Studio Course – Flower Making (2 day) – Wednesday 3rd March and Thursday 4th March 2027

Discover the beautiful art of handcrafted flower making in this creative and technique-led course.

Throughout the course, you will explore both traditional and contemporary methods for creating beautiful flowers using silk, fabric, leather and silk abaca. Working with a variety of specialist shaping tools, including moulded flower presses, you will learn how different materials respond to shaping, stiffening and manipulation, and how these techniques can be adapted to create your own designs.

We will work with a range of silks and fabrics, discussing their different compositions and the advantages and limitations of each for flower making. You will also learn how the techniques can be successfully adapted for other materials, including man-made fibres.

You will be guided through the process of stiffening fabrics, with recipes and techniques provided so that you can continue experimenting at home. We will also explore different methods of creating stamens and flower centres to achieve a variety of realistic and decorative effects.

To make the most of your time on the course, pre-stiffened materials and paper patterns for each flower will be posted to you in advance, ready for you to cut your petals before the course begins.

During the course, you will create a beautiful collection of sample flowers, including a silk abaca flower, silk lilies, leather orchid, silk peonies and a rose spray.  Techniques such as french flower making, dye presses, hand manipulation will all be covered as well as hand painting silk abaca.

By the end of the course, you will have practical experience using specialist flower-making tools and techniques, an understanding of how to work across a variety of materials, and the knowledge and patterns to continue creating your own flowers at home. You will also receive information on recommended materials and suppliers.

To see more photos of our students work on this course, please link to the following facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pg/jrmillineryschool/photos/?tab=album&album_id=213700279316120