pastry tip decorating ideas
Pastry Tips: Decorating Ideas By Family Style
By Renee Shelton
Pastry Tip Families
Of the many, many brands of pastry tips out there, they all can be categorized into several basic families. And inside each of those families are where you'll find the specialty ones, or the one unique tip for that one job.
For example, the star tip family is a big tip family - but is further separated by the styles or shapes of their points: fine or French star (finer and closer together), open star (the points are open), closed star (the points point toward the center of the tip), deep cut closed star (points are deeply cut making these perfect for dropped designs), etc. And of the drop flower tips, there are about 30 to choose from.
Sizing and Couplers
'Standard sized' pastry tips are those that will fit with the small, standard sized couplers, and come in 'standard' shapes - the numbers are nearly universal across the board as far as brands go (number 10 Wilton will be very similar to number 10 Ateco).
Large sized or 'professional' tips are those that are made to fit inside a pastry bag with no coupler, although there are large couplers that will fit with those, too.
Metal or Plastic?
Pastry tips are found in two basic materials: metal or plastic. The metal ones are either nickel-plated brass or stainless steel, each created to resist rust. Plastic can be made of either polycarbonate or polypropylene. Polycarbonate plastic is shock proof, very hard, and is either transparent or clear (comes in different colors). Polypropylene plastic is solid in color (most commonly tan or white) and is a softer plastic that can be microwaved.
Here are some suggested ways to use the different tips:
Round Tips
Use for writing, dots, vine work, piping borders, filigree work, cornelli lace, lace work, outlines and fills, lines, balls, drop work, strings and stems, lattice work, micro piping, lettering, etc.
Tips: 1-12, 000, 00, 261, 800-809
Open Stars
Use for rosettes, star shapes, ropes, borders, outlines, lines, lace work, lattice work, fleur-de-lis, fill-in, etc.
Tips: 13-22, 262, 820-829
Fine or French Stars
Use for rosettes, borders, shell borders, outlining work, outlines, lines, drop flowers, fill-in, piping, shell borders, etc.
Tips: 32, 199, 362, 363, 364, 172, 860-869
Closed Stars
Use for borders, rosettes, drop flowers, piping, swirl flowers, shell borders, drop shapes, fill-in, etc.
Tips: 23-31, 33-35, 232, 233, 501, 502, 504, 132, 195, 506, 508, 852-858, 840-849
Cross-Top Tips (Four Point Stars)
These tips have a closed-star shape with 4 points to them. Filler piping, four point stars, cross stiching, simple drop flowers.
Tips: 49-54, 77-78
Swirl Top
These tips are similar to a star-shaped tip except the points of the stars are slanted rather than straight, giving swirl look to the rosette or making a quick work of a dropped flower. These all have open middles. Use for dropped swirl flowers, piping, borders, piped cookies, etc.
Tips: 96, 885, 886, 887, 888
Multi-Hole Tips
These tips have more than one opening in the pastry tip, in either star or round shape. Use for borders, drop flowers, grass, garlands, hair for piped figurines, outlines, etc.
Tips: 41-43, 89, 221, 133, 134, 234, 2010
Basketweave, Flat Ribbon, Icers
Use for basketweave, lattice weave, borders, straight lines and borders, quick icing of cakes, side borders and decoration, cookies, stripes and strip work, etc:
Tips: 44-45, 46, 46a, 47, 47a, 48, 48a, 895, 897, 898, 789, 790, 791
Leaf Tips
Use for all leaves, borders, garlands, etc.
Tips: 65-70, 71-76, 94-95, 349, 350, 352, 263, 112-115
Rose and Flower Tips
These tips have a straight opening, wider on one end, and is slanted. Use for roses, rose petals, flowers, borders, garlands, swags, bows, outlines, writing, quick icing of cakes, side borders, etc.
Tips: 101-104, 264, 124-128, 180, 124K-126K (Korean style rose), 150 (carnation)
Petal, Curved Petal, and Wavy Petal
These tips are similar to the rose tips, but have either a curve or wavy look to them. Use for borders, roses, flowers, mums, piping decorations, garlands, swags, etc.
Tips: 59, 59a, 60, 61, 62-64, 97, 155, 159-162, 116-119, 120-123, 79-81, 143, 227, 9311
Drop-Flower Tips
Most of these tips have thin bar piece attached to the inside of the tip sticking out to the middle, thereby creating a drop flower without a center. Useful if you want to put different colors for centers or different designs. For dropped flowers, just about any tip can be used with the aid of your imagination. Drop flowers, filler flowers for cakes, specialty flowers.
Tips: 105-107, 129, 131, 136-140, 146, 177, 191, 193, 217, 220, 223-225, 108, 109, 135, 171, 190, 194
Border or Specialty Border Tips
These tips are specially made for making frilly, ruffled, and skirted borders. Use for borders, flowers, garlands, swags, decorative piping, flat shell borders, shell border, ruffles, flower petals, etc. Frilly and decorative borders.
Tips: 86-88, 158, 030, 040, 050, 060, 070, 090, 401, 403, 98, 899
Oval Tips, Triangular and Squared Top Shaped Tips
Use for piping, borders, writing, lines, outlines, dropped-work, dropped flowers, etc.
Tips: 55-58, 82-84, 85
Specialty Tips
Use for piping, borders, writing, lines, outlines, dropped-work, dropped flowers, etc. Or, used for special projects.
St. Honore, Bismark, Christmas Tree, Heart, Russian one-step and ball tubes, XL pastry tips.
Left-Handed Tips
Made for left-handers.
Tips: 159, 160, 161, 162, 168
This article was first published on pastrysampler.com on July 8, 2006. It was updated on October 4, 2020.
Sources:
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay. Tip picture by Renee Shelton.
