#TLDR: Round tips handle writing and dots. Open star tips make rosettes, shells and swirls. Closed star tips give deeper, more defined petals. Drop flower tips pipe a full flower in one squeeze. Petal tips build buttercream roses and ruffles. Ruffle tips are dedicated tips designed for ruffled cake sides and layered borders. Leaf tips add foliage. Basketweave tips create woven texture. Grass/multi-opening tips pipe fur and grass. Russian tips pipe an entire floral bloom in a single press. This guide covers every category, tip by tip, so you know exactly what to reach for before you fill your piping bag.
Table of Contents
- Round Tips
- Open Star Tips
- Closed Star Tips
- Drop Flower Tips
- Petal Tips
- Ruffle Tips
- Leaf Tips
- Basketweave Tips
- Grass and Multi-Opening Tips
- Specialty Tips: Bismark and Filling Tubes
- Russian Instant Flower Tips
- Which Tip Size Do You Need?
- Tips for Better Piping Results
Round Tips
Round tips are the most versatile tips in any decorator's kit. They have a plain circular opening with no texture — what you do with them is entirely about pressure and movement.
Designs you can make:
- Dots (vary size by tip number — smaller number = finer dot)
- Pearls and beaded borders
- Writing and lettering
- Outline work and fine detail
- Filling centres of flowers
- Piped berries (blueberries, grapes, raspberries)
- Spaghetti / hair effects on character cakes
- Simple round swirls on cupcakes (larger sizes)
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Round No.0, No.1, No.2, No.3, No.4, No.5, No.7, No.8, No.10, No.12, No.18, No.20 — and Medium Round 1A for larger piping work.
Which to use when: Nos. 0–3 are for fine detail, writing, and lacework. Nos. 4–8 handle dots, berries, and centres. Nos. 10–12 and up suit chunky rosettes, borders, and filling cupcakes. The 1A medium tip gives a bold, thick swirl ideal for cupcake tops.
Watch it in action: Piping Tips 101 — Sally's Baking | How to Use Piping Nozzles — Gemma's Bold Baking
Shop our full range of piping tips — including individual LOYAL standard and medium tips.
Open Star Tips
Open star tips have a star-shaped opening where the tips of the star are open (not curled inward). They produce ridged, textured designs and are among the most-used tips for everyday cake decorating.
Designs you can make:
- Rosettes (spiral from the centre outward)
- Swirls on cupcakes
- Shell borders along the base or top edge of cakes
- Rope borders
- Stars and star clusters
- Ruffle borders (tip held sideways, continuous motion)
- Pull-up and pull-down textured tops
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Open Star No.13, No.14, No.16, No.18, No.21, No.32, No.199, No.363 — and Medium Open Star 4B, 6K, No.172 for larger, bolder designs.
Which to use when: Smaller numbers (13–21) suit borders, fillings, and detail work. Larger tips (No.32, 4B, 6K) produce dramatic cupcake tops, big rosettes, and bold borders. The 4B is a popular all-rounder for cupcakes — one firm squeeze gives a full, impressive top.
Watch it in action: 1M vs 2D — Cupcake Piping Tip Techniques Tutorial | How to Make a Buttercream Rosette — Wilton
Closed Star Tips
Closed star tips look similar to open stars but the points of the star curl inward slightly. This gives designs deeper, more defined ridges — flowers and swirls look more pronounced and petal-like.
Designs you can make:
- Rosettes with deeper definition
- Shells with crisper edges
- Stars with more dramatic texture
- Fleur-de-lis borders
- Pull-up flowers (lift straight up as you release pressure)
- Swirled cupcake tops with visible petal-like ridges
- Ruffled borders
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Closed Star No.25, No.26, No.27, No.30 — and Medium Closed Star 2H and 192K for larger work.
Which to use when: The closed star suits any situation where you want a rosette or shell to look more flower-like and defined than an open star produces. No.25 and No.26 are everyday workhorses. The 2H and 192K medium tips create bigger, showier swirls on cupcakes with deeply defined petal-like ridges.
Watch it in action: Rosette Cupcake Swirl — Cupcake Piping Techniques Tutorial | 6 Piping Nozzle Tips Every Baker Should Own
Drop Flower Tips
Drop flower tips are engineered to pipe a complete flower in one squeeze-and-lift motion. The opening is cut so that petals form automatically as you pipe — no spiral motion required.
Designs you can make:
- One-squeeze flowers (twist the tip slightly on release for variations)
- Cupcake flower tops
- Flower borders along the side or top edge of cakes
- Scattered flower clusters on floral cakes
- Simple rosettes (with a spiral motion instead of a straight press)
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Drop Flower No.129, No.131, No.135, No.140, No.190, No.224, No.232, No.883, No.884 — and Medium Drop Flower 2D, 2E, No.195 for larger blooms, plus Med/Large 1B for the biggest single-squeeze flowers.
