Types of Artificial Flowers

Cloth and Paper Flowers
Four main processes may be distinguished:

The first consists of cutting up the various fabrics and materials employed into shapes suitable for forming the leaves, petals, etc.; this may be done by Scissors, but more often stamps are employed which will cut through a dozen or more thicknesses at one blow.
The veins of the leaves are next impressed by means of a die, and the petals are given their natural rounded forms by goffering irons of various shapes.
The next step is to assemble the petals and other parts of the flower, which is built up from the center outwards;
The fourth is to mount the flower on a stalk formed of brass or iron wire wrapped round with suitably colored material, and to fasten on the leaves required to complete the spray.

Soap Flowers
Two methods are used:

A bar with layered colored soap is mounted in a lathe and a chisel is used to create circular grooves. This is the carved formed of soap flowers, the finished flower is very symmetric and regular, but the flowers are not identicala and thus hand made.
An oil-less soap is milled to a powder, water is added and the paste is used as a modelling material. Stamps and rollers are used to emboss leaf and petal textures onto the soap. This is a more expensive, labour intensive process.
With both methods, wire, wood and other mountings are later used to finish the products.

Clay Flowers

Clay is dried and ground to a powder, water is added and coloring and the finished paste used as a modeling paste. A skilled crafts person then models the flowers.