Finishing Techniques for Beaded Flower Stems by Caren Cohen

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Dinah Bryan
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1 Finishing Techniques for Beaded Flower Stems by Caren Cohen Traditionally, beaded flower stems were wrapped with silk floss to hide the wire. Today, many of us use floral tape because it's so quick and easy as well as providing a nice finish. I've collected many different kinds of floss and cord for finishing stems and this article shows a sample of each. All samples were done on a 6 inch piece of 14 gauge stem wire which was first covered with floral tape and then with the floss or cord. I use floral tape as a base because its stickiness (from the wax) helps the floss stay in place while you wrap. There are many other finishing techniques for stems that are not covered in this article including: Painting over the floral tape - Several people have had excellent results with this and perhaps someone will share a photo. Wrap stem with beads on wire, using size 11 or 14/15 beads Cover floral tape with a coating such as Modge Podge or clear mail polish or any other product that dries clear. Wrap with narrow silk ribbon as used for ribbon embroidery The following stem wraps are covered in this article. The photo below and on the next page shows them all together for comparison purposes. Vintage Silk Floral Tape Metallic Cord Fuzzy Nylon Chinese Silk Eterna Silk Natesh DMC Cotton Mastex Wraphia 2015 Caren Cohen All Rights Reserved Page 1 of 9

It's also much finer than the flat silks available today. The spools I've purchased have been in very good condition and I haven't noticed any deterioriation yet. Remember, silk rots over time.

3 Vintage Silk Floss The first question you're probably asking is where did I get vintage silk floss and the answer is ebay. One of the big advantages to the silk from the 1960s is that it came in spools so you didn't have to deal with a strand running out in the middle of your wrapping. It's also much finer than the flat silks available today. The spools I've purchased have been in very good condition and I haven't noticed any deterioriation yet. Remember, silk rots over time. In the samples I tried wrapping with 1 strand and with all 6 strands. I found the 1 strand to be tedious and difficult on my hands. Handling Silk Floss There are two kinds of hand cream that are good for working with silk although I haven't had a chance to try them out yet. Udderly Smooth is one and is available at many drugstores. Another is called Needle Arts Friend which can be found at some needlework/embroidery shops. You need to use a nongreasy hand cream (which both of these are). Regular hand creams are too greasy and may soil the silk. Other tips for handling silk floss are mentioned in the article quoted below. To thoroughly clean your hands wash your hands with an alcohol-based cleanser like the anti-bacterial soaps now on the market. Rinse your hands thoroughly and pat dry with a clean towel. Avoid picking up too much towel lint. If your hands are rough and dry, a piece 2015 Caren Cohen All Rights Reserved Page 3 of 9

of 300-400 grit emory paper can be used to "sand" away the dry parts of your finger tips.

Another way to prevent the silk from snagging on your skin is to use a silk glove on the hand that touches the silk.

4 of grit emory paper can be used to "sand" away the dry parts of your finger tips. This will help alleviate the possibility of having a small dry patch of skin catch the silk floss if you use your bare hands. Another way to prevent the silk from snagging on your skin is to use a silk glove on the hand that touches the silk. Floral Tape There are several brands of Floral Tape and Beaded Garden carries the FloraTape brand which I've found to be waxier and therefore sticks better than other brands. Floral tape will dry out over time (30-40 years). If this happens just cover the stem with another layer of floral tape. How to use floral tape. Half-Width Many patterns call for using half width floral tape to wrap the stems. Floral Tape usually comes in 90 foot rolls of one-half inch wide tape. Half-width means you cut the tape in half lengthwise so that you wrap with one-quarter inch wide floral tape. This reduces bulk and lumpiness of the stem. Stretch the Tape Before Wrapping Be sure to stretch the tape before wrapping as stretching produces the waxy stickness that makes the tape adhere to itself and to the stem. Metallic Cord This metallic cord came in a kit for a Jeweled Hibiscus brooch which was a class I took at Bead and Button 2002 from Arlene Baker, author of Beads in Bloom. You can't see the wrapped stem in the picture of the flower pin because the stem is hidden behind one of the petals. Although much thicker than foss or floral tape I like the look of this silver metallic cord Caren Cohen All Rights Reserved Page 4 of 9

The tip of the thread fuzzed out so much that I didn't think it would work but I found it made a very nice stem finish.