Which to use when: Smaller standard tips suit detailed borders and fine flower clusters. Medium and large drop flower tips (2D, 1B) make impressive cupcake tops fast — perfect when you need to frost a dozen cupcakes quickly without compromising on presentation.
Watch it in action: How to Pipe a Star Drop Flower — Wilton | Using a Drop Flower Nozzle
Petal Tips
Petal tips have an asymmetric teardrop-shaped opening — one side is wide, the other narrow. This shape creates the natural taper of a flower petal. They take more practice than most tips but produce the most realistic-looking buttercream flowers.
Designs you can make:
- Buttercream roses (built petal by petal on a flower nail)
- Carnations
- Ruffled borders (hold tip flat, wave motion along the cake)
- Ruffled cake sides
- Ribbon borders
- Bow accents
- Chrysanthemums and daisies
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Petal No.59, No.61, No.97, No.101, No.102, No.103, No.104 — and Medium Petal No.123, No.124, No.125, No.126, No.127 for larger blooms.
Which to use when: No.103 and No.104 are the standard go-to sizes for piped roses and are the tips most tutorials reference. Larger medium petal tips (No.126 and up) suit bigger statement flowers on tiered cakes. Hold the wide end of the tip down for most petal work — reversing it flips the orientation and changes the shape of the petal.
Watch it in action: How to Pipe a Basic 5 Petal Flower — Wilton | How to Pipe Buttercream Roses in Different Sizes
Ruffle Tips
Ruffle tips are purpose-built for ruffled buttercream effects. They have a wide, curved opening that creates layered, wave-like ruffles in a single continuous motion. Unlike petal tips — which can produce ruffles with more effort and technique — ruffle tips are specifically designed for this one effect, making them faster to use and more consistent across a full cake side.
Designs you can make:
- Horizontal ruffle bands along the side of a cake
- Vertical ruffle columns
- Ruffled borders along the top or base edge
- Scalloped frills on cupcakes
- Layered ruffle cupcake tops
- Wavy, flowing ribbon effects
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Ruffle No.40, No.50, No.70, No.90.
Which to use when: The number determines the width of each ruffle band. No.40 produces narrow, delicate frills — ideal for fine borders and cupcakes where you want a light, airy ruffle. No.50 is a versatile mid-size suited to ruffled cupcake tops and cake borders. No.70 creates wider, more dramatic ruffles and works well for statement cake sides. No.90 is the widest in the range — it covers cake sides quickly and produces full, sweeping ruffles with the most impact. Start with No.50 or No.70 if you are new to ruffle cakes.
For best results, use medium-stiff buttercream. Hold the tip flat against the surface with the curved edge facing outward, apply steady pressure, and use a slow back-and-forth wave motion as you move along the cake. Work from the bottom of the cake upward, overlapping each row slightly so there are no gaps.
Watch it in action: How to Pipe Ruffles on Cake — Finespun Cakes
Leaf Tips
Leaf tips have a V-shaped or pointed opening that creates a flat, tapered leaf shape as buttercream is squeezed through. They are the finishing tip for almost any floral cake design.
Designs you can make:
- Standard leaves (smooth squeeze and pull)
- Ruffled or serrated leaves (slight wobble motion while piping)
- Long trailing stems
- Grass and fern-like sprays
- Filling negative space on floral cakes
- Simple pointed borders
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Leaf No.67, No.68, No.70, No.349, No.352 — and Medium Leaf No.112, No.115 for larger foliage.
Which to use when: No.67 produces a slightly ruffled, more realistic-looking leaf. No.352 gives a cleaner, more pointed standard leaf. Medium leaf tips (112, 115) suit cakes where you want large, dramatic foliage as part of the design — think botanical or tropical cake styles. Leaf tips also work for any filling work where you want pointed rather than round shapes.
Watch it in action: How to Pipe a Buttercream Leaf — 6 Easy Leaves for Cake Decorating | How to Pipe a Buttercream Leaf — Wilton
Basketweave Tips
Basketweave tips have a flat, rectangular opening — one side smooth, one side serrated (ridged). The ridged side creates the woven texture; alternating between smooth and ridged strips builds the classic basketweave pattern.
Designs you can make:
- Basketweave pattern (alternating horizontal and vertical strips)
- Smooth ribbon borders (using the flat side only)
- Ridged stripe borders (using the serrated side only)
- Ruffled borders (angled motion with the serrated side)
- Combed or textured cake sides
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Basketweave No.44, No.46, No.47, No.48 — and Medium Basketweave 2B for wider strips and larger-scale designs.
