How to make Flower Stamen

Making your own, although time consuming can add realism to a lot of flowers, and with a little thought the following tutorial could be adapted for many flowers. The cotton thread I have here is white, but can be dusted with petal dusts or painted afterwards if required.

The cotton thread will absorb egg white and polyster threads will not. If you are using polyster threads, use watered down PVA glue to stiffen the threads. At the time of writing, using egg white is acceptable practice for flowers placed in Suggarcraft competitions, but PVA glue is not. 

Raw materials: 

• Cotton Thread (white or any your choice color) 

• PVA Glue 

• Sugar 

• Knife 

• Scissors

How to:

Step 1:

1. Wrap thread around two fingers 50 times (more if you want a fuller effect).

2. Take a 1/4 length piece of white 28g wire and slip the wire between cotton and give a twist before removing the cottn from your fingers.

3. Twist the loose end down the wire as tightly as possible.

4. Take a piece of half width white tape and tape over the wire, making sure you cover the wire securing the loop.

Step 2:

5. Cut through the loop and trim straighten up the cotton threads.

6. Using a palette knife or something similar, evenly select threads from all the way around the bunch and hold down with your finger and thumb.

7. Wrap a fine wire around the down facing threads and give a twist to secure them.

8. Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut through the remaining upright threads to the length you require.

Step 3:

9. Using a paintbrush, brush egg white on these remaining upright threads and set saide to dry.

10. If using pva glue for this step, make absolutely sure they are dry before continuing to the next step or the threads will stick together.

11. When the upright threads are dry, undo the wire holding the down threads and open them up.

12. Pull all the threads back up into a bunch and trim to the length you want the stamens to be.

Alternative cotton Flower stamens.