Foamiran is a foamed, polymeric material that first appeared in Iran, with a velvety structure, also called "plastic suede". It is quite flexible and easy to cut, it is widely used in the production of bows of various colors, decorated with shiny materials and used to create hair accessories, clothing or interior decoration.
Material Features
Bows, various decorations and jewelry can be made in 5-7 minutes from sheets of foamiran (foamed polymer). Plastic suede is produced in Iran, Turkey or China and placed in multi-colored packages, with sheets up to 1 cm thick.
The distinctive features of the material widely used for creativity are:
- plasticity and softness to the touch;
- ease of cutting;
- the presence of a porous structure that absorbs coloring agents well;
- moisture resistance and absence of toxic emissions;
- the ability to take any desired shape when heated;
- good reaction to adhesive composition.
Manufacturers of the material produce foamiran in a variety of shades, which allows it to be used for making bows, decorating hair ornaments, clothing and shoes, as well as for various holiday accessories.
Plastic suede is differentiated depending on its texture:
| Silk foamiran | It has a matte, pleasant to the touch surface, durability and elasticity. The material is produced in sheets no thicker than 0.5 cm. |
| Marshmallow foamiran | Easily changing its shape even with minimal heating, soft, flexible suede is produced in delicate, pastel shades and is used to create women's hair accessories. |
| Glitter foamiran | Multilayer material with a glossy coating applied to the top layer. |
| Textured plastic suede | Foamed polymer with a relief pattern. |
Necessary materials
The process of creating bows from plastic suede is quite simple.
You can buy sheets of foamiran in stores for children's crafts or sewing, and in addition to them you will need:
- Cardboard or paper patterns of products.
- Dressmaking and manicure scissors used for cutting material.
- A hot glue gun. A small tube of Moment glue can also replace it.
- Acrylic or olive paints used for tinting finished products.
- An iron or hair dryer that allows you to heat the material to the desired temperature. For fire safety purposes, the use of lighters and open flames is prohibited.
- Hair accessories (clips, elastic bands, headbands).
- Grosgrain, satin, lace ribbons, artificial pearls or rhinestones used to decorate bows.
How to make a template
It is recommended to make bows from foamiran using a template, which allows you to achieve symmetry in the finished product and accuracy in its execution.
The template is made of cardboard and can have any desired shape, and to create it you need:
- Clearly draw a sketch of the bow on thick paper or cardboard, paying attention to all the small details, and then carefully cut it out along the outline. In some cases, you can transfer the drawings of the models you like onto tracing paper, and then glue it to a thicker material.
- Using a pencil or a toothpick, transfer it onto the plastic suede (from the back side).
- Carefully cut out the product parts.
When creating a voluminous bow, the foamiran blank should be cut to a length of at least 8-10 cm, which will allow you to easily roll it up, connecting the ends in the center of the product.
To make a flat bow, you will need a multi-layer blank. Carving, rhinestones or glitter can be used as additional elements here.
Foamiran bows in 5 minutes
A simple bow made of foamiran can be made without a pattern, using a strip of colored foam suede, measuring 10 by 4 cm:
- The cut strip should be folded in half, aligning the ends in the center on the back side and glued with a glue gun.
- Place the blank on a heated iron, then, squeezing it with your hands in the middle, give the bow the desired shape, forming folds.
- Fix the resulting folds with glue, and glue a strip 0.2-0.4 mm wide in the center of the product.
To create a lush bow, you need to cut out 5-7 identical pieces, give them the desired shape by first applying them to a heated iron and glue them to each other.
In the middle, the bow is fixed with a cut-out foamiran “crossbar” (its width is 0.3-0.5 cm), previously coated with hot glue.
Made of shiny foamiran
Bows and foamiran with glitter are used to create hair accessories, shoes or in festive room decor.
To make them you will need:
- sheets of shiny foamiran of one or several colors (for example, green and yellow);
- tailor's scissors;
- glue gun;
- cardboard and a toothpick;
- satin ribbons for decoration;
- mechanism for attaching a bow (hairpin, brooch, elastic band).
During the manufacturing process you should:
- Draw and then cut out 3 templates from paper or cardboard (a bow, its base and a crossbar). Attach them to the back of the plastic suede and outline with a toothpick.
- Using a hot glue gun, apply a drop of glue to the center of the back of the bow piece and then join the ends together.
- Glue the resulting blank to the base of the product. Apply hot glue to its center and connect both parts of the model with a jumper located in the middle.
- The finished bow needs to be attached to the base (hair clip or elastic band), after gluing a small fleece circle to it.
