Years ago, you could tell an artificial flower from a real one simply because they had not yet mastered the art of creating materials that were realistic enough. However, nowadays you can walk up to an artificial flower, complete with genuine scent and not be able to tell the difference until you try to pick it from the bunch. Such is the nature of the changes in the technology used to make artificial flowers that they have now become an effective alternative for real flowers that are out of season.
The most popular material for making artificial flower bouquets was silk, but nowadays polyester, paper and nylon are also used. In fact it is now a highly specialized industry with a specific process. The fabric is placed in gelatin to help it stiffen—this is the same process that people use to starch shirt collars. Then, the fabrics are cut into petal and leaf shapes for the various flowers they intend to represent. Silk screen printing is used as a method for imprinting the veins on the leaves. The flowers are then assembled to make them look as authentic as possible and they are then mounted onto a wire stem which is then covered in green material to make the stem more real.
Soap and Other Materials
Soap is one of the most popular materials for making flowers because it is so pliable and easy to work with. With soap flowers there is a completely different method, which generally includes carving or molding. Carved soap flowers are made in the same way as wood carving, using a sharp object to cut, peel and slice away the parts that are not needed. You might say it is sculptured. Molding soap flowers, however, uses soap without oils and they are mixed from a powder into a paste which is then poured into a mold to set.
Clay is also a method used in flower making, usually for outside ornaments, garden ornaments and decorative building accessories. Glass can also be another method of making artificial flowers. The melted glass can be hand blown and carved into the petal and flower shapes and then left to set hard. Other materials include plastic, but that is used as a die-cast method.
