Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I have been trying to make fondant drapes for a wedding cake and been practising a lot. Sometimes they look ok but sometimes not good at all. I’m thinking of possibly not doing them as once I have iced the cakes I could end up ruining them.

I have seen some lovely voile material that has diamantes in it which I am going to use to put around the stand or on the table. I’m wondering if I could use this for the drapes on the cake.

Has anyone used fabric on cakes? If you can  would you attach the fabric with royal icing?

Would like to thank all you brilliant cakers  for all the help I have received. X

Hi jb

I’ve used silk fabric on fondant cakes but have never attached it with Royal icing, just draped it and let it cascade down the cake. I can’t see why it can’t be done, after all people use things like feather boas and feathers. I’ve also seen pictures of fabric drapes used on cakes iced with butter cream! not my cuppa tea. If the cake is for a customer it may be wise to run your idea past the bride, also just be aware that diamantes can some times fall off, and some fabrics will leach out colour so you’d have to test a sample of the fabric for colour fastness. Hope this helps.

Just tried again and was quite impressed lol

I mixed fondant and modelling paste (50/50) then rolled quite thinly and cut a rectangle. I then rolled with a fabric rolling pin and dusted slightly with frosted sparkle. Instead of trying to gather it like a fan I just loosely gathered one end and placed it on the dummy cake letting it drape and make its own folds just adjusting it slightly. Looks so much better than when I tried to make the fan and drape it on.

Think I feel a bit more confident now to do this on the actual cake xx

Just takes practice, they are quite difficult to make because the fondant dries out so quickly. When I make drapes I rub trex into the the rolled out fondant, lustre dust with a big soft brush and then run the fabric roller over. When you first dust it looks blotchy, but keep blending the luster in and you’ll begin to see a lovely sheen. Do it on a spare piece of fondant first until you get the technique. The trex keeps the fondant soft, the lustre stops it from breaking and also helps it flow better. Now you’ve got a good result you’ll get even better at it.

Thanks for all your help and advice miwl not just on this but on other topics as well x really helped x

Have you ever thought of making a career out of being an agony aunt for cakers. Think I would be writing to you all the time lol xx

Thanks again

Jb x

Oh jb

It’s just that I’m ol’ jalopy, and in my time I’ve made millions of mistakes and hope I can pass on some things that I’ve learned along the way! I can dole out my opinions, but believe me, I still need help and cheerfully carry on making more mistakes. Lol, isn’t that how we learn something? x