With rounded ends
Foamiran bows with rounded ends are made using special stencils.
To create such a model you will need:
- Cut out 2 templates from cardboard, 6 and 9 cm wide, and using a toothpick transfer them onto the plastic suede, then carefully cut out, focusing on the outline.
- Connect the ends of the large piece, previously coated with hot glue, in the center, from the wrong side.
- Using a hot glue gun, connect all parts of the product.
- Make a jumper from shiny plastic suede, apply glue to its ends and connect the finished product in the center with a hair elastic.
- To decorate the model, you can use a pre-prepared, rhinestone-lined, shiny foamiran butterfly. Attach the decor with hot glue applied to the center of the bow.
With ribbons
Foamiran bows with lace and satin ribbons allow you to decorate the hair of a 5-10 year old girl gathered in a ponytail or braid, and are made using:
- a sheet of thin, plastic suede of any shade;
- lace and satin ribbons;
- thick cardboard and a pencil;
- toothpicks;
- tailor's scissors;
- hot glue gun;
- hair bands;
- rep ribbon
To create a product you should:
- Transfer the cardboard stencil onto the foamiran. It is best to trace the contours with a toothpick.
- Cut out all the parts of the product, coat their ends with glue and connect them in the center on the back side.
- For one bow, make 3 cut satin strips, measuring 18*3 cm, and 2 lace strips, measuring 13*2 cm.
- Fold each ribbon strip in half, stitch, gather and secure the thread, forming a voluminous bow. Pull the thread carefully, forming the gathers of the product, secure and cut.
- Using the same stitching technique, gather the lace strips into a bow shape.
- Sew a hair elastic to the ribbon bow, and attach the foamiran blank on top of it using glue. The lace part of the product is attached to the top of the structure using hot glue.
- Wrap a strip of grosgrain ribbon around the bow in the middle, connecting all its parts with an elastic band.
- To decorate the accessory, place a voluminous cabochon in the center.
Ready.
For hairpin
Foamiran bows for hairpins are recommended to be made from shiny plastic suede of one or two matching shades.
Materials used in the work:
- foamiran sheets;
- cardboard and pencil;
- hair clip;
- toothpicks;
- scissors;
- hot melt glue.
The product consists of 6 parts: a bow, a crossbar and decorative strips, and to make it you will need:
- Place the cardboard template on the back side of the foamiran and use a toothpick to transfer its outline onto the plastic suede.
- Cut out all parts of the product.
- Apply hot glue to the center of the back side and, folding it in half, glue the ends of the piece together.
- From silver foamiran, cut out 2 strips measuring 10*0.3 cm and 13*0.5 cm, fold them into an arc and glue them on both sides of the bow.
- Secure all the parts of the product with a hot-melt strip placed in the center, and then attach the finished bow to the hair clip.
- To ensure the strength of the structure, it is recommended to place a small piece of fabric in the center of the metal base.
For September 1st
White bows are a necessary decoration for the school assembly on September 1st, as well as for decorating the hair of schoolgirls in grades 1-4. You can make such an accessory from a sheet of white, glitter foamiran, white satin and lace.
Additionally you will need:
- hair bands;
- thick cardboard and pencil;
- toothpicks and scissors;
- hot glue gun;
- white thread with a needle.
When creating a model you need to:
- Using a toothpick (pencil), transfer the cardboard stencil to the foamiran (from the back side). The resulting product parts must be cut out exactly along the contour.
- Make 2 strips of lace measuring 16*5 cm, then fold them in the middle with the ends slightly overlapping and sew with a needle. Pull the thread tight and secure the finished structure.
- Cut 2 identical pieces from white satin (20*5 cm), fold them so that their ends meet in the center, sew, tighten the thread and secure the structure.
- To assemble the product, first sew a hair elastic to the lace bow, and then use glue to attach first the foamiran part, and then the lace part.
- Make a jumper from satin or white grosgrain ribbon, apply glue to it and fasten all parts of the product.
- You can decorate the bow with a silhouette of a first-grader cut out of glitter plastic suede.
For the rim
Bows for decorating the headband can be made from matte or glitter foamiran, complemented with rhinestones or ribbons.
To work you will need:
- sheet of plastic suede;
- hot melt glue
- satin (20*5 cm);
- decorative rhinestones or beads;
- hair band.
Cut 3 strips from foamiran measuring: 21*6 cm, 13*3 cm and 9*2 cm, and then:
- Fold the largest piece in half so that the ends are connected on the back side, and secure with hot glue.
