How To Make Homecoming Mums (with Pictures) - WikiHow

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow How to Make a Homecoming Mum: DIY Steps & Supply List PDF download Download Article Learn how to make a homecoming mum in just a few simple steps Author Info

Last Updated: February 17, 2025 Tested

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  • Gathering Your Supplies
    • |
  • Making a Single Homecoming Mum
    • |
  • Video
    • |
  • Q&A
    • |
  • Tips
    • |
  • Warnings
    • |
  • Things You'll Need
|Show more |Show less X

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 23 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. The wikiHow Video Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 358,242 times. Learn more...

Mums are decorative pins worn for high school homecoming events that are generally pinned at a girl's chest and hang down to any length typically ranging from the waist to knee. These elaborate creations are surprisingly easy and extremely fun to make. Gather whatever decorative trinkets and sparkly embellishments you want and learn to make your own personalized mums with these easy to follow steps.

How to Make a Homecoming Mum: Easy Steps

  1. Cut 4-inch lengths of ribbon, overlapping the pieces and twisting both ends to form a cone.
  2. Staple the cone-shaped ribbon to the back edges of a circular cardboard backer.
  3. Use hot glue to add more cone-shaped ribbon and a smaller cardboard backer in the center.
  4. Attach mum flowers to the front of the smaller cardboard backer using hot glue.
  5. Cut a few 48-inch long strips of ribbon and fold them in half to create 24-inch streamers.
  6. Overlap the folded ends of the streamers on the bottom of the larger cardboard backer.
  7. Add charms, bells, tassels, feathers, and other personalized embellishments to the ribbon.

Steps

Part 1 Part 1 of 2:

Gathering Your Supplies

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  1. Step 1 Choose your colors. 1 Choose your colors. Use your school colors as a guide to help you pick out the colors of the ribbons and flowers
    • Incorporate neutral colors and lighter shades of your school colors to compliment your two main colors.
    • High school seniors usually use silver, gold, and white ribbon in their mums to signify their status as seniors.
  2. Step 2 Find decorative ribbons. 2 Find decorative ribbons. Most art and crafts stores have a huge selection of decorative ribbon. Pick varied styles that compliment each other like ribbons with ruffles, lacy ribbons, and patterned ribbons. Advertisement
  3. Step 3 Pick out personalized embellishments to decorate your mum. 3 Pick out personalized embellishments to decorate your mum. A few ideas would be to use bells, stick-on letters, football-related accessories, charms, tassels, feathers, and glitter.
    • Be creative! Almost any little trinket or decoration you can find will add some flair to your mum.
    4. Advertisement
Part 2 Part 2 of 2:

Making a Single Homecoming Mum

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  1. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 1 Cut some 4-inch lengths from #3 and #5 ribbon until you have enough to create cones around the entire edge of one cardboard backer. Start with about 5 cuts of each color and cut more as needed.[1]
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 2 Overlap the pieces and twist both ends in the same direction to form a cone shape. Make sure that every cone has the shiny side of the ribbon facing outward. Staple the ribbon on it's fold to hold the cone shape.[2]
  3. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 3 Staple the completed cone-shaped ribbon to the back edges of the cardboard backer. Position the cones so that the points are pointing away from the backer, staple base of the cone. For the first layer, use the same color cones and leave about a quarter to a half inch of space between each cone.
    • Continue to staple the cones until the entire edge of the backer is filled with cones. It should look like a drawing of a sun or a flower.[3]
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 4 Fill in the spaces between the cones with a second row of cones using the second color of ribbon. Remember to staple the base of the cone on the backside of the backer.
  5. Step 5 Remove the stem from the mum flower. 5 Remove the stem from the mum flower. The flower can be either real or fake, but most used are generally fake to prevent wilting.[4]
  6. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 6 Take the backer of the pointed ribbons and glue the mum to the front middle of the backer using a hot glue gun. Set the mum aside and allow the glue to dry for several minutes.
    • If you want to make a double mum, simply use a double backer with two holes instead of one and attach two flowers using a glue gun.
  7. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 7 Pick up #5 and #9 ribbon in the color of your choice and cut several 48-inch-long strips. Again, start with about 5 strips of each and then cut as many as needed to create a full-looking mum.
  8. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 8 Take your 48-inch pieces and fold them in half to create 24-inch streamers.
  9. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 9 Overlap the folded ends of the 24-inch streamers on the bottom of your second backer. Staple them together, making sure to alternate the colors and ribbon width/style as desired.
  10. Step 10 Embellish the lengths... 10 Embellish the lengths of the ribbons with any sort of decorations you desire once your backer looks full of ribbons Some ideas includes writing words out in glitter glue, fastening beads, rhinestones, or small plush figurines, and even putting photographs on the ribbons. Be sure to use a hot glue gun to fasten charms and other heavier objects to the ribbons.
  11. Step 11 Make a military braid from your ribbons if desired. 11 Make a military braid from your ribbons if desired. To make a military braid, begin by stapling the ends of two different colored ribbons together at a right angle.
    • Next, fold a colored ribbon towards you, forming a loop as long as the ribbon is wide and staple the ribbons together where they intersect.
    • Take a loop of your second ribbon and bring it through the original loop of the first ribbon.[5]
    • Continue to bring a loop of the first ribbon through the second ribbon and pull the second ribbon tight around the first ribbon. Remember to alternate ribbon colors as you continue to do this until you reach the end of the ribbons.
  12. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 12 Tie on bells using curling ribbon if desired. You will use your middle backer with the streamers for this step.
    • Cut several pieces of curling ribbon each 36 inches (91.4 cm) long and tie a small bell to the end of each piece.
    • Attach to the middle backer using hot glue.
  13. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 13 Take two 5-inch pieces of #5 and #9 ribbon and overlap them several times to form a loop. Staple the loop to the top center of the third, unused backer. This will serve as the base for your safety pin.
  14. Step 14 Complete embellishments to your satisfaction. 14 Complete embellishments to your satisfaction. Glue the third backer with the safety pin loop onto the back of middle backer to cover staple edges and protect clothing from staple snags.[6]
  15. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 15 Glue the middle backer containing the ribbons to the to the back of front backer containing the mum and the points.
  16. Watermark wikiHow to Make Homecoming Mums 16 Glue any central charms on the mum and add any final touches to the piece. Allow the glue to dry.
  17. Step 17 To wear your... 17 To wear your mum, take your large safety pin and thread it through the loop you created on the back backer with the two 5-inch pieces of ribbon. Then simply attach the pin to your clothing.
  18. Step 18 Finished! 18 Finished!
    19. Advertisement

