A flower stays on clothing without damage when the fixing matches the cloth: a magnet for a firm, medium-weight weave, a pin for a lapel that can hide its own hole, and a tied point for anything that must not be pierced at all. The choice is decided by weight, by the direction of the grain, and by how long the flower must stay in place. A Dutch reference on the subject, Het Bindpunt, sets out the three families of fixing and the two ways each one is placed, which is a useful place to start before touching a jacket: corsage magnet attachment is treated there alongside pins and tied points, with the counter-indications that matter for anyone wearing a pacemaker or carrying magnetic cards.
What decides the fixing before anything else
Weight is the first measure, and it is taken in grams rather than in impressions. A single rose with its stem trimmed and its base wrapped sits around 20 to 35 grams; a small spray of waxflower or a single freesia can be under 10. A coat in melton or a heavy wool will carry 40 grams on a lapel without pulling, while a silk blouse or a fine knit will distort under half that. The second measure is the weave: a tight twill holds a pin without a visible mark, a loose boucle or a lace does not. The third is time. A fixing that lasts an hour at a ceremony is not the same as one that must survive a full day outdoors. Read the garment first, then choose the hardware, and the flower will sit as if it had grown there.
How do you fix a corsage with a magnet?
A magnet fixing uses two discs, one behind the cloth and one inside the flower's base, and the cloth is held between them. Nothing is pierced, which is why it suits a jacket that will be worn again the next week. The two methods of placing it are the flat pair, where both discs sit parallel to the fabric, and the offset pair, where the outer disc is set slightly to one side so the flower leans. The flat pair is the safer of the two on a thin cloth, because the pull is spread over a wider area. Choose the magnet by pull force, not by diameter: a pair rated around 2 to 3 kilograms holds a 30 gram flower through a wool lapel with room to spare, and a pair rated higher will simply be harder to separate without stressing the weave. Test on the inside of a hem first, leave the discs in place for a minute, then remove them and look for a raised ring in the cloth. If a ring appears, the pull is too strong for that fabric.
Two counter-indications are worth stating plainly. A pacemaker or an implanted cardiac device is a reason to avoid magnets altogether, and so is a pocket that holds bank cards or a hotel key. In both cases the pin or the tied point is the correct answer, and there is no version of the magnet method that removes the risk.
How do you fix a corsage with a pin?
A pin fixing is the oldest and the most controllable. A corsage pin is a long, fine steel pin with a pearl or a small bead at the head, and it is passed through the stem wrap, through the cloth, and back out, so the flower is held at two points rather than one. The two methods of placing it are the single pass, used on a light flower on a light cloth, and the double pass, where the pin crosses back through the wrap a second time and is locked. The double pass is what keeps a heavier rose from rotating on a lapel during a long day.
Placement follows the garment's own lines. On a coat, the pin goes through the lapel at the point where the buttonhole would sit, entering from the back so the head shows on the front. On a shirt or a dress with no lapel, the pin goes through the seam allowance of a shoulder or a placket, never through a single layer of visible cloth. On a fine knit, pass the pin between two stitches rather than through a thread. A pin leaves a hole, and the hole closes in wool and cotton after a day, in silk after a few hours with a drop of water, and in coated or bonded fabrics not at all. If the cloth will not recover, the pin is the wrong tool.
How do you use a tied point for a corsage?
A tied point, the bindpunt, is a fixing made with thread rather than with metal. The flower's base is bound with a narrow ribbon or a waxed thread, and that binding is then tied through a buttonhole, a loop of the garment, or a small tab sewn inside the lapel for the purpose. Nothing pierces the visible cloth, and nothing is magnetised, which makes it the method of choice on a garment that cannot be altered and on anyone who must avoid magnets. It is also the slowest of the three, and it is worth the time on a formal coat or a piece that will be photographed from close range.
The work is done at the table. The leaf is used as the base, folded back on itself so the stem is hidden and the binding has something to grip. A florist's adhesive, the cold glue sold for fresh flower work, holds the leaf collar in place while the thread is tied; it is not a substitute for the tie, only a way to keep the collar from opening. The small materials, the waxed thread, the ribbon, the fine pins and the glue, travel from the wholesaler to the counter in the same box, and a working table keeps them within reach in that order. A tied point that is made well can be lifted off the garment in one movement at the end of the day, and the coat is unchanged.
Where a corsage can sit
Position is decided by the body, not by the flower. On a coat, the classic place is the left lapel, at the height of the buttonhole, with the flower's head pointing up and slightly out. On a suit jacket, the same point works, and a second, smaller flower can sit at the right lapel if the two are tied with the same thread. On a dress or a blouse without a lapel, the shoulder seam is the anchor, a hand's width in from the shoulder point. In the hair, the fixing changes: a comb or a small clip carries the flower, and the tied point is used to bind the stem to the comb rather than to the cloth. At the ear, a small flower is wired to a clip or to a fine loop that sits behind the ear, and no fabric is pierced at all. The rule in every case is the same: the flower should sit where the garment already has a line, a seam, a buttonhole or an edge, so the eye reads the flower as part of the whole rather than as something added.
| Garment | Suggested fixing | Weight it will carry |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy wool coat | Magnet, flat pair, or tied point | Up to 40 g |
| Suit jacket, tight twill | Pin, double pass | Up to 30 g |
| Silk blouse | Tied point only | Up to 15 g |
| Fine knit | Pin between stitches | Up to 10 g |
| Hair, comb or clip | Tied point to the comb | Up to 25 g |
Frequent mistakes to avoid
- Choosing the magnet by size rather than by pull force, which crushes a thin weave and leaves a ring that does not lift.
- Pinning through a single layer of visible cloth instead of a seam, a placket or a lapel, which turns a small hole into a tear under the flower's weight.
- Tying a bindpunt with ordinary sewing thread, which cuts into the stem wrap and loosens within the hour; waxed thread or narrow ribbon holds.
- Leaving a magnet on a garment that is stored against a card holder or worn by someone with a cardiac device, where the risk has nothing to do with the flower.
Source consulted for this page on 15 September 2026: rhs.org.uk.