Help please! Petals twirling on the wires.

Try making a very small ‘hook’ on the end of the wire that goes on the back of the petal.

Ok..I’ll give that a shot. Thank you!

Are you using cloth covered wire or paper covered? The paper covered are much better for gumpaste flowers.

That twirling method doesn’t work for me either. I vein my petals and then roll away from the vein on each side to thin the paste and increase the thickness of the vein. I dip my wire in gum glue and as I feed the wire up the vein I gently twist it back and forth. If you have a finger on both sides of the petal you can feel the wire as it goes through the vein. If it feels like it is going to poke through the paste try pulling it back a bit and starting again in a straighter direction. Pinch the paste at the bottom of the petal where it touches the wire to secure it. Hope this helps. I didn’t think to ask what gauge wire you are using. As the number gets lower the wire gets larger or stronger. I use a #24 for most everything. But for large petals like a Magnolia I use much stronger wire.

Thank you all for your help. I’ll give these a try and tweak my methods. I think it may be a combination of a lot of these things you’ve all mentioned and I just haven’t come across the right combination yet. Thanks again!

I guess I should mention that I’m making open peonies. Would you suggest a #24 gauge for these or something stronger, as the petals tend to get pretty large?

I have made full Peonies with #24 but if you feel safer with a stronger wire, go for it. Have you considered doing a Peony without wires? There are many tutorials for them on Pinterest. Here is a link to one. https://tarttokig.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/tutorial-unwired-peony/

Yes, I’ve done full peonies without wires, but didn’t know you could make open peonies without individually wiring the petals. I’ll definitely check the tutorials out. Thank you so much!

What are you using for paste. For the best results use gumpaste – slightly dampen the wire before inserting it and make your central vein thicker at the base then thin petals on top before veining and always use a cloth covered wire.

I’m using gumpaste and thank you!

The type of wire you use is key – it needs a paper covering not plastic, the quality is also key ie the paper covering can unravel on the cheaper wires (ie the petals/leaves will not be secure and will move). For wired flowers I find fresh egg white is a far better glue than the tylo/CMC type as it is less slippery and dries quicker. Even though the petals are 2 days old are the dry/firm if not then the problem could be down to your drying environment.