I've been trying to find floral wire to make stems for fondant flowers and I am a bit clueless what to use. There is cotton wire which is fine for little wee flowers but what do I use for bigger heavier flowers? Is there a specific wire I should use that is food grade or do I just use plain floral wire? Is the cotton covered wire ok to use? How does one insert the floral wire into the flower, do you create a 'hook' at the end or is this not safe in case someone eats a flower?
Any tips would be appreciated!

I use floral wire. They sell it at my local cake shop. The heavier/bigger the flower, the thicker the wire (and I believe wire gauges work the opposite way, the lower the number, the thicker the wire).
Yes, you make a little hook or loop on the end, so the base of the flower will not slide off.
I don't think people eat gumpaste flowers. I just noticed that in your post you said fondant flowers. Is there a reason you are using fondant over gumpaste? I usually use fondant for simple flowers that do not have to be wired. Like, cut-out flowers.
I don't even know if you can use fondant with wires. I would think it's too soft. It never really dries hard.

as for the hoop, loop, or straight end, it depends on the kind of flower you are making.
wired flowers are not technically edable, because you cant eat the wire - so be sure to tell people that. but if they want to pull off the flowers, then thats up to them!
xx

Thanks for responding Tuffstuff and Brincess-b!
I've been using fondant because I can make it and it is cheap. You're right Tuffstuff though, it never really drys. The effect is probably not as realistic as gumpaste. I notice the store has the powder kind you mix yourself and a premade gumpaste, which do you think is the better product? Once I go gumpaste, I'll consider myself hardcore, lol! Brincess-b, I'll have to emphasize to the customer that the flowers are not edible, I have this image in my mind of someone getting cut on the wire. Yikes!
Thanks for your help!

in my experience, biting the wire just means a funny feeling on your teeth, possibly a jab to your mouth. i wouldnt worry too much, once you tell them not to eat it, (mmm, perhaps something int he contract about that...) its their problem!
you can make gumpaste too, the nicholas lodge recipe is popular. wilton do a powder and a ready made version, basically the same i belive (im int he uk, never tried them), some people find the ready made stuff hard in the packet, in which case, you can return it.
gumpaste is 100 times more realistic, and the only difference to fondant really, is how fast it dries, you work with it in a similar way. if you need to you can make a mix of 50/50 fondant/ gumpaste, that will give you more time, and it will end up hard.
xx

I use the wilton premade gumpaste. It works well. When you first open the package the very top edge is a little dry so I pick this part off and stick it in a baggie for future "glue" use (1/4 tsp gumpaste to 1 tsp water, just dissolve it in the water and it works great sticking your pieces together) and that way when I knead it it doesnt have any hard lumps. Grease your hand with crisco while kneading, this makes it pliable. Great videos on youtube. Type in tonedna1 in the search engine and she shows you how to make flowers with the gumpaste. I have an orchid, calla lilly and teacup on my photos that I used the Wilton gumpaste for.

Great tips, thanks!

I like to use the wilton recipe with their gum-tex and glucose. I have not tried their ready-made stuff. I tried the Nicholas Lodge recipe and hated it. Maybe I did something wrong. It was very stiff and rubbery.