Foamiran: what is it and why needlewomen are in love with it

What kind of material is this and why is it called foamiran?

If you start looking for photographs of products made from foamiran, you will be amazed at the amazing natural beauty of hairpins, brooches and other jewelry. So what is foamiran, and how much does such material cost? First of all, let’s reveal the secret of the name: it literally appeared from the combination of “foam” and “Iran”, that is, “from Iran”. This product was invented by Iranian craftsmen. But most often you will find this name in Russia; we are used to calling it that way. Abroad, it can be called plastic suede or foam rubber. This is prosaic, but it very accurately characterizes the texture of the material.

Soft suede is the perfect base for jewelry

From a scientific point of view, foamiran is a copolymer based on vinyl acetate and ethylene. It is an organic substance based on carbon compounds. The freshly made material has a rather pungent odor due to the use of acetic acid during the preparation process. But this unpleasant aroma quickly disappears, and you will forget about it within a minute after opening the package. Foam is sold in the form of sheets up to 3 millimeters thick.

The average price of one layer 40×60 centimeters is 40−60 rubles

Quick DIY bouquet

Have you noticed that brides order a second bouquet for their wedding? This is necessary in order to leave fresh flowers and give artificial ones to girlfriends. Florists using foamiran perfectly reproduce naturalness and transfer it into a flower arrangement.

This kind of effect requires experience, so let's try something simple. We will need liquid or simple foamiran, colorless and colorful. Then we select beads, sparkles, ribbons, additional decor, wire, etc. We recommend making large flowers at once. Pass the pieces through a warm iron to create “accordions”. Don’t wait until it hardens, but run it through the heating device again, but this time straightening the piece. The middle is created from a twig and beads. They can be combined into whole inflorescences or left as a large pea as decoration. You will get a kind of hairpin with which we pierce the bud. The leg will come out from the back edge. It should be decorated with ribbons.

Now you can make flowers for a bouquet and decorations yourself, knowing what kind of “fruit” this is - revelour and what it comes in. We hope many people will want to meet him in person.

Types of foamiran

The soft foam takes almost any shape and retains it perfectly. Even if you put a coat on a dress with a brooch made of plastic suede, it will not be deformed. To shape, only a little heat is required, even the warmth of your hands is enough.

To make a flower you only need to slightly give the petals the desired shape

Foamiran is divided into types depending on the manufacturer, the thickness of the material and its external design. Let's take a closer look.

By manufacturer

By sheet thickness

On sale you can find foamiran with a thickness of 0.5 to 4 millimeters. Sheet sizes can also be different; there are sheets 40×60, 50×50, 60×60, 60×70, 60×90 and rolls.

Foam rubber has a wide range of colors, but craftsmen prefer to use white and tint it themselves using paints

Foam up to 1 millimeter thick is suitable for making flowers. Thicker sheets are used for appliqué, scrapbooking and doll making. Thick material that stretches well and does not tear is suitable for children's creativity.

By appearance

Plastic suede can have not only different colors, but also texture.

You may not believe that this amazing decoration is made from marshmallow foam.

Korea

Each country has technologies that influence the creation of the same component. Experienced craftswomen who have worked with different types can accurately identify the manufacturer. It is better for beginners to go through the theory so that it will be easier in practice.

Korean is high quality. It maintains stability indicators. Quickly accepts and retains for a long time the image that was created by the craftswoman. The thickness reaches a maximum of one millimeter. There is a wide range of colors available.

Amazing properties of foamiran

Foam is a very plastic material, it is easy to bend and stretch. Despite its foamy structure, foamiran does not absorb water, so if necessary, it can be easily cleaned from dirt.

Rubber suede is easy to cut with scissors and can be embossed with a design.

The shape can be completely painted or slightly tinted using pastel, oil and acrylic paints. For coloring they even use eye shadow, lipstick and a pencil from a cosmetic bag. Masters do not recommend using watercolors and acrylics for painting - they crumble over time. Plastic rubber changes its shape under any thermal influence.

