My Honest Review of the Microfleur Flower Press

I've been drying out flowers using books and silica gel all Summer long. I'd tested and tried all of the traditional methods and I was genuinely curious to see if the microwave could retain the same vibrant colors as the book press method.

While I love using phone books and coffee table books, the drying times take weeks and I find that when I want to start something new, I don't want to wait weeks. Someone suggested using the microwave to press flowers and I was instantly intrigued.

While doing research on the drying process, I stumbled upon the Microfleur microwave flower press. I ordered it and opened it immediately. I was pleasantly surprised by the detailed instructions inside the user guide. I knew I could go on Youtube and get more information, but I wanted to do my testing solely based on what came in the box. The results were interesting!

microfleur flower press box — The Microfleur Flower Press

What is included in the Microfleur flower press?

Two plastic press pieces (one for front and one for back)
Two plastic brackets to squeeze and press the front and back together
Two pieces of absorbent cotton (fabric liner)
Two pieces of thick, absorbent board
Instructions

What you'll still need for the Microfleur press:

Microfleur tweezers (not included in the box)
Small scissors
Garden Flowers
Paper towels to dry any moisture
Microwave
Microfleur Flower Press

How to use the Microfleur Flower Press

Using a Microfleur microwave press is a straightforward process! Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

Gather Your Materials:

You'll need fresh flowers or leaves, the Microfleur press, and optionally, some paper towels or parchment paper.

Prepare the Flowers:

Trim the stems of your flowers or leaves to fit inside the press. Remove any unwanted foliage.

Arrange the Flowers

Open the Microfleur press and place a layer of paper towel or parchment paper on the bottom. Lay your flowers face down on the paper, making sure they’re spaced out to avoid overlapping.

Add More Layers (Optional)

If you want to press multiple flowers, you can add another layer of paper towel or parchment paper, and then add more flowers.

Close the Press

Place the top layer of the Microfleur press on top and secure it tightly.

Microwave*

Place the press face up into the microwave.

Generally, you’ll want to start with 30 seconds on high.
After 30 seconds, remove the Microfleur from the microwave.
Unclamp the sides.
Wipe down any moisture that you've accumulated on the plastic. The amount of moisture will tell you that there is still moisture inside the flowers. Once the plastic starts to come out dry, you can assume that you have dry flowers.

*Read the instructions that came with the Microfleur so that you know how many watts your microwave is. The instructions will differ depending on how strong your microwave is. Once you play around with it a little bit, you will start to learn which time intervals work best for your microwave and flowers.

Check the Flowers

Once cooled, Check the flowers; if they’re not fully dried, continue in 10-15 second increments until they are fully dry. Give each increment short resting periods.You will know when they are fully dried because they will feel like fine tissue paper and might just fall off of the cotton.

Another little trick is if a flower doesn't come off of the cotton, pull the cotton from both sides to stretch it. This usually releases the flower. Remember, larger flowers take longer! Allow the press to cool between intervals.

Store or Use

microfleur flower press dried flowers — Store your dried flowers or use them for craft projects

Once fully dried, you can store your pressed flowers in a flat, dry place or use them in crafts, framing, or other projects. Check out this post if you want to learn how to turn them into beautiful resin coasters!

I also really like to use old school photo albums to store my dried flowers. I place the flowers onto a piece of watercolor paper (since it is absorbent) and then I add a piece of blotting paper on top of that and place inside the plastic sleeve so that it doesn't slide.

Useful hints for using the Microfleur:

You should wash your flowers in soapy water to remove any bugs. Then place the flowers into a vase and let them dry.
If you do not wash them, you can get bugs and worms which might be stuck to the petals. If you want to know how to properly remove bugs from your flowers, check out this post.

You can wash the cotton that came with the microfleur. I like to remove any remaining plant material and wash by hand and air dry. Once dry, I like to press the cotton so that any wrinkles do not show up on the texture of the petals.
Alternate the direction of your flowers. Some flowers can be face down while others you might want to capture the profile of the flower.
Use little scissors and cut the end tip of the flower so that it's less bulky. The stems typically have more moisture and are thicker. You can keep them on if you'd like, but you'll need to practice because the drying time differs

Put as many as will fit but do not let them touch because they will stick.
Take the layer of fabric and roll it down slowly and adjust petals as needed
Sandwich the petals, then clip the sides back on
Place in the microwave for 30 seconds. Every microwave is different, so check page 3 in the instructions to see the wattage of your microwave
It’s better to try in short bursts than one long drying time
You will open it and see moisture. Wipe it off from both sides. This will tell you how much moisture is left in the flowers. If you are seeing water you need to keep going.
Roll up the fabric to check the flowers. When wet they will stick so peel carefully and slowly
Keep the flowers flat and try to only move the fabric.
Touch the flowers all over. They dry from the outside in. Petals might be dry but the middle might be wet so put it back in and run it again. This time run it for shorter bursts. Just do 20 seconds.
Open up the press and repeat instructions. carefully check flowers
If the flower doesn't droop and feels like tissue paper, it can be stored or used in a project.
Do not worry too much about permanent liner stains - they don't affect the drying process.
Lightest color flowers sometimes change color. For example, white turns more of a cream color.
For best results, store your flowers away from direct sunlight.

My honest conclusion about the Microfleur press

I really enjoyed the Microfleur press as a method for speed drying. That being said, the Microfleur is about 5" in height and width. That means that you can only dry around 6 flowers at a time.

If I did it again, I would splurge and purchase the Microfleur Max which is 5" in height and width. I am also curious if there are other brands on Amazon that might be less expensive and do the same job. If you end up trying any, please let me know how it goes.

Because I had the smaller Microfleur, I found it annoying to constantly take it out and unclip it just for one or two flowers. I would probably only use it if I wanted quick flowers to make flower art that same day. Since it works on very short intervals, it tends to take some time.

The flowers seemed to retain their colors in a similar way to pressing in a standard press or a book. I compared the two sunflowers from my book and the Microfleur and I didn't see much of a difference. Some others have expressed that they felt the vibrancy wasn't as good, but I did not have that experience.

All in all, I had a great experience using the Microfleur. I will be using it again for my next batch of flowers.

Want to learn all the tried and true methods for drying flowers? Check out this post.

My Honest Review of the Microfleur Flower Press