Hair Garland Tutorial

Hey! So I've seen so many floral hair garlands in the shops at the moment! Only thing I find being a florist I check the wiring of them and I have found without spending £10 plus on one the wiring is really bad on them! So I decided since I wire Bridal Circlets simular for bridesmaids I'd create my own! So heres some inspiration I found; 

I originally was going to go to the warehouse - where I buy my floristry supplies and buy from bridal roses (small roses used in cake decorations, wristlets etc) and make one from those until I spotted the Christmas Wreath (yes we are lazy and they are still waiting to be put into the attic for storage) I had made which hydrangea and roses! I instantly thought hey lets save some money and use thoses! So I took them out the wreath and went on my way! I tried to take pictures of what I was doing as much as possible but I really should have filmed it as it would have been alot easier for me to teach you how to wire them! Here it goes! 

 Tools You'll Need:

Flowers of choice - Preferably small flowers unless you are going for a bigger design!

A range of different gage wires

Floristry tape

Wire Cutters

Bullion Wire (Optional)

Step One: 

Take two 70 gage wires and tape together at the centre - making sure you do it at least three times covering where the wires over lap - remember you can always add another wire at either end for more length like I did.  As this wasn't long enough and I had to add a third wire! 

Step Two: 

Cut into the flowers - I chose Hygrandea so theres alot of different size blooms on the stem - so I cut into them and organised them into sizes. Large, Medium and Small. Tip: When cutting them try and keep the stems at around 1 inch long no longer or shorter as it will be harder to wire them later!

Step Three:

Wiring them! When wiring your flowers you need to select the right gage wire for the weight of the flower - for example the heavier the flower the heavier the gage. For the large and medium flowers I used a 50 gage wire and for the small ones I used a 46 gage wire. To wire them create a hair pin bend place them on the stem and wrap the wire tightly around both the wire and the stem about 3 times. Making sure you make it as compact as possible to avoid bulk later on! 

Step Four:

Plan your design first! Here I have laid out how I wanted my hair garland to look - Large then a medium and small placed together. Then all you need to do is wire them to the 70 gage wires we prepared earlier! I completely forget to take a picture of this step but make sure you evenly space them, trying not to show too much to the original wire! 

Step Five: (Optional)

I chose a pink bullion wire to decorate the original wire with as if it is seen it would be nicer to look at. I wrapped it more tightly around the area where I created the clips to secure it around your head. The wrapped it loosely around the remaining wire. 

Step Six: 

You could always wire it as a circlet (meaning one continuous circle) or like I have created a hook on either end of the garland so you can easily clip it around your head. Simple as that you've made your own floral hair garland! I'll post pictures of me wearing it soon! 

Heather

xxx