A client of ours approached us when her "do-it-yourself" project wasn't going as well as she had hoped. She had a gorgeous collection of vintage brooches, but wasn't quite sure how to go about making them into a bouquet. We decided to document the process so any future bride, with a collection of vintage brooches, can do it herself!
Step 1. Collect a minimum of 50 vintage brooches.
Step 1. Collect a minimum of 50 vintage brooches.
Step 2: Using 4 pieces of 26 gauge floral wire, curl wire number one around the space between the pin and the clasp and curl wire number two around in the same way from the opposite direction like photos below:
Step 3: Using wire 3 and 4, run them through the center of the first two crossed wires. These wires are for strength. The brooches are heavy and need a strong wire base to assemble. If the pins are loose and floppy, it will make assembly difficult. Twist all wires together at the top.
Step 4: Neatly wrap the wire with corsage tape. Notice how the wire is strong enough to hold the pin without drooping and the pin is upward facing.
Step 5: Begin assembling your bouquet. Think of each brooch as a puzzle piece. Some brooches will nestle snuggly together for a perfect fit. You will have to move the brooches around until they nest neatly next to each other. Use larger brooches first and the smaller brooches to fill in where there may be empty spaces. Don't get frustrated as this takes time.
Step 6: When you're done assembling the bouquet, wrap the "stems" with floral tape to create a nice, even stem to wrap with ribbon. It should look like the photo below from the bottom.
Step 7: Using a ribbon of your choice (we used Linen dupioni silk ribbon from Midori Ribbon) cut the ribbon in small sections (approximately 6 inches) fold them in half and set them across the wires like photo below:
Step 8: Tape the ribbon ends at the top of the bouquet stem.
Step 9: Using two pieces of ribbon, in a criss-cross fashion, cover the end of the stem and then tape.
Step 10: Cover the stem with ribbon from top to bottom covering all the tape. Use pearl pins to secure.
Step 11: Add a band of ribbon and tie with a square knot at the top to finish.
Step 12: We frayed the ribbon to add to the vintage style of the bouquet
Now you have a gorgeous brooch bouquet!
28 comments:
Thank you for these good instructions! I'm inspired! I've been collecting vintage brooches, and this looks like a wonderful project. :-)
Good luck Erica! Feel free to contact us with any questions:)
Beautiful! I'm so inspired now and will start to be more focused in my hunt for "vintage" gems to make my bouquet. Thank you!!
Hi. I am unclear with step 3. Could you please clarify that. I understand the how the first two wires go on but not the 3rd & 4th. Thanks, Jennifer.
Hi Jennifer! Wires 3 & 4 actually go on the same as 1 & 2, but also go THROUGH the loops that 1 & 2 made... if that makes sense. So you'll have 4 wires ( north, south, east, and west if you will) which all get bent down and twisted together to make a wire "stem", before they are covered in floral tape. I'm just now realizing the the image only shows the broach with wires 1 & 2... oops! Hope this helps :)
Thanks Sandra. I will give it a try. :-)
Hi,
Where did you get the wire from? Did you use pre-cut lengths or was it on a roll?
x
Hi!
We used pre-cut wire from our supplier. You can buy paddle wire from your local hardware store and cut it yourself. Our pieces were each about 12" long. Hope this helps!
Thats great, thank you! are the wires doubled over or is just the top bit in a loop? x
very pretty vintage brooches.Beautiful!
One of the best tutorials seen thus far! I am even more convinced of trying this. I did have one question though......are the four wires at the top bent in the middle of the wire with equal amounts of wire on each side to make the loop or are they just looped near the top edge of the wire to form the loop??????
The wires are bent in the center of the wire...the key is to have a very strong wire "stem". If it's at all floppy, it will make the construction much more difficult. Good luck! Email us pix of the finished bouquet:)
What's the best way to use brooches where the pin "hinge" and fastener are directly soldered to the back of the brooch instead of being connected with a central screw like the brooch in your example? I'm having a tough time figuring out how best to get the brooch stable with this configuration without it "nodding". Thanks!
I have seen theese with fabric inbetween the brooches. Have you tired that too. Sorry for the spelling but I am from Denmark
Hi Coop0609
That's a good question! Try this...wrap the first piece of wire around the clasp end of the pin and twist securely and do the same on the hinge end of the pin. You will end up with 2 wires at each end of the pin. Take those two wires and twist them together tightly at the center of the pin. This should give you a stable enough "stem" to make your brooch bouquet. If you need a sketch of the instructions, email us at parsonageflowers@sbcglobal.net and we'll send it ot you! Cheers!!!
Hi Anonymous from Denmark!
I've never made a brooch bouquet with fabric but I'm currently making one for a client who only has about 40 pins. For this bouquet, I'm using an artificial hydrangea for the base which will give it a lot of volume. I will post pix when it's done!
Have you finished the brooch with the fabric? How long does it take to finish one?? Im getting married in June and just got 60 brooches from my fiancees mother some of them were his grandmothers, so we arent telling him, I cant wait to start work on it while he is gone next week:)....
Yay instructions!! I have been looking everywhere for instructions for these bouquets! Thank you!! :) One happy bride right here :)
Hi what the brooches you collected called ? i been searching/googleING. but cant find the "vintage Brooches". it looks much more outstading rather then normmal rhinestone type .. i prefer solid color .. can you tell me how to get thoese ???
Khirzel, Use the search words vintage enamel brooch or vintage enamel pin for solid color.
Great article. Its most significant information base article. I thinks its terribly informative and useful for USA. i prefer this,because its ennobling American state. Thanks for your nice post.Beautiful photos of Wedding Flowers! i favor all of your useful suggestions Heather - it has been a protracted time since I did any wedding flowers, however I've saved you post just in case i am asked again!
My dad discovered the easiest way to twist the wires. Instead of using our fingers, we connected the wires (2 at a time) to a drill. You place the ends of the wires inside of the drill, where the screw would go, and then just have it go. Once both sides of the wires are twisted, put all four in the drill and tada, finished!! Just make sure that you make the first twist when connecting both sides. We have done around 25 of our brooches this way. TIME SAVER, also, saves our fingertips!! Hopes this helps someone out there who struggled like we did.
I would be appreciating all of your articles and blogs because they are fitting up mark. Fashion Buzzer
Nice blog and absolutely outstanding. You can do something much better but i still say this perfect.Keep trying for the best.
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Thats great, I have been looking everywhere for instructions for these bouquets! Thank you!! :)
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