So I made my first ever batch of RI.

I am tracing a butterfly pattern with the RI and my question is do you use a piping bag or parchment triangle? How do you get the RI so smooth, I just made six outlines and they are ok but not very nice. I shrunk down to round tip 1 to get less to come out as I move along the edge.

Any suggestions?

I hate parchment triangles unless they are for melted chocolate.

The thinner the royal icing, the easier it will be to outline. However, some of getting the the outline to be smooth is just refining your skills.

i've tried to make 3 crowns out of RI with on parchment paper which worked better but they still broke, but i did read you need at least 3 coats, i found with ri you can top it down before it dries, but i'm going to stick to 50/50

Thank you for your replies. I left my butterflies out to dry and I will see how they look tomorrow. I am pretty sure I just need to practice as my hand is a little shakey and this was my first time.

Update/question:
I flooded the butterflies yesterday afternoon, around 3:00PM, its 8:00AM here now and I just checked them, still wet. How long do they take to dry? I am not in a rush, just curious.

They are still wet as in literally liquid? Mine start to crust over within a few hours. They will still be wet inside, but the top layer forms a shell. I leave them about 18-24 hours and then I bag them. They still won't be completely dry on the inside, so you have to be careful with them.

Hope this helps.

Not liquid but still wet-ish. The outline is set but I tried to move one (I did not like it and was not going to use it anyhow) and it was moist in the middle.

Also, do you pipe your designs on wax paper to prevent sticking?