Ferns

Following this fern tutorial, you can achieve a surprising amount of detail with some straightforward techniques. Whether you use just a few or many, ferns add lush texture to your floral projects.

SUPPLIES

Green felt

½˝ × 20˝ strip of green felt

18˝ of 18-gauge floral wire

Fern template

Needle-nose pliers

Wire cutters

Scissors

Pinking shears

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Basic Fern

BASIC FERN

STEP 1: Cut the pieces. Follow the fern template to cut out one fern tip, one extra-small leaf, and two each small, medium, and large leaves. Cut along the edge of each leaf with the pinking shears. Following the instructions on, use the strip of felt to wrap the wire stem.

STEP 2: Attach the leaves. Add a small dot of glue to the bottom of the fern tip and pinch it in place around the top of the stem. Attach the remaining leaves down the length of the stem, working from smallest to largest. Apply glue directly to the stem, then press the leaves in place on top of it.

STEP 3: Finish. Bend the wire to shape the fern as you’d like (as shown in the photo to the left).

SUPPLIES

Felt-wrapped stem

Needle-nose pliers

Fiddlehead

FIDDLEHEAD

STEP 1: Create the coil. Using a pair of needle-nose pliers, shape the end of the stem into a flat coil about 1˝ to 1 ½˝ in diameter.

STEP 2: Shape the stem. Bend the wire to create a curve in the stem. The finished fiddlehead should look similar to a question mark.