Which to use when: Standard basketweave tips suit small to medium cakes and detailed side work. The 2B medium is the go-to for full cakes where you want the woven pattern to cover the entire side — it is wide enough to cover more area with each pass. A basketweave cake is impressive to look at but the technique is methodical rather than freehand — good for decorators who prefer precision.
Watch it in action: How to Pipe a Buttercream Basketweave Cake Design — Wilton | Buttercream Basketweave Technique
Grass and Multi-Opening Tips
These tips have multiple small holes grouped together. Every squeeze pushes multiple strands out simultaneously, creating texture effects that would be impossible with a single-opening tip.
Designs you can make:
- Grass (squeeze and pull upward sharply)
- Fur and animal texture (shorter, denser pulls)
- Hair on character cakes
- Shredded coconut or hay effect
- Textured moss on garden-themed cakes
- Spaghetti / noodle effects for novelty cakes
LOYAL tips to use: Standard Multi-Opening No.89, No.233.
Which to use when: No.233 is the classic grass tip — fine holes, delicate individual strands. No.89 has slightly larger grouped holes and gives a coarser, denser texture suited to fur and thick grass. Stiffer buttercream holds the strand shape better after piping with both tips.
Watch it in action: How to Use a Grass Tip for Buttercream Grass and Fur — Wilton
Specialty Tips: Bismark and Filling Tubes
These tips work from inside baked goods rather than decorating the outside. Insert them directly into pastries to pipe fillings without cutting or splitting.
Designs you can make:
- Cream-filled doughnuts (insert tip into the side, squeeze)
- Filled cupcakes (insert into the top or side, pipe custard, jam, ganache, or cream)
- Filled éclairs and profiteroles
- Cream-filled muffins
LOYAL tips to use: Medium Bismark No.231 — and Standard Filling Tube No.230W.
Which to use when: The Bismark tip (No.231) has a larger diameter and suits doughnuts and éclairs where you want a generous fill. The Filling Tube No.230W is narrower and gives more control for cupcakes and smaller pastries.
Russian Instant Flower Tips
Russian tips (also called instant flower tips or 3D flower tips) produce an entire multi-petal flower in a single press — no nail, no rotation, no petal-by-petal work. Each tip is cut into a specific bloom shape: tulips, dahlias, chrysanthemums, peonies, and more.
Designs you can make:
- Full multi-petal flowers in one press
- Cupcake tops covered entirely in a single flower
- Flower cluster cakes (press flowers across the surface)
- Russian tip bouquet cakes (multiple blooms across the top)
Tips for using them: Russian tips require stiff buttercream — soft buttercream causes the petals to collapse into each other. Hold the tip perpendicular to the surface, press firmly and evenly, then lift straight up without twisting. For two-tone flowers, stripe two colours along the inside of the piping bag before filling.
Watch it in action: How to Use Russian Piping Nozzles — Cupcake Jemma
Browse our Russian piping tips collection — perfect for achieving professional floral designs without advanced piping skills.
Which Tip Size Do You Need?
LOYAL piping tips come in three size categories:
| Size | Coupler needed | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Standard coupler | Detail work, borders, writing, standard cupcake swirls |
| Medium | Medium coupler | Larger cupcake tops, bolder cake borders, bigger flowers |
| Med/Large | Medium coupler | Statement blooms, large-format piping |
The coupler is the plastic fitting that screws onto the outside of your piping bag and lets you swap tips without changing bags. Always match your tip size to the correct coupler — a standard tip on a medium coupler will not sit securely.
Shop standard couplers and medium couplers to pair with your tips.
Tips for Better Piping Results
Buttercream consistency matters more than tip choice. A rosette looks clean with medium-stiff buttercream and messy with soft buttercream — the tip is not the problem. Refrigerate your buttercream briefly before piping if it feels too soft.
Chill piped work between steps. If designs lose shape after piping, the buttercream is too warm. Refrigerate the cake for 10–15 minutes between sections.
Practise on baking paper first. Pipe a few repeats on a flat sheet of baking paper before committing to the cake — it takes two minutes and saves a lot of frustration.
Consistent pressure = consistent design. The biggest difference between beginner and experienced piping is pressure control, not tip selection. Squeeze from the top of the bag, not the middle.
Fill bags to two-thirds full. Overfilling makes pressure control harder. Two-thirds full is enough to pipe without constantly refilling and easy enough to handle comfortably.
Shop Piping Tips in Australia
Every tip in this guide is available individually in our piping tips collection — so you can buy exactly what you need without committing to a full set. All LOYAL stainless steel tips are professional grade, seamless, and dishwasher safe.
New to piping? Start with one round tip (No.12), one open star (4B or No.32), one drop flower (2D), and a petal tip (No.103). That combination covers rosettes, borders, flowers, and detail work — enough to decorate any cake or cupcake for any occasion.