled in closely to the lapel. The online educators don’t get that natural carnation boutonniere style right.

A carnation boutonniere from a florist

Before inserting a carnation in a lapel buttonhole, you need to make it ready. A raw carnation will break, if you try to fit it to the lapel buttonhole, including to a wide English lapel buttonhole. In other words, you have to visit a skillful florist.

carnation boutonniere

Florist and artist Tage Andersen in his workshop at Ny Adelgade in Copenhagen.

Preparing this blog post and video I contacted the most famous florist in Copenhagen, Tage Andersen. He showed me from start to finish how to make ready a carnation for a lapel buttonhole.

carnation boutonniere

A carnation made ready by Tage Andersen inserted in the lapel buttonhole of my Malcolm Plews suit.

He doesn’t make many carnation boutonniere nowadays, he told me. In fact very few. It stopped 40-50 years ago, when men gave up wearing formal wear at a regular basis. Moreover, when people need a flower for, say, a wedding today they ask for a small bouquet of lapel flowers instead of a classic one-flower boutonniere.

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Carnation Boutonniere

How to Make Ready a Carnation Boutonniere Making a carnation boutonniere is a lovely and straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step gu...