5 Fuzzy Nylon from Fly Fishing Shop A trip to my local fly fishing store turned up some interesting threads. There was no label on the spool so I call it fuzzy nylon because that's what it looks like. The tip of the thread fuzzed out so much that I didn't think it would work but I found it made a very nice stem finish. Chinese Silk Floss Chinese embroidery uses flat silk and I purchased a set of various greens on ebay from seller chinese_embroidery. This floss floss is made up of two strands of flat silk floss which you can divide easily. Below you will see a closeup of the how the strand separates and a comparison of the Chinese Silk vs Eterna Silk Caren Cohen All Rights Reserved Page 5 of 9

Eterna Silk Eterna Silk Floss is a six strand floss manufactured in China and dyed in the USA.

so the strands are very easily separated for use.

It's generally used for needlepoint, embroidery and other needle arts.

6 Eterna Silk Eterna Silk Floss is a six strand floss manufactured in China and dyed in the USA. The strands are slightly thicker than normal cotton floss but they are not tightly twisted together so the strands are very easily separated for use. This type of silk is also known as "flat spun" and is also referred to as stranded silk or flat silk. It's generally used for needlepoint, embroidery and other needle arts. I use all six strands to wrap a stem and completely flatten the silk using my thumb and forefinger to undo the slight twist as I wrap Caren Cohen All Rights Reserved Page 6 of 9

Natesh embroidery thread is 100% viscose rayon and comes 550 meters to a spool.

7 Natesh Dalene Kelly, author of French Beaded Flowers New Millenium Collection and More French Beaded Flowers, generously sent me a spool of this synthetic embroidery floss to try out. Natesh embroidery thread is 100% viscose rayon and comes 550 meters to a spool. DMC Cotton DMC cotton is a twisted cotton embroidery floss. The twist makes the stem wrap look bumpy and I don't care much for the look especially as there are so many other choices Caren Cohen All Rights Reserved Page 7 of 9

Mastex Mastex upholstery cord is available from bead suppliers and is often used for bead crochet and macrame. It's a #18 nylon cord and comes in spools of approximately 166 yards.

8 Mastex Mastex upholstery cord is available from bead suppliers and is often used for bead crochet and macrame. It's a #18 nylon cord and comes in spools of approximately 166 yards. It's thicker than what is usually used for beaded flowers but I still like the look even though it's not traditional. Wraphia Raffia are leaf fibers from the raffia palm tree grown in Africa and Madagascar and Central and South America. The leaves of the palm fronds are opened, revealing the natural raffia fiber. It is artificially colored and used for making baskets and mats. More commonly you may have seen it use for decorating packages or in floral displays. Wraphia is a synthetic nylon version of raffia and is used for decorating giftwrap. I found some at my local Walgreens Drugstore in the giftwrap aisle. To use the wraphia, soak it in water for a few minutes so it's not so brittle. When you take it out of the water, run it between two fingers to squeeze out the excess water. Then wrap as you would with floral tape. In my sample, I first covered the wire with floral tape and then put the wraphia on top of that. When it dried I could see that I hadn't completely covered the floral tape so that's something to watch out for. The varigated wraphia was fun to use. I spiraled the top of the wire so it can be used as part of a floral display. Photos are on the next page Caren Cohen All Rights Reserved Page 8 of 9

Cinnamon Stick Ornaments

Cinnamon Stick Ornaments By Caren Cohen These ornaments are so quick to make and make wonderful tree ornaments, stocking stuffer gifts or package decorations. Place them near a light on your tree so the