- Apply it to a heated iron, and then squeeze the plastic material on both sides in the center with your hands, forming a bow. The resulting folds need to be fixed with glue.
- The same should be done with the remaining strips.
- Apply a small amount of glue to the middle of the largest bow and attach a medium-sized piece to it. Attach a smaller strip to the top of the structure in a similar manner. If desired, instead of a smaller bow made of plastic suede, you can use a strip of satin ribbon. In this case, you must first fold the ends in the middle in a small overlap, stitch, tighten and fix the thread to form folds.
- Coat the back side of the finished bow with hot glue and attach to the headband.
- Apply glue to a strip of foamiran or grosgrain ribbon, measuring 9*0.5 cm, and, placing it in the center of the bow, wrap it around the structure, connecting all the parts.
- You can decorate the finished accessory with voluminous rhinestones or beads laid out in a row.
New Year's bows
Bows for the New Year's holiday are made of shiny foamiran, attached to threads and used to decorate holiday outfits, gifts or a New Year's tree. When making such decorations, it is recommended to use glitter plastic suede in green and red (or golden) shades, and for decoration choose shiny beads or snowflakes.
You will also need the following for the job:
- scissors;
- cardboard and pencil;
- toothpick;
- fastening material;
- iron;
- hot melt glue.
During work it is required:
- Using a toothpick, transfer the cardboard stencil to the base material so that you get 2 templates with a diameter of 9 and 11 cm. Make the larger blank from green foamiran, and the smaller one from red foamiran.
- The green element will serve as the base of the bow. Its edges are decorated with small artificial pearls, fixed with hot glue. The red blank can also be decorated with snowflakes along the edges.
- Using a glue gun, connect the parts of the product.
To decorate the room, you can cut out a butterfly from green or golden foamiran. Connect all its parts with the ends on the back side and glue them together. The antennae of the butterfly are made from cotton swabs, fixed with a glue gun. A large self-adhesive rhinestone is placed in the middle of the butterfly for decoration.
Another version of New Year's decoration involves using glitter foamiran in silver and purple shades, as well as:
- stapler;
- scissors and threads.
During the work process you should:
- Draw templates of the parts of the future product on paper or cardboard, cut them out, and then, placing them on the back of the foamiran sheet, transfer them onto it using a toothpick.
- Cut out the product parts.
- Bend the edges of the top, purple bow to the middle and secure with a stapler. Place it on the base cut out of a silver sheet and attach to it.
- Cut the thread, forming a loop from it to attach the bow.
- Make a central strip-bridge from silver foamiran, wrap it through the bow and fix it on the inside, having first inserted a fastener for hanging the product.
- The finished bow can be used to decorate the Christmas tree.
Ready.
In American style
Foamiran bows made in the American style will become a stylish and original decoration for hair accessories and are made from:
- foamiran strips measuring 10*5 cm;
- lace, rapeseed and satin ribbons;
- scissors, hot glue;
- decorative material: beads, rhinestones.
During work it is required:
- First cut out a bow blank from cardboard, then from foamiran using a template, connect its ends in the center on the wrong side and fix them with glue.
- From satin or rep ribbon make 3 strips, measuring 170*25 mm. Similar parts need to be cut out of lace.
- Sew the ends of the lace and satin pieces, alternating them in a circle, then pull together and secure the thread, forming a lush bow.
- Glue a small circle cut out of felt to the back of the product and sew it to a hair elastic or glue it to the fixing part of the hair clip.
- Grease the jumper cut out of foamiran with glue, attach it to the center of the bow and, bending it around, fix the structure.
Foamiran bows in American style. - The product can be decorated with a voluminous cabochon, a strip made of rhinestones, beads or artificial pearls. The decor should be fixed with hot glue.
Features of work
When working with plastic suede, experts advise taking into account a number of features of the material:
- It is recommended to make bows from foamiran sheets with a thickness not exceeding 1 mm;
- Despite the plasticity of the material, you should not stretch it too much due to the risk of tearing the workpiece;
- Use a hot glue gun or Moment glue to fix the parts. Thick PVA is not suitable for this work, because of the possibility of stains appearing on the finished products.
- Plasticity is given to foamiran by slightly heating it with a warm (not hot) iron.
Foamiran bows are widely used in the manufacture of hair and clothing accessories, as well as in interior decoration. Such decorations retain their original shape for a long time, do not fade in the sun and are quite easy to make, and using popular patterns you can create any, even an exclusive accessory.
Video about making bows from foamiran
How to make bows from foamiran: