subject: The Making Of An Artificial Silk Flower [print this page] Silk flowers combine the ephemeral beauty of a flower with the durability of a piece of cloth. Artificial silk flowers have been a part of human culture since thousands of years. Just a few centuries ago, the technology of manufacturing silk was guarded zealously by the Chinese, but now you can read about how to make silk flowers in an article on the Internet!
Over the years, that art of making artificial flowers out of silk hasnt changed much, and the technique of creating fake flowers that replicate real flowers has remained almost the same. Sure, there are better materials and tools for creating the flowers, but the basics havent changed much. The artist who creates the silk flower needs to have an intimate knowledge of the real flower to be able to shape the whorls of the silk one perfectly. These are the steps the artist needs to take:
1. Selecting Raw Material
There is more than silk in the artificial flowers. In addition to silk, other materials like fiber, polyester blend, and silk blends are also used. Silk is the most difficult fabric with which to create the artificial flowers. Cotton fibers last longer, are easier to manipulate and they also retain color for a longer time. Individuals create a few flowers may color the fabric themselves, while a factory would usually dye large quantities of fabric. The artist selects the raw material that most suits his seeds.
2. Understanding the Design and Patterns
Studying the real flowers is extremely important. The artist needs to take apart the real flower and study its patter, its whorls, its twists and turns. This is where the skill of the artist comes from. A deep understanding of the real flower is what helps him shape pieces of clothes into the right shape. The curves and textures of real flowers are studied to ensure that the artificial silk flowers resemble them as closely as possible.
3. Shaping and Cutting
Once the artist has formed a clear and deep understanding of the real flowers, it is time to cut the fabric into the right shape. This is done using knives and scissors specially made for the purpose of creating artificial flowers. The most difficult part is cutting the fibers in a way that leaves no frayed ends. Bigger organizations use computers and automatic tools to take care of this part. However, the artist needs to assemble the petals in the proper order even if the cutting is done by a computer.
4. Heat Press
To give the perfect shape to the flower and to ensure that it stays in that shape for a long time, its petals, leaves and step are heated. Next, they are pressed onto the determined shape of the flower to make them look as realistic as possible.
5. Assembly
Finally, the artificial silk flower is ready to be assembled. This task cannot be done automatically. So, the artists and his assistants carefully sew or glue to different part of the flower in the right way. Sometimes, wire frames are also used to make sure that flowers do not lose their shape.
