I'm SO frustrated at myself...and I feel like a DORK!
Drop flowers are supposed to be one of the easiest right, I cannot figure it out!! Everytime I try on my flowers don't take on the swirl shape, they turn into more of a blob, not even resembling a flower. I've got a Wilton DVD that shows how to make them and I've read tutorials on them and still can't figure it out!!!
What am I doing wrong??

Are you twisting your wrist when you are squeezing your bag? It took me forever and a lot of practice before I could get drop flowers to look right. Also, I always have to remember to not let me tip touch my surface. I am bad about having flowers with large holes in the middle. They can be some of the easiest.... yet the hardest flowers that I can do. Good Luck! I hope it gets better for you!!!!!!!!!

I have trouble with them too. I know the consistency of your frosting plays a huge part in it too. I think jekizer is right, it just takes a lot of practice.

I know what you mean, I couldn't get the hang of drop flowers either -- if I held the tip above the surface of the cake, they were too shaky and didn't look like flowers and if I lowered the tip, I gouged the cake while twisting my wrist. I gave up and started making them out of royal icing, on a wax-paper covered cookie sheet. They look much nicer, but I miss the smooth consistency of the buttercream.

I feel your pain . Are you a lefty by any chance? Mine got a little better when I figured this out, only when I saw drop tips made for lefty's for sale on the Wilton web site! They still aren't that great though, I do the royal icing thing as well!

Okay, heres an easy way to make these flowers. Make them on wax paper squares using a flower nail. Then you can hold the bag nice a steady while you slowly turn your nail with the other. If you make them out of buttercream either freeze solid and work quickly or let crust throughly, and you should be able to transfer them to the cake.

The other thing to remember when doing these flowers, is to cut your pressure off before lifting the bag from the flower.

Thanks Peg818, I'll try that too! What a great tip!

Wow, great ideas, especially Peg818! I think that's part of my problem is turning and twisting like a dork! I will try that! Also, if I make them in BC, should it be stiff or medium?
Thanks SO much!

I do ok w/drop flowers, but I might have to try the flower nail. i do much better w/my flowers that I do on a flower nail because I don't have to twist my wrist as much. Having carpo-tunnel and tendonitis can put a bit of a cramp in ones flower making skills!

I have issues with several (simple) flowers and things as well that I get told all the time is because I am a lefty I have bought some left handed tips but havent tried drop flowers with them yet but the left handed rose tip isnt working for me

Peg818--
What a terrific idea about using the flower nail and turning it instead. I gave up on drop flowers because I couldn't keep my hand from shaking. (an old airline injury --some repetitive-stress-syndrome scarring) I'm going to try that one today. There sure are a lot of great tips on this board! Thanks Peg818!


Joan

I don't have trouble with drop flowers but I was just working on flowers for practice and couldn't get the daisies to work right. Could that be a left-handed thing?

jjandascog I'm with you, my daisies are so bad that I gave up. Also, my pansies and violets need alot of practice.

I make some pretty good pansies and violets and I can even do the rose pretty good. But Daisies and Tulips. Cant make em to save my life! They are just pathetic looking things.

I am so glad to know that I am not the only one who can't do a drop flower! I mastered the roses, but drop flowers? They come out looking more like blobby carnations.

Debbi

wow! they have lefty tips? i wish i knew that before! i'm a lefty, but i use my right hand when cake decorating because otherwise nothing i piped turned out quite "right"

lol! I have only practiced a few flowers, but I feel a lot better after reading this thread. I will be MUCH more patient with myself. I will chalk up my failures to being a lefty in a right-handed world.

i don't know... I'm a righty and still can't do them!!

I think part of our problems could be the leftiness...lol. But I know a lot of mine is not practicing enough! Shame on me!

I know what my problem is..... I can't control my pressure!

I guess I'm just going tohave to practice, practice, practice!

I know what my problem is..... I can't control my pressure!

I guess I'm just going tohave to practice, practice, practice!

Another thing that you can do is make sure that the end of your icing bag is not covering any of the slits in the end of the tip. If the tip isn't sticking out of the bag far enough, the bag will stop the icing from forming in the correct way. I just taught a class where two students had that problem and they were just getting big blobs of icing instead of flowers. We had to cut their bags shorter and the problem was solved. Good Luck

Wow, well good at least I know I'm not the only one having this problem. I thought that there had to be something I was missing. I'm a righty and I still can't get it right. I will certainly try the nail idea. I did pseudo-drop flowers on my retirement cakes, I just added them without the twist and they came out looking like black-eyed susans.