Mat 25, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



27 



MAKING A CASKET BLANKET. 



By H. B. DORNER. 



Selecting the Materials. 



The casket blanket or pall, while one 

 of the most pretentious of funeral ar- 

 rangements, is yet one of the simplest 

 to prepare, if handled properly. The 

 blanket may vary from a simple green 

 cover with a cluster of flowers in the 

 center to an elaborate one, densely cov- 

 ered with blossoms. It may be inex- 

 pensive or costly, depending upon the 

 quantity and kind of flowers used. 



One of the most important things, in 

 the preparation of a well executed 

 blanket, is the selection of a suitable 

 backing upon which to fasten the flow- 

 ers. Whatever material is selected 

 should be flexible, but with sufficient 

 body to support the weight of the flow- 

 ers. It should also be of a rather open 

 weave, so that wires and pins may be 

 pushed through readily. Wire cloth or 

 screen is sometimes used, but lacks 

 flexibility. The green netting used 

 lacks body. One of the best materials 

 is green burlap; green is selected be- 

 cause it blends with the color of the 

 foliage and so is easier to hide. Rigid 

 wire frames which entirely cover the 

 casket are to be had, but have the disad- 

 vantage of being usable in just one 

 position. The flexible blanket has the 

 advantage of being suited to draping in 

 various ways. 



Making the Stretcher. 



The size of the blanket will be de- 

 termined by the size of the casket and 

 the amount of the casket to be covered. 

 If the entire casket is to be covered, 

 the blanket should be six or seven feet 

 long and three feet wide. The foliage 

 and flowers extending over the edge 

 will increase the width and length by 

 six to eight inches. A cover for the 

 lower half of the casket would be just 

 half this size. For smaller caskets the 

 size must be decreased. 



The blanket will be difficult to make 



unless one has some way of stretching 

 the burlap and holding it above the 

 worktable, so that th3 wires may be 

 fastened on the under side without dif- 

 ficulty. A simple stretching frame may 

 be made of two pieces of board (2x4 's 

 will do) seven feet long as runners for 

 a base. The supporting frame may 

 be made by cutting four blocks from a 

 piece of lumber six to ten inches wide 

 and two inches thick. The blocks should 

 be cut square at one end and sloping 

 at the other, so as to give a long nail- 

 ing base, but a short top. Two pieces, 

 two inches wide by one inch thick and 

 three and one-half feet long, complete 

 the material necessary for the frame. 

 The frame is easily assembled by se- 

 curely nailing one of the 2-inch strips to 

 two of the blocks, placing the blocks 

 almost at the end of the strip. This 

 frame is then set on the two long run- 

 ners and toe-nailed, driving the nails 

 only part-way in, so that they may be 

 easily removed. The other two blocks 

 and crosspiece are nailed together, but 

 not fastened to the runners until the 

 burlap is ready to be stretched. 



Arranging Materials. 



In preparing a blanket, 3x6 feet, a 

 piece of burlap twice the length should 

 be used. This is folded across the cen- 

 ter and the creased end tacked to the 

 header, using for the purpose eight- 

 ounce carpet tacks, but driving them 

 only halfway in, so that they may be 

 easily withdrawn. The free end of the 

 upper half should be turned in three- 

 quarters of an inch and tacked in the 

 same manner to the other cross frame. 

 The lower half of the burlap is allowed 

 to hang free and is later used as a cover 

 for the wires showing on the under side 

 of the part to which the flowers are fas- 

 tened. The burlap is tightly stretched 

 by pulling on the lower frame and then 

 nailing it to the runners. 



After the cloth is stretched, it may 



then be covered with flat or fancy ferns 

 to give a background and so save on the 

 more expensive greens. These ferns are 

 best placed lengthwise and fastened in 

 place by means of ordinary pins. The 

 first row is placed in position across the 

 top and the ferns are pinned near the 

 tips. The bases are pinned to the cloth 

 with the tips of the second row, in order 

 to save time. If a heavy green backing 

 is desired, the ferns should be doubled. 

 After the fancy ferns are in place, an 

 edging of Sprengeri, plumosus or other 

 greens is placed in position. The tips 

 are allowed to extend five or six inches 

 beyond the edge of the burlap. This 

 foliage and all the flowers should be fas- 

 tened in place by hooks made like 

 greening pins, but of soft No. 22 or 24 

 wire. The hook is slipped over the 

 stem and through the burlap, drawn 

 down tightly, twisted several times, 

 and the ends bent back against the 

 cloth. Where pins are used there is 

 danger of their coming out. If this 

 were to happen with the fancy ferns, it 

 would make no difference, as they 

 would be held in place by the flowers. 

 When the edging is in place, the flowers 

 are fastened on and with them such 

 foliage or green as is needed. The flow- 

 ers should be worked in from the sides 

 and ends toward the center. 



Fastening the Flowers. 



If the blanket is to be made of roses 

 or carnations, the stems should be short- 

 ened to five or six inches and strength- 

 ened with No. 24 wire, to keep the head 

 from breaking off. Eoses should be 

 wired through the base of the petals 

 and carnations through the calyxes. 

 For convenience they may then be fas- 

 tened together in groups of three, care 

 being taken that the cluster is irregu- 

 lar; a few may be used singly to fill in. 



Small flowers, such as peas, valley or 

 violets, should be arranged in small, 

 irregular clusters. The clusters should 

 be open, so as to cover better. Where 

 the flowers have a distinctive foliage. 



Pall of Roses Loosely Arranged on a Background of Adiantum. 



