All about floral ribbons

The basis of any handicraft is the connection of parts. The modern market offers many auxiliary tools for such manipulations. A considerable share of the market is also made up of the products themselves for creating bouquets and doing handicrafts. Thus, in the nearest handicraft store, you can find at least about 5 different fastening tools designed for those who are engaged in floristry. One of these is a floristic tape. Read about how it looks, how to choose it and what to be guided by when using it, in this article.

Floral tape is an elastic tape with an adhesive applied to its surface. The adhesive is applied to the fabric in such a way that it is in the space between the fibers of the tape. The tape can only stick if it is stretched. The advantages of the products include the fact that they are easily torn by hand. The basis of such products is a synthetic non-woven material.

They are sold in rolls with a plastic or cardboard core. The length of the product in one skein can reach 46 meters. Decorative tapes are an important material for floristry. Basically, such ribbons are used to decorate flower stems or their leaves. And also elastic tapes are also used to fasten various elements together, so that you can create an interesting composition.

These tapes are more of a floral accessory than any other category. Analogs of tape tapes are scotch tape, double-sided tape, plasters and even electrical tape.

It is important not to confuse tape with regular floral tape. The latter is made from other materials and, most importantly, is not sticky. And all floristic ribbons can be roughly classified into several categories.

1. All tapes can be divided according to their width. There are three main tape sizes: 6mm, 12mm, 27mm. The smallest size is considered the most convenient, but the most common sample is 12 or 13 mm. The 27 mm size is considered the most inconvenient for tapes and is rarely used.
2. There are many colors of floral ribbons. In addition to the standard colors (red, green, yellow, blue, and so on), there are also silver and gold shades. On average, you can find about 30 different colors on sale. In the initial period of their appearance, tapes were produced in only two colors - brown and green.

The tape called "Parafilm" received good reviews. It is durable, elastic and water-repellent. As a rule, it is wrapped around the stems of recently cut flowers. Another sales leader in this area is tape "Anchor"... Its peculiarity is the basis of a soft and elastic fabric interspersed with cotton. It is mainly used to combine flowers into bouquets.

On sale you can find tape-stempex tape - an analogue of a floral one. It has a more budgetary price and is also more sticky. This is due to the fact that folds on such an analogue are located more often and there is more glue in them.

Few people take the process of choosing and buying tape seriously. Nevertheless, it is worth being guided by some criteria.

1. Colour. Tape tape tends to fade and lose color when stretched. It is also worth remembering that when wrapped in several layers, the color becomes brighter. Thus, it is necessary to first think over the future workpiece and take into account these nuances.
2. Quality. Some manufacturers can save on glue, and as a result, the tape will not adhere well. Sometimes warming up the product in the palms helps. It is necessary, if possible, to see if the tape stretches well and evenly.
3. Price. It is not the most important parameter when choosing a product. Prices for all types of such products vary from 30 to 200 rubles per roll.
4. Production time. If the tape was made several years ago, then it will be very poorly glued. It is best to purchase products as recently as possible.

The product does not stick to your hands, which makes it easier to use. Often, for beginners, using the product can be problematic. The tape stretches well and because of this, it is cut off more than is necessary. Over time, the skill will be worked out, and the extra expense will come to naught.

In order to glue this product, you need to cut a piece of the required length. Then you need to firmly press the tip to the gluing site. The tension should be started immediately and kept the same over the entire surface. The tip of the tape should also be pressed firmly against the surface. It must be remembered that too strong tension is fraught with rupture of the tape, and weak - its poor fixation. The new tape has good hold after drying. Simply put, after drying, it will not be easy to tear it off the surface. And you also need to remember that the more the product is stretched, the more sticky it becomes.

Floristic ribbon is used to decorate gifts. It is used when you need to decorate flower stems made of paper or cold porcelain. And they also help if there is a need to decorate flowers from polymer clay. Quite often, it is teip that is used when decorating boutonnieres. Some people use this product in beading and quilling. But most often we see tapes on candy bouquets.The stems of such "flowers" are often wrapped around this particular product. Of course, you won't be able to make a beautiful bow out of such a floral "fastener", but it is quite possible and very convenient to glue a bow from another material.

If the tape is used to fix one stem, then it must first be planted on glue and allowed to dry. It is impossible to hope for the fixation of this product alone - it has more of a decorative function.

If several years have passed since the production of the tape, then, as already mentioned, its adhesion property decreases. In addition, improper storage can also lead to a decrease in the adhesive capacity of the tape. However, there is a way to fix this. To do this, you need to melt a piece of wax candle in the microwave, and then put the tape there and wait until it is completely saturated with wax. Once completely dry, the tape will become tacky again. This method works because the base of the glue, which impregnates such products, is made on the basis of wax.