How to Carve Wooden Flowers

Choose a type of wood that is relatively soft and easy to carve, such as butternut, basswood, jelutong or quaking aspen. If denser wood is desired, consider mahogany or black walnut.

Cut a flatter piece of wood into a circle or square of the desired dimensions to make a relief-style flower. Cut a block of wood to the desired dimensions to make a sculptural flower.

Find sources of inspiration for the carving. Possibilities include actual flowers, photographs of flowers and paintings of flowers.

Draw the petal lines of the flower onto the wood with a pencil. If desired, use transfer paper to trace the lines of an existing image onto the wood. For a relief-style flower, draw the flower from a side or top view. For a sculptural flower, draw the sides of the flower on the sides of the block and the top or throat of the flower on the top of the block.

Cut away as much excess material as possible with a band saw. For relief-style flowers or smaller sculptural pieces, a carving knife is sufficient.

Redraw any lines that disappeared after the initial wood removal.

Begin indenting the petal lines with a carving knife. Remove wood to round out the petal forms with a U-gouge, creating a rough carving of the flower. Carve with tools pointing downward, working in the same direction as the wood grain.

Add detail work with a V-gouge and a small U-gouge. The sharp point of a V-gouge helps define petal edges, crevices between petals and details in the throat of the flower. A U-gouge helps create the subtle undulations and curves of the flower body.