I am new to cake decorating and am planning on making a cake covered in fondant. The directions say to use 1/2 fondant and 1/2 gumpaste. What benefit does adding gumpaste have (I have never worked with it before)? Is is more flexable, harder/more stable? Would you ever use gumpaste alone? I also bought Wilton's Gum Tex and Glucose. Is Wilton Glucose simply corn syrup? Because I can buy corn syrup much cheaper than the glucose.
Thanks for all your help.
I wouldn't use gum paste to cover a cake. Gumpaste dries hard and isn't good to eat (not that everyone loves fondant, but it's slightly more edible!). Gumpaste is best for making small decorations and flowers. I would just use 100% fondant for covering your cake.
Erica - I use corn syrup in place of glucose all the time - it's a common & acceptable substitution.
For the hat brim - the gum paste will make your fondant much more stable. Even when dry, fondant is not usually strong enough to hold its own weight. Since this is your first time, I would follow the directions. However, you can also experiment with just putting gum-tex in your fondant. The amount to use is 1 tsp per pound of fondant.
As far as basic properties are concerned, gum paste is much stronger, which is why it can be rolled much much thinner and still hold its shape.
Gumpaste dries quickly and becomes brittle...the fondant is more pliable and gives you more working time.
I use the 50/50 mix for two reasons...I have more working time to mold what I am making...the mix is more pliable and easier to manipulate into whatever shape I need.
The downside is that your project will take a bit longer to dry. If I make a bow from the 50/50 mix I make the bow part a few days in advance, for drying time. The tails are made a day before delivery and placed right on the cake. They dry enough to paint or dust before delivery. The bow itself needs to dry longer to hold its shape.
I have never heard of using a 50/50 mix to cover a cake... 
The tails are made a day before delivery and placed right on the cake.
Thanks for that great tip....I have been making the tails at the same time as the bow, but using the actual pan, upside down, as my "mold". I thinkyour way sounds easier..... 
I have tried using gumpaste and gum tex with MMF and it doesn't work well. Makes the MMF very brittle. It did work okay with the Wilton Fondant, made it stronger and pliable.
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