jANnABT 7, 1004. 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



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BEGINNINGS 



IN DESIGN... 



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THE PILLOW. 



Filling the Frame. 



The first step in makiug a funeral 

 design is to fill the frame. This re- 

 quires two materials, lining for the 

 frame, and moss for the filling. The best 

 lining now in use is common fern leaves. 

 Lay a thick mat of wood ferns all over 

 the inside of the frame, not forgetting 

 the sides and corners. A part of this 

 lining is shown in the first illustration. 

 The process of design construction is 

 shown here, each stage occupying a sec- 

 tion of the design frame. Tin foil is 

 no longer the best appearing nor the 

 most economical lining. If used as lin- 

 ing for good work it must have a green 

 covering on the back, while the ferns 

 serve both purposes at once. 



After laying in the lining, fill the en- 

 tire inside of the frame with sphagnum 

 moss which has been soaked in water 

 from twenty to thirty minutes, and 

 wrung out tightly enough to prevent 

 dripping. This moss is sold in bales 

 by all florists' supply houses. Fill the 

 sphagnum in snugly, especially in the 

 corners and edges, level with the top 

 edge of the frame. To secure moss 

 from falling out in case the design is 

 fumed upside down, as often happens 

 in shipjjing, lace hemp twine across the 

 top of the frame, tying with a hard 

 knot (o the wire. The twine wrapping 

 shows over the empty part of the frame 

 and the panel of fern lining in the illus- 

 tration! Having caught in all the loose 

 ends of the snhagnum and tucked them 

 out of sight inside of the frame, we are 

 ready for the construction of the de- 

 sign florally. 



Stemming the Flowers. 



There arc many stylos of arrange- 

 ment for a pillow, but all things con- 

 sidered, it is thought best at this time 

 to use the solid carnation background 

 as a model here. A beginner should 

 have learned to stem before attemjrting 

 the construction of a design. If not, 

 here is the process of stemming carna- 

 tions for background work: Have at 

 hand as tools a strong jiair of shears 

 that will cut heavy stems, wire and 

 soft wood; two or three grades of fine 

 wire, soft wood toothpicks, and some 

 invisible hairpins. In the wire have at 

 least Nos. 24 and 36. Some florists 

 use tweezers, but they are scarcely 

 needed for ordinary work. Fingers are 

 as good and cheaper. Shorten the ear- 

 nation stems to within half an inch of 

 the calyx and cut off one-fourth of the 

 length of the toothpicks. A handful 

 can be cut at once with the heavy 

 shears. Insert a three-quarter pick in 

 each carnation from the top down 

 through the heart of the flower and 

 through the calyx, till it emerges paral- 

 lel with the stub of the stem, the point 

 being at least half an inch below the 

 end of the stem. The blunt end will 



be out of sight in the heart of the 

 flower. Put all the carnations to be 

 used for background work through this 

 process at once. The carnation, by the 

 way, is the only flower to be stemmed 

 in this way, with the pick inside the 

 flower. 



Next cut some No. 36 wire into six- 

 inch lengths, and carry a bunch between 

 the thumb and first finger of the left 

 hand. With the right hand wrap the 

 carnation flower tightly to the pick, 

 using a single strand of wire from the 

 bunch. Let the wire wrapping extend 

 from about half way up the calyx near- 

 ly to the end of the pick. Be careful 

 to catch in the lower end of the carna- 

 tion stem exactly at the point, so that 

 it cannot stop the newly stemmed flow- 

 er from being pressed quickly into the 

 sphagnum. Learn well the mechanical 

 parts of the work. Aim at accuracy 

 and neatness first. Speed will develop 

 with practice. 



Construction. 



Having stemmed all the carnations 

 needed, allowing one small carnation 

 to each square inch of space, or one 

 large carnation to each two inches, fill 



is the habit of many florists to edge all 

 designs with smilax. But the solid car- 

 nation finish is a change, and therefore 

 commendable. If smilax is used, cut a 

 string equal in length to the distance 

 around the pillow frame. Where the 

 smilax follows the corners, tie it on with 

 a fine wire, and trim off the ends so 

 that the fastening cannot show. We 

 now have a strictly outlined design with 

 a smooth white background. This fin- 

 ishes the mechanical part, except the 

 stemming of the flowers and green to 

 be used in trimming, and the lettering. 



Lettering. 



The lettering can be made in flowers 

 on a large enough piece. Violets are the 

 best flowers, but carnations will do for 

 a short name. In all cases where let- 

 tering is used there must be a sharp 

 contrast between the color of the let- 

 ters and the color of the background. 

 Of the manufactured materials for let- 

 tering, chenille is commonlj' used. The 

 most serviceable colors are purple, 

 white, blue and red, in silk and wool. 

 Silk is softer looking on the flowers, 

 but will not stand moisture. Tlie wool 

 is coarser, but more durable. It is all 

 wired, and can be bent in any shaped 

 letter, and cut with the shears. Press 

 the letters down flat against the back- 

 ground, and pin them through the car- 

 nations firmlj' with invisible hairpins 

 or tiny staples made from No. 2-1: wire. 

 Immortelles, if used for lettering, should 

 be stemmed and inserted individually. 

 Then there are many made-up letters 

 and words with pins, to be had. 



Lettering is usually set on in panels 

 straight across the pillow. If the name 



A Floral Pillow, Showing Three Stages of the Work. 



in the background by inserting the 

 stemmed carnations straight into the 

 moss, and close enough together to hide 

 the sphagnum. The lower right hand 

 corner of the pillow in the first illus- 

 tration shows this process. Cover the 

 corners carefully, and extend the car- 

 nation background ov<?r the back edge 

 about an inch, to add depth and thick- 

 ness to the piece. This needed appear- 

 ance of depth is peculiar to the pillow. 

 Most other pieces, especially those of 

 outline character, would be made top 

 heavy looking by this treatment. It 



is long, a diagonal panel from lower left 

 to upper right hand corner, gives more 

 room, and makes the pillow look larger. 

 So far as the artistic value is con 

 cerued, lettering is no addition, but 

 precedent demands it, and good sense 

 permits its use within reasonable limits. 

 The legends, "Eest" and "At Rest" 

 have no business on a pillow. If the 

 whole appearance of the pillow itself 

 does not suggest restfulness, it is a 

 failure. Exclude, if possible, from be- 

 ing inscribed on a pillow, or any other 

 piece, any word or initial indicating 



