Hi guys have been approached by a customer to do the attached cake...no problem with the cake overall....but what do you guys think the gray ribbon is??? Is it actually ribbon, strips of fondant/gumpaste? Please help I would love to make this cake for this customer, but want to make sure I know what I am doing with it. They actually want real flowers on it...so just the ribbon...I am at a loss....also anyone ever done this....how would be the best way to go about doing this? HELP PLEASE!!!!!

What about fondant from an extruder?? I'm just guessing here...

looks like silk cord to me.

it looks like silk cord or a thin ribbon to me

Have to agree on the silk cord or ribbon theory

I think they're pick-up sticks - just joking.
They look too stiff to be fondant. But maybe you could mix fondant and tylose powder, press it through a clay extruder and let them dry very hard. Then place on cake. Make a lot because they are bound to break

This is a computer-generated image, right? Do you provide that service to your clients, or did they bring it to you? I like it! I'd love to do them by computer as well, it's so much better than my hand-sketches.

If you iced your cake in fondant, the grey ribbon would just be attached with tiny dots of royal icing for support, yes. I think you'd need to use a 1/8"- 1/4" width of ribbon max.

Really pretty design though, wow!

This looks to me to be very much in the style of Ron Ben Israel. He only uses gumpaste flowers and fondant and gumpaste ribbons, so I'd vote for that as the way this is done.

you could use fondant in shorter strips and bump the ends together and with a damp paint brush smooth over the seam

I've done a similar thing - it's thin ribbon (3mm, not sure what that is in inches sorry) the same kind some people use around the edge of cake boards. Photo is in my pics (white 2 tier with purple orchids) unfortunately they displayed it with the back facing forward and put the flowers on in the wrong place

Word of warning, it is a real pain to put it on, will slip and drive you crazy so allow lots of time to get it right - it's one of those things that looks so simple but really isn't!

I don't think that is a picture of a real cake. It looks like it is computer generated. You can use whatever you want. If the customer is okay with it, I would use silk or ribbon like others said. It would be a real unnecessary hassle to do those long chords out of fondant.
Good luck and have fun!

Double-sided 1/4inch tape IS YOUR FRIEND!

They look like dried, gumpaste(or gumpaste/fondant) strips...they're definitely not wrapped all the way around the cakes whatever it is...I don't think ribbon would maintain a stiffened look especially when overlapped without being able to pull it taut....

colored fettucine!

Looks like cord to me as well, but why not ask your client what they want? Give them the options of what can be used. It is their cake so they need to make that decision.

love that cake...I am not very knowledgable on flowers and am just starting to practice them and I love this one.. what is it called?