I have been looking at lots of cakes today that have these designs with swirly or "squiggly" lines all over them. I would LOVE to try and make a cake that looks like that! Does anyone have tips on that. All the lines just look so precise and in an exact place to look the way they do when they are done. How do you know where to place them so they turn out so beautifully? I am open to any and all tips! Thanks for your help.

Hebberd

For swirly, search for scrolls.
For squiggly, search for Corneli lace.

I have the same question. I am doing a wedding cake and I need to pipe ivy pattern. I have tried to read on it but the most I found was that you need to practice. So I guess that's what I am going to do starting tonight.

I found one of those impression mats and I just pressed it into the fondant and then piped over it. This way all the scrolls were at the right place and were all the same distance and length. You do need a little practice so that you don't go all crazy swirly but it looks pretty uniform at the end of it all.

You could use stamps. They sell clear stamps at Michael's/Joann's with some nice swirl patterns. Just lightly press and trace. I can't draw to save my life, and have seen quite a few stamps that would make great cake designs.

You could use stamps. They sell clear stamps at Michael's/Joann's with some nice swirl patterns. Just lightly press and trace. I can't draw to save my life, and have seen quite a few stamps that would make great cake designs.

You could use stamps. They sell clear stamps at Michael's/Joann's with some nice swirl patterns. Just lightly press and trace. I can't draw to save my life, and have seen quite a few stamps that would make great cake designs.

For the ivy: check what tip you are using. I can't remember the numbers but the bird's beak looking tip is much easier to use. After that, it should be a matter of piping your vine and then adding the leaves to it here and there.

I am using tip #3 for the stem because this is all they want on the cake and there are litte bitty branches everywhere on it too, so no leaves. How would I tell what is the right consistency for the RI? It seems to me that if it flows easy from the tip it is way too runny and it doesn't look right. If it is thicker it is much harder to get it out of the tip. I even bought a canvas bag because I am affraid the plastic ones will burst and there will go my whole white cake. Would buttercream be easier? I am doing a fondant cake.