My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Flower catcher

Cut a few sections of palm leaves.

Cut a few sections of palm leaves.

Place 5 palm leaves in a horizontal position and start weaving another leaves through it

Place 5 palm leaves in a horizontal position and start weaving another leaves through it.

I used a basic over-and-under pattern. See the Tutorial below for more details on weaving with foliage

Weave in another section of palm

Weave in another section of palm

Weave in a third palm leave

Weave in a third palm leave

Secure the palm leaves with a tiny drop of glue

Secure the palm leaves with a tiny drop of glue

Cut the cross sections to end in the weave

Cut the cross sections to end in the weave

Start to bend the palm leaves by resting it in the palm of your hand

Start to bend the palm leaves by resting it in the palm of your hand. The heat of your hand helps to make the palm leaves more pliable

Gently bend the palm leaves to curve

Gently bend the palm leaves to curve

Slowly close your hand without folding the palm leaves

Slowly close your hand without folding or kinking the palm leaves

Gather the end pieces

Gather the end pieces

And secure with a tiny drop of glue

And secure with a tiny drop of glue

Do the same on the other side

Do the same on the other side

And secure this side with glue

And secure this side with glue

Cut the end pieces neatly

Cut the end pieces neatly

Cover the glued section with a thin strand of palm leaf

Cover the glued section with a thin strand of palm leaf. Simply make a decorative binding by wrapping the leaf around the connection

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to rip the leaf into strands

Knot the end piece on itself to secure

Knot the end piece on itself to secure

Pull tightly on the knot before cutting the dangling leg short

Pull tightly on the knot before cutting the dangling leg short

Do the same with the side connections

Do the same with the side connections. These knots are purely decorative but it does make a big difference in the look of the design

Bind the palm strand over the one side and then over the other to cross

Bind the palm strand over the one side and then over the other to cross

Knot the strand on itself to secure

Knot the strand on itself to secure

Continue to bind all the connections

Continue to bind all the connections

Rest the palm armature in the water and add the orchid

Rest the palm armature in the water and add the orchid

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Tutorials

8 June 2011 Foliage Weaving

For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in...

14 January 2011 Ripping Flax

Flax can be ripped into fibres creating long and versatile strips

Related Designs

23 April 2014 Bound to Keep

Weave and tie a decorative catcher to suspend flowers

15 January 2020 This way we connect

Weave a connected panel to frame a single orchid.

9 September 2020 Daffodillily

Weave around the stamens of a lily to create a daffodil like inside.

17 February 2021 From here in out

An all natural, zero waste design using only plant material.

17 March 2021 A scoop of pretty

A tiny budvase design that rearranges basic ingredients, such as a single leaf and an orchid to create a new design concept.

2 March 2022 The thing!?! Do you remember the thing?!?

A design that visually plays with good proportions to allow the sheltered flower to be the focal point.

26 July 2023 Column… try it flower buddies

A bottom to the top... top to the bottom support to help keep your summer flowers hydrated.

23 August 2023 Note to Self

An easy to weave natural grid for summer floral arrangements.

7 April 2011 Weaving with Flax

Here are a few more examples of woven flax. I also use Typha, palm, iris leaves, Kyogi paper, boat orchid leaves and aspidistra to weave with.