Cotton stems are a decorative display that can be produced on your homestead. But, proper efforts must be put forward to make your display last. It’s time to learn how to preserve cotton stalks!
What You'll Learn Today
How Do You Make Preserved Cotton Stalks?
Cotton stalks are very popular decoration during the fall. Plenty of people go out and buy stalks from craft stores, or even make faux cotton stalks to save money. You can see the price is high, with upwards of $10 per stalk being about average on Etsy.
But, how do you make cotton twigs right on your one homestead?
If you are growing the cotton yourself, you’ll be happy to know that this isn’t a lengthy process:
- Cut the stalk to the desired length.
- Hang dry upside down for up to a week.
- Remove broken branches and dry leaves.
- Clean up cotton balls and hot glue any pieces that fall off.
That’s essentially the whole process to make cotton stalks at home. Below will go into more detail and give you ideas of what to do based on how you want to decorate.
Step 1 – Cutting The Stalk
Your stem length is dependent on what you want them for. If you are looking to create traditional bouquets, you probably want stalks around 18-30 inches long. If you are using small branches as accents in a fall wreath, maybe you only want around 6 inches.
Cutting longer than you may need a trimming later is better than cutting them too small, to begin with.
Step 2 – Hang Dry
Hang your fresh cut stems upside down somewhere dry for up to a week. You can hang it longer if you’d like, as there isn’t going to be any problem with overdrying. Once you see the leaves are dried out and the stalks have no flex, they are dry enough.
Step 3 – Clean Up The Stalk
Some branches may be unnecessary for the decor. Break them off cleanly. Also, if you already have broken branches go ahead and cut them off as well.
As for the dried leaves, you can remove or keep them. Most commercial cotton stalks have the leaves removed.
If you are putting a display together with more than one stem or other elements, like a bouquet or wreath, you can trim each stalk so they all fit together well.
Step 4 – Polish The Cotton
The last step is to polish up the look of the exposed cotton. For loose pieces, you can use a hot glue gun and press them into the main boll.
Remove any debris that may have collected as well until you have a nice white surface on each boll. These are the eye-catching part of the stalk so spend the most time here if you want that best look.
Bonus – Seal & Paint
This step is a bonus to further preserve the stalks and add even more to the decor. You can stop after the last step and ignore this if you don’t want to take it this far. But, it does improve the lasting quality of your cotton stems.
A clear acrylic spray is used to seal flowers and other plant material very effectively. You can use this same spray on your cotton stalks to preserve them further.
Last, but not least, you can even paint the branches to make flashier designs within bouquets, wreaths, and centerpieces. While this takes away a bit from the natural look, a nice gold paint can look great for a fall design.
The options are endless for finishing your decor beyond the natural look. But, most people will stick to the natural beauty of the raw cotton stalk!
How Long Do Preserved Cotton Stems Last?
If you keep your stalks safe and preserve them right from the get-go, your preserved cotton stems can last up to 5 years.
Most other decors that you can produce on the homestead won’t last half as long! Just growing a couple of cotton plants will provide your decor needs for years to come.
How Do You Show Cotton Stems?
Cotton stalks are normally found in centerpieces during the fall. You could also include them in fall wreaths with other fall decors from the homestead, including other plant materials, colorful leaves, and vines from your gourds. The cotton stems also make for a nice bouquet for those looking for a simpler design.
What Season Do You Decorate With Cotton?
Cotton stalks and decorations are typically displayed in the fall to coincide with the end of the harvest season. Since you now know how to preserve cotton stalks on your own, you can display them year-round if you’d like!
Ready To Preserve Your Own?
Sure, people pay a lot of money for preserved cotton stalks and others make artificial DIY cotton stems to replace the real thing. But, you can make your own as long as you are growing your cotton. And, as I said, people will pay for cotton stalks for home decor. Adding an income stream to your homestead is never a bad idea!
We’re going to have the first cotton harvest next year and this guide is really helpful. Thanks for sharing!
I would love to use real cotton stalks! Besides wearing bulky gloves – how do you keep from getting pricked by the thorns. Would like to remove the thorns. Seems to be as prickly as wild blackberries which I always get stuck. Any suggestions – didn’t see anything in this post about that.
Cotton stalks normally do not have thorns on them. However, use caution around the actual cotton because the “bolls” that have opened up and were what the cotton was in, can stick you.
how can I clean the cotton in a cotton stalk arrangement that is now looking dirty?
Is it okay to use cotton stalks that have already been defoliated?