Community Q&A

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  • Question How do I attach a mum to someone? T. Chinsen T. Chinsen Top Answerer Step 17 of the instructions describes how to attach the homecoming mum to a safety pin. An option to make it wearable is to attach to a sash. A lot depends on the size of the the mum. A smaller mum can be attached to ribbon with a fabric glue to wear as a wrist corsage; fabric glue is designed to be flexible and to hold well. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 3 Helpful 11
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Tips

  • If you are short on time, you can buy pre-made backers that already have ribbon points and streamers added. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
  • Vary your ribbon length, texture, and style to achieve the best results. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Be sure to alternate the ribbon colors so that the colors are spread out and not clumped together. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Show More Tips Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement

Warnings

  • Be careful not to make your mum so heavy that it cannot be supported by a safety pin. Thanks Helpful 57 Not Helpful 10
  • Be sure to let all of the hot glue dry before wearing the mum. Thanks Helpful 44 Not Helpful 25
  • Do not burn yourself on the hot glue gun. Wear safety protection if possible. Thanks Helpful 29 Not Helpful 30
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Video

Things You'll Need

  • Ribbons (#3, #5, and #9) in at least two different colors and several different styles.
  • Curling ribbon
  • 3 round cardboard backing circles
  • Any embellishments you desire (bells, glitter, etc.)
  • Mum flower (fake or fresh)
  • Small plush trinkets such as a teddy bear
  • One large safety pin
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun
  • Stapler

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References

  1. ↑ https://thenerdswife.com/how-to-make-a-homecoming-mum.html
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e88DvCcSm7A
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e88DvCcSm7A
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e88DvCcSm7A
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e88DvCcSm7A
  6. ↑ https://thenerdswife.com/how-to-make-a-homecoming-mum.html

About This Article

Tested by: wikiHow Video Team wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 23 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 358,242 times. 6 votes - 70% Co-authors: 23 Updated: February 17, 2025 Views: 358,242 Categories: Homecoming Article SummaryX

To make homecoming mums, purchase decorative ribbons and embellishments like bells, stick-on letters, charms, and tassels in your school's colors. Next, overlap pieces of 4-inch ribbons, twisting both ends in the same direction to form cones, and staple the cones to the edges of a cardboard backer. Then, hot glue the mum flower to the front middle of the backer. Finally, attach the ribbons, streamers, and embellishments so that they hang down from the cardboard backer. For tips on specific ribbon lengths you can use, read on! Did this summary help you?YesNo

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Reader Success Stories

  • Alexis Stratton

    Alexis Stratton

    Mar 3, 2017

    "I am going to homecoming this year. I tried this and it really works. It's the best one I could find on here."
More reader stories Hide reader stories Share your story

Did this article help you?

Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Tested by: wikiHow Video Team 6 votes - 70% Click a star to vote Co-authors: 23 Updated: February 17, 2025 Views: 358,242 Alexis Stratton

Alexis Stratton

Mar 3, 2017

"I am going to homecoming this year. I tried this and it really works. It's the best one I could find on here." Anonymous

Anonymous

Sep 5, 2017

"It helped because I didn't think to put the ribbons by the flower curled at the top." Sara Smith

Sara Smith

Sep 8, 2016

"The step-by-step instructions used to describe the way to achieve each step helped." Anonymous

Anonymous

Sep 10, 2016

"The steps with the loop and pictures helped. Love it, great job - thanks!" Mily Romero

Mily Romero

Sep 6, 2016

"Now I know what to do to make my homecoming mum." Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories

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