Technique archive — Gilt Piping

Rosettes

4 cards

One-squeeze swirls that read as roses

Single-Bag Rosette Swirl with Wilton 1M

The twelve-second rosette that anchors cupcake bouquets, drip cakes and cookie trays.

Wilton 1M Medium Beginner

Two-Tone Drop Flower with Wilton 2D

One squeeze, six broad teeth, and a stripe of pale pink that reads as a rose.

Wilton 2D Medium Beginner

Crescent Rose with Wilton 124

A full open rose built from seven crescent petals, no flower nail needed.

Wilton 124 Stiff Intermediate

French Swirl with Wilton 6B

Ten narrow teeth, a deep centre and the tall swirl that makes a cake look two tiers high.

Wilton 6B Medium Intermediate

Sugar Flowers

4 cards

Petal-tip blooms built petal by petal

Classic Piped Rose with Wilton 104

The fourteen-petal rose that has been the standard since the 1950s, piped on a flower nail.

Wilton 104 Stiff Intermediate

Primrose with Wilton 104

Five strokes, one flat flower - the fastest piped bloom that still looks like a real species.

Wilton 104 Medium Intermediate

Piped Violets with Wilton 105

Three petals in one stroke and a gold throat - the smallest flower on the site and the hardest to get level.

Wilton 105 Stiff Advanced

Hydrangea Cluster with Wilton 109

Forty tiny drop flowers in three shades, and the fastest way to cover a large cake surface.

Wilton 109 Medium Beginner

Leaves

3 cards

Leaf-tip greenery, from garlands to olive branches

Leaf Garland with Wilton 352

One continuous squeeze, nine leaves, and a vine that hides every join in your cake work.

Wilton 352 Medium Beginner

Stand-Up Leaves with Wilton 366

Vertical leaves that give a flat piped arrangement height without wires or cutters.

Wilton 366 Stiff Intermediate

Fern Fill with Wilton 67

The filler leaf that turns three piped flowers into a bouquet.

Wilton 67 Medium Beginner

Borders

3 cards

Edges that finish a cake and survive transport

Shell Border with Wilton 21

The border that has finished the bottom edge of cakes for a century, piped in one rhythm.

Wilton 21 Medium Beginner

Basketweave with Wilton 47

Two passes per row, four alternating columns, and a whole cake side that reads as woven cane.

Wilton 47 Medium Advanced

Reverse Shell Border with Wilton 18

The same rhythm as a shell, mirrored - and the only border that lets a cake carry two stripes of colour.

Wilton 18 Medium Intermediate

Lace & Fill

3 cards

Lines, beads and grids that cover a surface

Cornelli Lace with Wilton 3

One unbroken squiggle that turns a bare cake side into antique lace in twelve minutes.

Wilton 3 Soft Beginner

Swiss Dot Trail with Wilton 12

Graduated beads that shrink by a millimetre at a time - the cheapest way to make a plain cake look designed.

Wilton 12 Medium Beginner

Lattice Trellis with Wilton 47

A 45 degree diamond grid that covers a cake side without hiding what is under it.

Wilton 47 Medium Intermediate

Filigree & Lettering

1 cards

Ruffles, monograms and overpiped scrollwork

Ruffle Garland with Wilton 104

A pleated ribbon that stands 20 mm off the cake, piped in one pass with a 104 held sideways.

Wilton 104 Stiff Advanced

Filter by icing stage

The icing stage decides what holds

The same tip at a different stage is a different decoration.

Stage	Test	Used for	Cards
Soft peak	The peak folds over at the tip and does not hold. It will not support a vertical ribbon.	Cornelli lace, wisteria beads, fine script. Anywhere the icing is a thin line that has to flow off the tip.	1
Medium peak	The peak bends at the tip like a folded finger and holds the bend for two seconds.	Rosettes, drop flowers, shells, basketweave, beads, lettering. The default stage for most piped work.	12
Stiff peak	The peak stands straight up and holds for five seconds without bending.	Crescent roses, violets, stand-up leaves, poinsettias, ruffle garlands, Lambeth scrollwork. Anything that has to hold its own weight.	5