There is disclosed a tubular blank (31) for attaching to a stepped mandrel (41) of a flow forming assembly, wherein the tubular blank (31) has a stepped inner profile that may be tailored to the shape of the mandrel (41) before any flow forming is carried out on the blank (31). Also disclosed is a corresponding method of flow forming a shaped article by plastically deforming the tubular blank (31) over the stepped mandrel (41), where the forming of the shaped article may be carried out in one operation.