We're really excited to bring The British Blanket Company back to The Frome Independent market this Sunday 6th May. We've picked out a beautiful selection of wool throws in fresh spring shades to show you on our stall, you're going to love them! The May edition of the market has a special theme celebrating all things floral - there's going to be a maypole, performances from an all-female morris dance troupe and the team from Somerset Garden Day running flower crown workshops... they're bringing enough flowers to make 500 crowns!
As we'll be busy on the stall, I didn't want to miss out, so thought I'd share this simple tutorial showing how to make a flower crown at home using spring blooms and blossom from the garden. If you visit the Frome Independent on Sunday be sure to pop by The British Blanket Company stall (opposite Boots) to say hello. We have special market day prices on all our blankets too!
HOW TO MAKE A SPRING FLOWER CROWN - step by step
1 | Gather your supplies: thick wire (the rubber coated sort used for garden ties works well), some thin beading wire, secateurs and a selection of freshly-cut flowers and foliage. I used rosemary, hellebores, cherry blossom, primroses and grape hyacinths.
2 | Twist the thick wire into a circle just a little larger than you want it to be once it’s on your head – the finished crown will fit a little more snuggly once it’s filled out with flowers.
3 | Start by covering the wire with foliage. Something quite dense that comes in long stems will make this easier. Tuck the end into one of the twists in your wire then gently wrap the stems around, securing it every now and then with the thinner beading wire.
4 | This is where you want to end up – an evenly covered base on which to build. Now the fun begins!
5 | Add your flowers, starting with the bigger ones. Hold the stems in place with one hand while you secure them with beading wire with the other. How you position the flowers is completely up to you. I went for even spacing all the way around but something asymmetric can look wonderful too.
6 | Once your big blooms are spaced as you’d like, add in the smaller ones using the same technique, filling any gaps as you go.
Top tip: Soft-stemmed wild or garden flowers like these don’t like being out of water for long, so you’ll need to make your crown shortly before you want to wear it or it will look wilted and sad! For a longer-lasting flower crown, choose blooms with woody stems like roses and eucalyptus – these will last overnight if spritzed with water and stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.
[Images: all copyright Bethan John for The British Blanket Company]