Can be used for heating using a hair dryer, iron, a regular candle or the heat of your hands

To glue foamiran, use hot glue from a hot-melt gun or any quick glue from the “Moment” series. PVA, liquid nails and other wood glues are not suitable for working with thin rubber.

Important! Foam melts and burns easily, this must be taken into account when working with open fire.

What is foamiran, from the point of view of practical application?

Handicrafts with foamiran are a pleasure. All products made from soft porous rubber look very unusual. You want to touch them and admire them. Most often, flowers are made from foamiran with your own hands. Flower brooches, hair clips and boutonnieres are in great demand among handmade lovers. Appliqués on shoes and hats, soft toys and other crafts look impressive from this material.

Foamiran hairpins for brides and more

Foma hair clips can be large, accent or very miniature. It is these products that change a hairstyle, turning it into a work of art.

The main note in the composition is played by a beautiful flower, sometimes a flower arrangement of several buds

Foamiran hairpins are very popular in wedding hairstyles. An exclusive decoration will remain for a long time. Peonies, roses, lilacs, wisteria clusters - all these flowers can be made from foam rubber, they will never wither and will look like real ones. Brides with a fantasy might prefer bunches of bright berries or a few butterflies.

Tiny roses are the most popular option for pins. Delicate and exquisite buds emphasize the youth of the bride.

Foamiran headbands are every girl’s dream

Headbands with foam rubber details are a great decoration. For the little fashionistas and older girls, you can make decorations with funny smiley faces, strawberries, candies and marshmallow flowers. With the advent of glitter material, flowers and bows made of foamiran, shimmering with sparkles, came into fashion.

Fantasy in the design of headbands is not limited to any specific framework. The more experience and time the craftswoman has, the more interesting the products are.

Scrapbooking with faux suede

For those who are encountering the term “scrapbooking” for the first time, let us explain that this is the colorful design of printed products: albums, books, postcards and packaging. For beginning needlewomen, foamiran is a very simple and pliable material for scrapbooking. Masters in this type of needlework have three directions: stamping, creating unusual effects using ink, distressing, artificial aging and embossing - decoration with convex compositions. Foamiran is suitable for embossing. With its help, whole bunches of flowers and berries bloom along the rim of the kart, on postcards or gift wrappings. You can make three-dimensional compositions and flat applications - it all depends on your imagination.

The bright colors of the foma make such products very attractive and elegant.

Soft and funny foamiran dolls

Foam dolls can be flat, like appliques, or voluminous. Even a child can handle making a simple toy. You can decorate a child’s room and a New Year tree with such elegant crafts. Three-dimensional toys are made from foam blanks. They are covered with elastic rubber and painted. Any child will like elegant babies.

Where else is fom used?

Craftswomen make truly unique and exclusive items from soft suede. This material is especially popular in the manufacture of wedding accessories. Boutonnieres in the buttonholes of guests' costumes, decoration of the festive table, dishes and glasses - all this will decorate any holiday. A special chic is a bouquet for the bride made of foamiran. Flawless, strong and durable - it will not let you down at a special moment. The bride will not want to part with such a bouquet, and there is no need for that - it will remain in the young family as a decoration for the house. Look at the photo to see how foamiran flowers look in different designs.

In addition to wedding decorations, foma is used to make bags, curtain ties, interior compositions and much more.

Related article:

How to make flowers from corrugated paper with your own hands and many other bright decorations from corrugated material is easy and simple - read in our publication.

Manufacturing principles

There are many master classes and video tutorials on the Internet on making flowers from foamiran. There you can also select diagrams and templates for patterns of future decor, which need to be printed and cut out of cardboard.

Roses from foamiran Source avatars.mds.yandex.net

For one small rose, you need to prepare several strips of foam 30-40 cm long and 4-5 cm wide (for a sheet size of 60x80 cm). For large flowers made of foamiran (roses or peonies), more material will be needed. Then the work goes through the following stages:

• Preparing the petals. It takes the most time, about 60-70%. Therefore, it is better for a beginner to choose a flower in which most of the details are typical; This will help speed up the preparation of the required quantity.

Cutting out typical parts Source blogspot.com

• Sometimes it is advised to make a bud rose first. You can use blanks for it without cutting them into separate petals.
• The templates are transferred to the material and cut out. The petals are made realistic using pastels and a sponge.

Blanks Source roomester.ru

• The petals are shaped using a moderately heated iron. Each part is individually applied to the surface of the iron, after heating it is carefully stretched and given the desired (convex) shape with your fingers.
• Product assembly. The petals are attached to the middle. It is made from foil by twisting it into a cone and inserting a wire at the bottom. The petals, starting with the smallest ones, are glued to the foil so that it is not visible.

Ready rose Source roomester.ru

• A green foam backing is glued to the bottom of the flower. This detail is also given a realistic look with pastels.
• Floor flowers made from foamiran will require careful work on the stems, leaves and center (if there is one). A large flower needs a strong base; Often a metal-plastic pipe is used for the stem.

Full size flowers Source static.wixstatic.com

Tools and materials for working with foamiran

Foamiran does not require any special tools; every craftswoman has them in her arsenal:

• iron, hair dryer or hot curling iron to heat the hair;
• scissors for cutting material - manicure and tailor's. If there are - curly ones. The smallest elements can be made using a regular hole punch;
• molds - they are useful for making petals and leaves. It is better to use plastic blanks;
• stacks, needles and toothpicks - these will be needed for embossing foamiran.

A set of moldings for those who have already gotten their hands on working with this material

In addition to the tools listed, you may also need the following materials:

• sheets of thick cardboard for making templates;
• hot glue in a hot glue gun or any of the instant glues;
• thin wire for making stems and attaching leaves. For this purpose, buy tinted wire in florist stores;
• dry pastel or any other of the previously listed paints. Oil paints take a long time to dry, acrylic paints can crumble, and watercolor paints are difficult to apply. Try different options and choose yours;
• varnish, acrylic or simple transparent nail polish - it will give the product a glossy finish and make it easier to care for.

Varnished products are easier to clean

How to make a craft from foamiran: video master class

Working with this soft material is simple and very pleasant. The required parts are simply cut out according to the template and then slightly stretched in any direction you need. The finished petals and leaves are fixed in the composition using a glue gun.

In order for the fom to stretch easily, it should be slightly warmed with a warm iron or hair dryer.

Important! For work, not a hot, but a warm iron is used. A hot platform may melt delicate material.

Molds are also used after heating the foamiran. They are pressed against the heated workpiece and left until the material cools down.

After contact with the mold, the material takes on the required texture

Working with marshmallow leaves requires care and patience. Excessive force and you will tear the workpiece. But if you are ready for diligent and painstaking work, believe me, you will forget about everything in the world, because a real miracle will be born under your fingers.

Video: a small step-by-step master class on foamiran from a professional for your inspiration

Marshmallow

Manufactured in China. By the name we understand that the look has a special lightness and airiness. To determine, it is recommended to touch the material, which is velvety, low-density and porous. Its feature is high ductility. There is no need for additional heat treatment to get the desired effect.

Experts recommend leaving this type for later training. Revelure is not quite ordinary, so it requires a special approach. The technique for making flowers is a little different. Suitable for creating the most delicate buds and transparent petals.

Where can you buy foamiran and how much does it cost?

Are you already captivated by this material? All that remains is to find out where foamirani is sold and how much it can cost. You won't find soft rubber in regular stores. You will have to look for it at specialized points of sale of handicraft goods. If you live far from a metropolis, you can order fom online. Here are some great deals, according to Yandex.Market.

Advice! A novice master can familiarize himself with such material in a ready-made creativity kit. This set costs 150-200 rubles. It includes ready-made templates and detailed instructions.

The most pleasant material for needlework

A little practice and you will learn how to create real masterpieces that will certainly find their buyers.

Once you try to work with foamiran, you will hopelessly fall in love with this delicate and flexible material. Try it and enjoy creativity! If you know any features of working with fom and are ready to share useful information, write about it in the comments!

Save time: selected articles delivered to your inbox every week